The American Clean Power Association will absorb fellow trade group Energy Storage Association at the beginning of next year, the groups announced Monday.
ESA member companies will join the ACP under the American Clean Power brand, effective Jan. 1, 2022. ESA has more than 210 members, while ACP boasts more than 800.
ACP said it’s creating a storage council so that energy storage becomes a top priority within the association. It said it will spend the rest of the year working with ESA to encourage Congress to enact a storage investment tax credit.
ACP spokesperson Jason Ryan said the trade groups are developing a “thoughtful process” that maps preparations to the merger date. In an emailed statement he said ACP will integrate the ESA team into its existing structure “and provide new opportunities for their growth.”
The boards of directors of both groups and ESA members have approved the merger. The move requires no other approvals, and ACP is not disclosing the dollar amount involved in the acquisition.
“We are thrilled the member companies at the U.S. Energy Storage Association have endorsed the planned merger with ACP. This will enhance our ability to become a more forceful advocate for wind, solar, storage and transmission,” ACP CEO Heather Zichal said in a press release.
“The merger will help deliver more value for our members and build a best-in-class trade association that is nimble, effective and able to represent all clean energy industries with a unified voice on some of our top priorities, including the investment tax credit for storage projects,” Zichal said.
ESA Interim CEO Jason Burwen said the merger marks “a powerful new chapter for energy storage.”
“The U.S. energy storage industry has passed an inflection point in its growth. Merging with ACP will ensure our members have the resources and support they need to attain ESA’s vision of 100 GW of new energy storage by 2030,” Burwen said. “Our clean energy future depends on deploying both energy storage and renewables at scale. We rise faster together.”
Former CEO Kelly Speakes-Backman left ESA in January to work in the Department of Energy as principal deputy assistant secretary for energy efficiency and renewable energy.
Earlier this month, the ACP released its first Clean Power Annual report, which said wind, utility solar and battery storage capacity in the U.S. totaled more than 170 GW and served about 10.7% of the nation’s electricity needs.
A record 26 GW worth of clean-energy projects came online in 2020, according to the report, and another 90 GW worth of projects is under development. ACP estimated that wind, solar and battery energy storage made up 78% of new generation nationally in 2020 and represented about $39 billion in total investment.
