February 2024

Board Memo
Pre-Read Materials
Table of Contents
NOMINATING COMMITTEE REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS .................................................................. 4
GOVERNANCE UPDATE ................................................................................................................................. 8
Strengthening Decision-Making Processes ........................................................................................ 8
Committee Restructuring Process ....................................................................................................... 8
FINANCE UPDATE ....................................................................................................................................... 12
2023 Year-End Close............................................................................................................................ 12
ACP 2.0 – Modernization ..................................................................................................................... 15
DEFENDING THE IRA .................................................................................................................................. 16
Defining Success .................................................................................................................................. 16
Congressional Strategy – Key States ................................................................................................. 17
Integrating Communications and Advocacy..................................................................................... 18
ACP/Clean Energy Reputation on the Hill ........................................................................................ 19
LEVERAGING ACP’S CASH RESERVES TO MEET THE MOMENT ................................................................23
Building New Coalitions ...................................................................................................................... 23
Reinforcing Industry Message Outside the Beltway ........................................................................ 25
Strategic Political Investments ........................................................................................................... 26
IN FOCUS: THREE POLICY PRIORITIES ..................................................................................................... 28
Enabling Secure, Responsible, and Sustainable Supply Chains .................................................... 28
Promoting Workable Siting and Permitting at the Federal, State & Local Levels ....................... 30
Removing Barriers in Wholesale Markets and Advancing Robust Transmission ........................ 33
WORKFORCE, SAFETY, AND THE CLEAN POWER INSTITUTE .................................................................... 36
Leveraging the Workforce Advisory Council..................................................................................... 36
Two Major Workforce Initiatives Underway ...................................................................................... 37
APPENDIX A: KEY IRA GUIDANCE DATES.................................................................................................... I
APPENDIX B: ACP REGIONAL ORGANIZATION UPDATES .......................................................................... II
Advanced Power Alliance (APA) .......................................................................................................... ii
Alliance for Clean Energy New York (ACE NY) ................................................................................. iii
Clean Grid Alliance (CGA) .................................................................................................................... iv
Interwest Energy Alliance ...................................................................................................................... v
MAREC Action ....................................................................................................................................... vi

2|Page ACP CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION

 Renewable Northwest.......................................................................................................................... vii
Southern Renewable Energy Association (SREA)........................................................................... viii
APPENDIX C: IRA PRESERVATION – PRIORITY REPUBLICANS ................................................................... X
APPENDIX D: COMMUNICATIONS............................................................................................................... XI
APPENDIX E: ADDITIONAL PRIORITY POLICY & ADVOCACY KPIS .......................................................... XXI
Accelerating Offshore Wind Permitting and Development ............................................................. xxi
Strengthening the Renewable Industry Relationship with Organized Labor ............................... xxi
Engaging and Collaborating at the State and Local Levels ............................................................ xxi
Advancing and Expanding Energy Storage Deployment ............................................................... xxii
APPENDIX F: MEETING MINUTES FROM DECEMBER 14, 2023 .............................................................. XXIII

ACP CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION Page |3

NOMINATING COMMITTEE REPORT AND
RECOMMENDATIONS
Members of the Nominating Committee:

• Susan Nickey | Hannon Armstrong (Chair)

• Jim Murphy | Invenergy
• Alicia Knapp | Berkshire Hathaway Energy Renewables
• David Carroll | Engie
• Laura Beane | Vestas

Electing Officers for 2024

There are three Officer roles up for election for one (1) year terms – Chair-Elect who will
become the Chair of the Board in 2025, a Treasurer, and a Secretary. The Nominating
Committee evaluated candidates for each position based on expressions of interest,
background and expertise, and leadership within the association. The Committee is
recommending the following candidates, who will be voted on by the full Board of
Directors in February.

Chair-Elect
Laura Beane
President
Vestas North America

• Founding member of ACP.

• Reformed the Clean Power Institute and serves as its inaugural Chair.
• Served on the Executive Committee for three years.

Treasurer
Brian Van Abel
EVP & Chief Financial Officer
Xcel Energy

• Current Treasurer and Chair of the Finance Committee; familiarity with ACP’s
accounting and finance practices.
• Served on the Executive Committee for three years.
• Best-in-class financial acumen and corporate governance expertise.

4|Page ACP CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION

Secretary
David Hardy
Group EVP and CEO Americas Region
Ørsted

• Inaugural member of the Governance Committee.

• Served as Co-Chair of the Offshore Wind Council.
• Active proponent of governing process improvements work.

Each elected Officer Chairs a Board Committee – Chair-Elect (Nominations); Treasurer

(Finance); and Secretary (Governance). Following the election of Officers, the Chairs of
the Committees will seek to fill available positions on each Committee. Each Committee is
limited to five (5) seats, including the Chair. Committee terms for Nominations and
Governance are for one (1) year with the option to serve two (2) terms. Committee terms
for the Finance Committee are for one (1) year with the option to serve three (3) terms.
Board members interested in seeking a Committee seat should make their intentions
known to the Committee Chairs and staff, including those who are currently on a
Committee but have the ability to serve an additional term.

Adding Elected Members to the Executive Committee

The Executive Committee is composed of: (i) the Chair and Chair-Elect; (ii) members who
meet a minimum financial contribution; and (iii) additional elected members from the
Board to ensure a balance of viewpoints, expertise and diversity.

To ensure that the Executive Committee represents the perspectives, and expertise and
interests of the full Board, the financial contribution was increased with the goal of creating
more slots for elected participation. This effort was directionally successful with seven
positions open for election. 1

All candidates were asked to respond to the following open-ended questions:

1) Support of ACP’s long-term priorities.

2) Support of ACP’s key strategic initiatives during tenure as a Board member.
3) Leadership and experience with trade groups and other organizations, coalitions
and/or networks.

The following candidates are being recommended for elected positions to the Executive
Committee based on individual and company diversity; history of Board participation;

1
18 Executive Committee Seats – 2 Officer Seats – 9 Paid Seats = 7 Available Seats for Election

ACP CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION Page |5

service and leadership on the Board and other governing bodies; and their company’s
overall support of ACP and the industry’s work.

Craig Cornelius Tristan Grimbert

CEO President & CEO
Clearway Energy Group EDF Renewables

Mateo Jaramillo Jason Allen

Co-Founder and CEO CEO
Form Energy Leeward Renewable Energy

David Hardy Krista Tanner

CEO, Americas Chief Business Officer & SVP
Ørsted ITC Holdings

Hunter Armistead
CEO
Pattern Energy

Full Executive Committee (Pending Board Vote)

Company Director Pathway to Committee

1 Hannon Armstrong Susan Nickey Automatic – Chair

2 Vestas Laura Beane Automatic – Chair-Elect

3 AES Clean Energy Kleber Costa Financial Commitment

4 Avangrid Renewables Puneet Verma Financial Commitment

5 Berkshire Hathway Energy Alicia Knapp Financial Commitment

6 Dominion Energy Mark Mitchell Financial Commitment

7 GE Vernova Stephen Swift Financial Commitment

6|Page ACP CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION

 Company Director Pathway to Committee

8 Intersect Power Sheldon Kimber Financial Commitment

9 NextEra Energy Resources Rebecca Kujawa Financial Commitment

10 Southern Power John Pemberton Financial Commitment

11 Xcel Energy Brian Van Abel Financial Commitment

12 Clearway Energy Craig Cornelius Elected

13 EDF Renewables Tristan Grimbert Elected

14 Form Energy Mateo Jaramillo Elected

15 ITC Holdings Krista Tanner Elected

16 Leeward Energy Jason Allen Elected

17 Ørsted David Hardy Elected

18 Pattern Energy Hunter Armistead Elected

Finalizing the Board of Directors Slate

After the December Board Meeting, the 2024 Board of Directors slate was provided to the
ACP membership for approval. Per ACP Bylaws, five (5) percent of the ACP membership
must approve the full Board slate, which occurred in January 2024.

Motions to Approve:

1) Seeking a motion to approve the Officer candidates as

presented in these materials.
2) Seeking a motion to approve the elected members of the
Executive Committee as presented in these materials.

ACP CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION Page |7

GOVERNANCE UPDATE
Strengthening Decision-Making Processes
With support from the Governance and Executive Committees, ACP made major strides
refining and clarifying its decision-making processes in 2023.

While the Board of Directors sets the strategy and budget for the Association, including
discussions and formation of key policy and political positions, the Executive Committee
is now charged with addressing time-sensitive, fast-moving topics and/or topics that have
failed to reach consensus and necessitate a nimble decision-making body. To ensure
transparency and full visibility into the Executive Committee, the full Board will receive a
summary update of discussions and decisions made by the Executive Committee following
its monthly meetings.

Committee Restructuring Process

A trade association’s committees are the foundation of its expertise and legitimacy. With
the support of the Governance Committee and an external consultant, we are embarking
on a year-long effort to substantially improve the efficiency, value, consistency, and
transparency of the ACP Committee process. In addition, we are proposing several near-
term opportunities to capitalize on Board interest in playing a more active role in policy
development.

Initial Assessment
At present, ACP hosts 106 committees and working groups (hereafter, ”committees“).
While the vast majority of these committees are member-led (many with committee
Figure 1. ACP Committees by Function

8|Page ACP CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION

chairs), some are managed by staff. Additionally, the scope of the committees varies
between single-technology and multi-technology. Moreover, some committees are tasked
with developing policy while others inform policy development or provide a forum for the
exchange of ideas and best practices. The sheer number of committees and – as well as
the diversity of their goals, design, and operations – requires a serious effort to streamline
and strengthen the ACP committee process.

We have conducted initial interviews with a variety of ACP members and staff and have
heard several common themes and questions: 1) How are committees structured?; 2)
What is the role, authority and jurisdiction of committees?; 3) How do committees interface
with one another?; 4) How are committee decisions ultimately made?; and 5) How can
members keep track of committee work?
Figure 2. Committees by Technology

A Committee on Committees – The Governance Committee will lead this assessment with
support from interested Board colleagues and a group of ACP and member staff with
experience across the existing committee architecture along the following timeline:

Q1 – Detailed Assessment

• Assessment of ACP committees using the criteria described above.

• Analysis of committee alignment with Board priorities.
• Interviews with ACP staff, member companies, and other trade groups.

Q2 – Restructuring Options

• Align committees to industry priorities, populate rosters, charters, agendas, and

staff leadership.
• Develop a consistent structure to match committee function.

ACP CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION Page |9

 • Identify committees to modify, merge or sunset.
• Begin implementing minor changes that do not need Board approval.

Q3 – Final Plan with Board Approval

Q4 – Implementation of Board-Approved Plan

For Discussion: Creating Board Liaisons for Key Parts of ACP’s Work
We seek feedback on an idea designed to address several items raised by the Board in
December 2023:

• A desire for Board members to work more closely with key VP-level leaders at ACP.
• A need to increase connection between the Board and working-level committees
while the restructuring process is underway.
• Interest in opportunities for leadership and service to the organization in addition
to the core Officer and Board Committees (Finance, Nominations, and
Governance).
• An increased ability to share updates peer-to-peer at Board meetings.

The concept is to identify one Board member for several of ACP’s core 2024 priorities to
serve as a liaison between the ACP staff lead and the rest of the Board.

This individual would:

• Check in regularly (monthly or quarterly) with the key ACP lead.

• Solicit and share input from other Board members.
• Provide updates at the quarterly Board meetings alongside key ACP staff.
• Serve as a sounding board for challenges and strategic considerations.

At a minimum, we believe this will serve as a useful experiment; at best, we see it as a key
pilot that can inform the larger committee review process. The ambition is to limit the time
commitment and burden while maximizing the increased flow of information, insight, and
Director-to-Director conversation around ACP’s key priorities.

Pending discussion at the meeting, the initial areas that would benefit from this liaison
model are:

Liaisons to Technology-Specific Councils:

• Offshore Wind
• Energy Storage
• Hydrogen

10 | P a g e ACP CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION

Liaisons to Core Policy, Advocacy, and Communications Initiatives:

• Communication campaigns to insulate the IRA

• Supply Chain
• Siting & Permitting
• Markets & Transmission

Liaisons to New Strategic Initiatives:

• Closer partnership with organized labor

• Enhancing ACP’s conference and event portfolio
• Exploring creative ways to support the emerging transferability market
• Connection to the workforce initiatives being conducted at the Clean Power
Institute (CPI)

ACP CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION P a g e | 11

FINANCE UPDATE
2023 Year-End Close
ACP experienced substantial growth in 2023, continuing the trend from prior years. In
December 2023, the Finance team forecasted ending the year with revenue exceeding
$62.3M, more than $12M above its original 2023 budget. The team has been working
diligently to finish the year-end close. Based on preliminary information, the actuals are
very close to our forecasted revenue. The preliminary year-end revenue for 2023 is $63.5M,
resulting in a variance of $1.2M above projections. The increase is primarily being driven
by unrealized gains on the investment portfolio. Historically, unrealized gains (or losses)
are not included in our forecasts due to their unpredictability. Total expenses are up
slightly from our forecasted $55.1M to a projected $55.8M.

The increase in revenues will result in the year ending with more than $12.6M above the
originally-approved budget.

ACP 2023 Revenue

Information based on December Second Close
In $M
2023 Actuals (Prelim) 2023 FCST as of Dec
Board Meeting
Conferences and Events 17.2 17.1
Dues & Membership Products 40.5 40.3
Secondary Revenue Streams 5.8 4.9
Total Revenue 63.5 62.3

The starting cash position in January 2023 was $38M. As of December 31, 2023, total cash-
on-hand is approximately $49.1M, slightly below the forecasted $50M.

ACP has a Healthy Cash Position Heading into 2024

ACP will start the year with $49.1M cash on hand, which is $21M above the combination of
the required reserve amount defined in ACP’s policies based on the approved 2024 Budget
and investments in long-term instruments.

The start of the year is the high point of ACP’s working capital cycle, with the collection of
the majority of annual membership dues and the timing of ACP’s largest conferences. The

12 | P a g e ACP CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION

low point of the cycle will be at the end of the third quarter and beginning of the fourth
quarter, when cash inflows slow down and outflows increase.

The success of ACP’s first three years has positioned the association to grow where
necessary while also strategically investing during critical times for the industry. The 2024
budget proposal reflects $67.4M in anticipated revenues and $71.5M in core operating
expenditures. This budget is focused on defending the IRA, the 5x5x5 priorities framework,
strengthening ACP’s operations, and staffing. Expenses will exceed revenue to allow for a
centralized fund to augment organizational priorities and respond to unanticipated
challenges, as well as provide contingency funding for the CEO.

Surge Efforts to Structurally Insulate the IRA

Given the mounting reserves, ACP’s strong financial position, and the critical challenges
we face in 2024, staff was encouraged to develop options for additional one-time
investments the Board could consider at the February Board meeting. Based on this
request, the staff is proposing to spend $7M for a surge campaign, with $5M from ACP’s
reserve funds to help implement and insulate the IRA from repeal or harmful revision. The
Finance Committee reaffirms that ACP’s financial position enables this level of expenditure
in 2024.

Impact on Cash Reserves

Please see the 2024 cash flow projection charts, updated to reflect the actual December
cash balance (Figure 3); and the actual December cash balance plus the $5M proposed
surge campaign spending based on when the cash is expected to be spent and the impact
of the additional spending on the reserves (Figure 4).

ACP CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION P a g e | 13

Figure 3. Projected Cash Position Updated with 12/31/23 Actual Balance

The data labels denote the opening, high, low, and closing points with the amount of
excess cash above that held for the reserve requirement and in long-term investments.

Figure 4. Projected Cash Position After $5M IRA Campaign Proposal

Finance Operations
ACP’s financial system of record is outdated and will be sunsetting later this year. We
have retained RSM, LLC to assess our priorities, business operations and staff to
determine the best platform available to meet our needs for the long term. They will also
provide an assessment of our finance team staff and provide recommendations. In addition
to the financial systems, RSM will also access our Association Management System (AMS)
to ensure that it is meeting the needs of ACP, its Members, and our Board.

14 | P a g e ACP CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION

New financial software will increase the Finance team’s ability to track expenses, create
reports and dashboards, and allow more integration with our AMS and human resources
systems (e.g., payroll, benefits, etc.). In addition, updated software will be needed to
effectively and efficiently manage the new 5x5x5 priority team budgets and conference
expenses through software instead of tracking expenses using spreadsheets.

ACP 2.0 – Modernization

The financial systems update is part of a larger modernization project that has been
ongoing over the last two years. The Board committed $1.5M in December to complete
these projects over the next year. In addition to Finance, the modernization project will
touch many parts of the organization including the Committee platform
(my.cleanpower.org), member portal site, AMS database, our new contracts software,
recruitment tracking, the CPIQ research portal, and the public website. These projects are
in various stages of completion as the work has been ongoing over the past year.

ACP CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION P a g e | 15

DEFENDING THE IRA
Defining Success
Defending the clean energy incentives in the Inflation Reduction Act is our top priority.
During our December 2023 Board meeting, we discussed the creation of a successful 2024
effort to protect the IRA. Based on that discussion which stressed measures of success,
we have rallied around the following 2024 KPIs to protect the IRA. These KPIs will help
build a strong foundation for any needed post-election efforts in 2025.

1) Prevent a Senate vote to repeal or amend the IRA.

2) Through an integrated advocacy and communications effort, build visible support
for clean energy projects and IRA incentives among a targeted group of Republican
Members of Congress.
3) Build a multi-sector coalition of energy associations and companies to insulate the
IRA.
4) Secure release of all necessary guidance and regulations in a sustainable and
bankable format before the end of fiscal year 2024. (See Appendix A for a status
review of anticipated guidance.)

Success does not require strategic inspiration. We know that political resilience requires
convincing roughly 10% of Senate and House Republicans to oppose threats to our
interests. The tactics to build political support are also well known. The key to success is
the efficient deployment and coordination of significant resources within ACP, across the
membership and with aligned industry and advocacy groups. ACP has committed to
executing an advocacy plan that integrates 501(c)(6), 501(c)(4) and PAC resources.

We are equally focused on effective coordination with ACORE, SEIA and supporting
regional organizations. Please see Appendix B for an update on regional organizations’ Q4
updates and plans for 2024. We see our Regional Organizations as key partners to
successful local and state-level advocacy. Our State Affairs team is working with ACP
member companies on a more integrated strategy for state and local engagement, and
our goal is to present that strategy to the Board at our September Board meeting. We
must capitalize on the opportunity to consolidate resources by creating better alignment
with member advocacy and expenditures, engaging a broad array of non-member
industries eager to protect specific aspects of the IRA, and creating more effective linkage
with the $200M+ in philanthropic resources that are being spent with the intent to support
and protect the IRA.

16 | P a g e ACP CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION

As we start this year, 2024 election cycle
IRA Guidance Efforts Continue
outcomes are a major and material
uncertainty lingering on the horizon. While ACP continues working with Biden
there are signs that wholesale repeal of the administration officials on the content
IRA would be unlikely following a Republican and release of IRA implementing
wave election, we are not ignoring this risk guidance. With less than a year left in
and are taking steps to ensure the industry is the Biden administration’s first term,
in the best possible position to avoid the more finalizing workable guidance is more
likely threat of material changes to the IRA in critical than ever. Please See
a Republican-controlled Congress and White Appendix A for a table outlining the
House in 2025. status of remaining IRA implementing
guidance and bring any questions to
Congressional Strategy – Key States the table. While guidance is not a
focus of the agenda, we are prepared
Our December 2023 Board Meeting included
to discuss any aspect of the guidance
discussion of 53 Republican lawmakers
process.
identified as key to our IRA defense efforts
(see full list in Appendix C). Based on further
consultation with member companies and outside stakeholders, that initial list has now
yielded two distinct tiers of states for priority attention in 2024.

Tier 1 States – Iowa, Kansas, North Carolina, and South Carolina. These four states
were consistently identified across a wide range of stakeholders as including the highest
priority targets for IRA defense. Each state has at least one persuadable/industry-
supportive Senate Republican and at least one persuadable/industry-supportive House
Republican. Additionally, they all have a significant industry presence and will be receiving
maximum advocacy and communications focus and resources this year.

(Note: While we also believe Sens. Murkowski and Collins can be supportive of our efforts,
we do not believe we need to devote significant resources to Alaska or Maine, which is
why those states are not included in our Tier 1 list).

Tier 2 States – West Virginia, Louisiana, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Illinois, Ohio, and
Arizona. Member companies and outside stakeholders have also identified these Tier 2
states as including lawmakers who are considered “gettable” in terms of opposing IRA
repeal – and who might additionally be helpful on other key industry priorities (e.g.,
permitting reform). These states will also be receiving significant focus as part of our IRA
defense efforts in 2024.

ACP CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION P a g e | 17

A Special Note on Texas. American Energy Action (AEA), Advanced Power Alliance (our
regional partner), and ACP have a unified plan to invest over $4 million to take us through
the 2025 Texas legislative cycle. The plan includes a coordinated effort around strategic
communications, grassroots activation, and regulatory and legislative advocacy.
Additionally, we meet regularly with – and have allocated CLEANPOWER PAC resources
for – Sen. John Cornyn and select Representatives to ensure a continuous clean energy
presence for Texas in Washington, D.C.

With continued engagement, and given significant recent retirement announcements,

ACP and the Policy and Advocacy Steering Committee (PASC) will periodically review and
continue to refine our IRA Defense Campaign throughout the year. In addition to
coordinating with CLEANPOWER PAC, AEA and external allies and stakeholders, the IRA
Defense Campaign will be amplified by a robust communications strategy (summarized
below).

Integrating Communications and Advocacy

ACP’s communications are fully integrated with the effort to defend the IRA. The campaign
will be principally deployed in our Tier 1 states, and we will be recalibrating these
investments throughout the year. The organizing theme of the campaign is “Fuel for
Thought.” In 2023, we piloted Fuel for Thought events in North Carolina, Colorado, and
Iowa. In 2024, we will expand the Fuel for Thought campaign to our four Tier 1 States and
several Tier 2 States depending on available resources. Our recent event in Iowa provides
an illustrative roadmap for our future Fuel for Thought engagements this year. (For an in-
depth discussion of our broader Communications strategy, please see Appendix D).

Case Study – Iowa. In Iowa, the Fuel for Thought campaign was able to leverage the 40th
anniversary of Iowa’s Renewable Portfolio Standard and the 30th anniversary of the Wind
Energy Incentives Act of 1993 authored by Sen. Grassley (R-IA). To commemorate this
anniversary, ACP awarded Sen.
Chuck Grassley, Gov. Kim Reynolds
(R), and Iowa Economic
Development Director Debi
Durham with Clean Energy
Champion Awards at a public-
facing lunch attended by ACP member companies and some 110 Republican elected
officials, business and community leaders, agriculture representatives, and economic
development authorities. The effort also included:

18 | P a g e ACP CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION

 • A 10-week ad flight, featuring our heroes, real life people who are touting the
benefits of clean energy (see graphic of Ray from Iowa below).
• Outreach to local media.
• A tailored state report highlighting current and future planned deployment of clean
energy, job creation and economic benefits to the state, serving as an excellent
news hook and resource.
• Republican allies, including Sen. Grassley and Gov. Reynolds, posting content on
their social channels, which were then amplified by us and others across social
media.

This model of awarding champions will be the go-to for all Fuel for Thought campaign
events in 2024.

ACP/Clean Energy Reputation on the Hill

Reputation Matters
The impact of ACP’s advocacy is greatly influenced by our reputation and the industry’s
reputation among our key targets.
ACP has worked with Ballast Research (now “Penta”) to access data from their annual
survey and interviews that give ACP a window into how it is being perceived by Republican
lawmakers. The data come directly from Congressional and Administration voices and are
benchmarked against over 100 other organizations included in the study.

ACP CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION P a g e | 19

ACP is Increasingly Seen as a More Bipartisan Organization
Compared with other major trade associations, unions, and advocacy groups studied,
ACP’s overall reputation has become more balanced. The chart below reflects the
difference in perception for ACP between Democrats in Republicans. In 2022, ACP was
substantially better positioned with Democrats than Republicans, but in 2023 that gap has
narrowed with a more balanced -- though still Democratic leaning -- reputation in D.C.

The chart can be understood to suggest that ACP went from being a squarely Democratic-
favored institution to being one that is now perceived as more “center-left.”

Figure 5. Overall Reputation: Partisan Difference in Association Reputation

Becoming More Influential with Republican Audiences

Senior Republican officials reported that ACP was significantly more likely to influence
their policy positions in 2023, and there was broader and deeper appreciation for the
renewable energy industry overall. Much of this stemmed from the more active
engagement and communications from ACP and its team, which surfaced during one-on-
one conversations about the sector. There was specific praise for the way ACP framed its
messaging to align with (and appeal to) Republican priorities. Republicans also cited the
value of investment in renewables as part of an “all-of-the-above” approach to diversifying
the energy portfolio across the U.S. and in their local communities.

20 | P a g e ACP CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION

Figure 6. Republicans' Shifting View of ACP

There is Still Work to Do with Republicans

The Penta study analyzes several dimensions of reputation and effectiveness. Most
notably, ACP has seen improvements in being described as “influential” (Figure 6)
amongst Republicans.

The study also underscores that there are still elements of systemic resistance to clean
energy based on the last decade of engagement around climate and clean energy that will
necessitate a sustained and ongoing effort across multiple dimensions of the industry’s
engagement to shift.

ACP Remains One of the Most Respected Trade Associations with Democrats
As shown in Figure 7, ACP’s substantial progress in advancing relationships with
Republicans and developing more durable policy influence came with some reputational
Figure 7. Overall Reputation: ACP v. Energy Association Peers Among Democrats

ACP CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION P a g e | 21

softening among Democrats. However, ACP maintained its relative strength with
Democrats, continuing to score in-line with the top 25 percent of trade associations in
Washington on overall reputation. The data from the Spring and early Summer of 2023
show that ACP remains the most favored energy association among Democrats and most
likely to influence their views on policy.

Working with Democrats

While ACP’s tactical focus is building a fire wall of Republican support, many of our day-
to-day interactions continue to be with Democrats on the Hill or in the Administration.
We are maintaining, and in most cases, deepening these long-standing partnerships.
While confident that Democratic legislators will oppose attacks on the IRA, successful
implementation hinges on democratic efforts to advance supportive legislation and exert
constructive pressure on the White House. If changes to the IRA become inevitable, we
will need these close relationships to ensure that our interests are prioritized in any
negotiation. ACP is also continuing to collaborate closely with leading climate funders
and the E-NGOs that are supportive of rapid clean energy deployment and a reasoned
transition strategy. As anticipated, our Clean Power Institute is becoming a venue for
these collaborations. Additionally, our CLEANPOWER PAC is equally supportive of
Democrats and Republicans. Finally, we are holding a Board-level discussion on Sunday
immediately before the dinner for members to learn about political giving opportunities
that align with industry interests.

22 | P a g e ACP CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION

LEVERAGING ACP’S CASH RESERVES TO MEET THE
MOMENT
Given the incredibly high stakes and ACP’s strong financial position, the Board requested
suggestions to amplify ACP’s advocacy using resources from our reserve funds.

The $5M surge funding proposal outlined below provides additional advocacy resources
to form and support coalition partnerships, expand the communications campaign in
target states and make strategic political investments to strengthen key relationships and
continue to improve the brand of the clean power industry with target legislators.

These proposed investments are additive to our current IRA defense strategic plan.
Additionally, these surge efforts are designed, to the greatest extent possible, to avoid
creating legacy costs when completed. We must be prepared for a two- to three-year
battle depending on the election outcome. While our proposals are ambitious, we are
preserving significant funds for 2025 and 2026 if needed. We are encouraged that ACP
leadership is already generating financial commitments from partner organizations. The
Clean Future Initiative – a philanthropically funded center-right project – has committed
to provide our Clean Power Institute with a $2.5M match to augment the efforts outlined
below, if the ACP Board commits new resources from our reserves. The CFI grant will
devote $500,000 to general operations to build the Clean Power Institute and $2 million
directly to the ACP surge investments outlined below. This will enable a combined $7M
effort. In addition, other industry associations have expressed interest in funding a multi-
trade association effort.

1) Strength in Numbers / Building Three Coalitions – Total $2.0M ($1M from ACP +
$1M match).
2) Reinforcing Industry Message Outside the Beltway— Total $3.5M ($2.5M from ACP
+ $1.0M match)
3) Strategic Political Investments—$1.5M from ACP

Building New Coalitions

We propose to spend up to $2.0M to create three coalitions:

Coalition I – A public-facing partnership with IRA-invested industry trade associations -

$700,000. This exercise is a bit of reverse engineering. The IRA did not have the usual
coalitions forming as the legislation was taking shape nor did it have a large, unified

ACP CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION P a g e | 23

coalition pushing for final passage (as is the case with most major pieces of legislation).
Instead, as Sen. Manchin continued to drive down the legislation’s topline spending
number, industries focused on advocating to keep their own priorities in the final package.
ACP is now creating that coalition of beneficiaries to preserve and defend the IRA by
bringing these previously unorganized interests together. This coalition will largely focus
on lawmaker engagement inside the beltway. We have already had a productive first
meeting with 10 other associations, with a second in-person scoping meeting scheduled
for mid-February. Many of these associations did not support IRA passage but have since
changed positions due to the financial incentives contained in the legislation. We are
crafting an action plan with specific target dates and deliverables to present to coalition
partners in the February meeting. Associations currently engaged include:

Anticipated costs of Coalition I include:

• $300,000—Washington Consultant. We will need to engage a Washington

advocacy firm to advise on coalition strategy and coordinate coalition member
engagement with policymakers. The firm will provide ACP with strategic advice
and counsel on coalition matters as well as help manage the day-to-day operations
of the coalition.
• $200,000—Joint IRA Benefits Study. ACP has retained ICF to perform a
comprehensive economic analysis of IRA-driven investment across multiple
industry sectors. We had already planned on evaluating benefits beyond core ACP

24 | P a g e ACP CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION

 technologies. This will enable us to expand that analysis to include the inputs and
engagement from other associations.
• $200,000—Additional Coalition Tools. We anticipate the need for additional
information and tools to support our coalition advocacy. This could include digital
tools, polling, message-testing/focus groups, and additional targeted economic
analysis.

Coalition II – Unbranded Partnership Focused on House Republicans – $300,000. This

effort will be less public and managed in coordination with corporate interests. The
coalition will focus almost exclusively on influencing persuadable House Republicans in
their home states and districts. ACP will play a leadership role in this coalition, but we will
not seek public recognition. Member company project and facility announcements will be
a key part of this effort. We will partner with a leading strategic Republican political firm
to help shape and execute this effort.

Coalition III – In-State Advocacy with Philanthropic Network – $1 million. The Clean Future
Initiative (CFI) is a $35M/year effort initiated three years ago to build Republican support
for climate action. CFI is active in 16 states and has a target list that closely aligns with
our Tier 1 and Tier 2 states. CFI is convinced that there are opportunities to increase the
impact of our separate advocacy with more deliberate coordination. We are both hosting
events, conducting public opinion research, and running communications strategies in the
same states with the same purpose.

Effective coordination will require new staff resources at both entities. CPI will be essential
in this collaboration and will hire 2-3 staff to work in conjunction with ACP.

• $600,000—Additional CPI staff

• $400,000—Coalition events and advocacy

Reinforcing Industry Message Outside the Beltway

The Communications and Advocacy teams are implementing an integrated strategy
designed to ensure the IRA’s resilience. The activities below are supported by the
proposed surge of $3.5M which builds upon the $2.2M campaign budget the board
approved in December.

Building a receptive landscape for clean energy amongst Republicans in target states
through intensified state-based campaigns. In 2024, we are expanding our efforts to
increase from three markets to a total of 10.

ACP CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION P a g e | 25

 • Tier 1 States: Iowa, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Kansas. In these markets,
we will employ the full suite of campaign tactics for a prolonged year-long effort
with multiple touchpoints and explore a more robust ad buy. Each public event will
center on celebrating “Clean Energy Champions, honoring federal, state and local
officials for their support of clean energy.
• Tier 2 States: Arizona, West Virginia, Illinois, Louisiana, Tennessee, Ohio and
Oklahoma. In these markets, we will engage in year-long earned and social media
efforts and host at least one event tied to American Clean Power Week in August
around the second anniversary of the passage of the IRA.

Member Announcements: To better capitalize on the 2024 project announcement or

ribbon-cutting events that thus far have seen mostly local coverage, we will create a few
additional campaigns that are coordinated around some key themes: 1) A manufacturing
renaissance to showcase how clean energy projects are solving the supply chain
challenges and creating jobs; 2) Harnessing offshore wind milestones to create greater
public support for projects; and 3) Amplifying energy storage and solar announcements
to elevate their robust pipelines.

New Microsite: To capitalize on the momentum in 2023 and record site visits to view our
campaign ads, we are building out a more robust Fuel for Thought microsite to host clean
energy facts and resources and capture grassroots interest in the industry for future
activation.

(See Appendix D for campaign KPIs.)

Strategic Political Investments

With the presidential primary season already in full swing, the 2024 elections will dominate
the political discourse this year. There will be myriad opportunities for political
expenditures this year, but we cannot lose sight of the tools already at our disposal. There
is no substitute for robust financial support of both ACP’s political action committee,
CLEANPOWER PAC, or our industry 501(c)(4), American Energy Action.

We have three distinct areas of political engagement and sponsorships we plan to pursue
with additional surge funding. These include additional investment in American Energy
Action; participation in the Republican and Democratic Presidential nomination
conventions; and building deeper, and in some cases new, strategic partnerships with
certain political organizations such as the Democratic Governors Association, the
Republican Governors Association, and the National Association of Counties.

26 | P a g e ACP CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION

In all instances, to the extent possible, practical, and legally compliant, ACP is working to
coordinate our political activities with the many and varied political activities of our
member companies. The supplemental investments outlined below focus on the areas
where we can have the biggest impact.

American Energy Action (AEA). We would propose pairing an already-budgeted

$250,000 with an additional $500,000 in surge funds for AEA efforts to support a
grassroots call-to-action in key states aligning with the tiered states outlined above. The
grassroots mobilization will complement, not duplicate, our integrated IRA defense
communications strategy and is best managed under the AEA brand.

Nominating Conventions. We propose to spend up to $500,000 on the presidential

nominating conventions in the following ways:

• $300,000 ($150,000 at each convention) to be part of the America’s Energy, a

coalition of energy trade associations including EEI, NEI, and AGA.
• $100,000 ACP proposes to contribute $100,000 to the Democratic National
Committee (DNC) to join Invenergy and other ACP Board members in a clean
energy industry-wide effort to support the Convention and highlight the economic
and environmental benefits of clean energy.
• $100,000 for ACP events at both conventions.

Building and Strengthening Political Partnerships. We want to strengthen ties with

existing political partners and make new political partnerships with entities like the
Republican Governors Association, Democratic Governors Association, National
Association of Counties, National Council of State Legislators (NCSL), the Farm Bureau
and its state affiliates, and ConservAmerica. We propose investment of up to $500,000 for
this purpose.

ACP CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION P a g e | 27

IN FOCUS: THREE POLICY PRIORITIES
At the December Board meeting, we outlined the creation of ACP Priority Issue Teams
(Priority Teams) around the 5x5x5 model. The Priority Teams create a structural and
budgetary incentive to drive collaboration. Each Priority Team includes representatives
from across the unique disciplines within ACP (e.g., advocacy, communications, policy,
legal, etc.) and will guide the mission-driven work of the organization on behalf of industry.
The section below outlines the key performance indicators for three key policy and
advocacy priorities in 2024 and beyond. Appendix E contains KPIs for additional PITs:
The ACP team is already executing in each of the 5x5x5 areas, and the following section
provides an overview of the current workstream in three of these areas, including: Supply
Chain, Siting & Permitting, and Transmission & Markets.

Enabling Secure, Responsible, and Sustainable Supply Chains

Key Performance Indicators

1) Ensure fewer trade-restrictive clean energy-related tariffs.
2) Limit negative impacts of AD/CVD legislation reform efforts on clean energy supply
chains.
3) Establish workable rules on manufacturing-related IRA implementation.
4) Promote domestic offshore wind supply chain investments.

ACP’s first quarter work will be dominated by addressing tariff threats to solar and battery
storage, advancing the supply chain roadmaps, and continuing our advocacy on
manufacturing-related IRA implementation.

The Section 201 tariff review process is stalled until the International Trade Commission
(ITC) mid-term review report is released (this is expected shortly). Once this report is sent
to the White House, the President will likely make a decision on two key elements of the
current 201 program – the cell tariff rate quota (TRQ) level and the status of the bifacial
exemption. ACP staff had a number of conversations with White House staff on these
issues and remain optimistic about the willingness of the President to raise the current
TRQ for cells (5 GW) to a higher level (20-30 GW). We have strong overall industry support
from both domestic manufacturing interests and the broader solar industry for this change.
More contentious is the status of the bifacial exemption. Domestic interests are pressing
hard for the exemption to be removed, but we have made a strong case for retaining the

28 | P a g e ACP CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION

exemption due to the lack of any current domestic supply of bifacial modules and the
economic drag that a two-year tariff of 15% on the global supply of modules will cause for
the development of new projects.

Regarding 301 tariffs, the decision-making process has moved from an interagency level
to the White House. We have continued to press our desired outcome as either (a) leaving
the Li-ion battery tariff at 7.5% and the cell tariff at 25% or (b) equalizing the tariff inversion
at 7.5% for both products. ACP effectively worked to get agency-level input to the process
with particular success at the Departments of Commerce and Energy. This has been
important to neutralize the one agency advocating against us – USTR – which wants to
equalize the inversion at 25% for both products. Our staff is in discussions with NSC staff
about the benefits of outcome (b) above and, at their request, are helping prepare them
for inevitable pushback from the tariff hardliners and anti-China hawks who aim to raise
China tariff levels and see the entire 301 review process as political regardless of the
economic collateral damage. Decisions on the 201 and 301 tariffs are expected within the
next few weeks.

ACP is also seeking, with court consent, to be involved in a recent case brought by Auxin
Solar in the Court of International Trade (CIT). The case aims to have the court declare the
24-month waiver, enacted by President Biden in June 2022, as null and void. In connection
with the case, Auxin is also seeking to have the court issue a preliminary injunction which
would suspend all customs paperwork for modules imported from SE Asia going back
about one year and leave those customs entries potentially liable for retroactive tariffs. The
main goal of our intervention will be to support DOJ’s position that this injunction should
not be granted. Intervention is warranted because, if the injunction is granted, several ACP
member companies will have to deal with a potentially large and unfunded liability in terms
of retroactive tariffs that were not paid because companies relied on the President’s tariff
moratorium. We feel strongly that the industry voice is needed to support DOJ opposition
to the injunction, particularly given the financial stress this kind of injunctive order would
put on our companies.

On the efforts to support domestic manufacturing, ACP is leading the charge to correct
administrability issues and uncertainty in Treasury's domestic content adder guidance.
ACP is engaged with the Administration on priority issues like taxpayer costs and
component/subcomponent definitions and will submit comments to Treasury ahead of
proposed rules expected in the spring. Relatedly, ACP will file formal comments on the
45X Advanced Manufacturing Production Tax Credits that request minor clarifications and
affirm the overall workability of the proposed rules.

ACP CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION P a g e | 29

Finally, ACP continues our efforts to create supply chain roadmaps that will outline policy
tools and solutions to enable a stable and competitive transition to a de-risked U.S. supply
chain. We will convene our first roundtable on solar supply chains with working-level staff
at other trade associations and D.C. groups in late February. Through the roundtable effort,
ACP aims to garner ideas and feedback and build a stronger network of allies on supply
chain policies. In addition, we are beginning our work to build an energy storage roadmap
through research studies on the critical mineral and upstream processing manufacturing
steps.

Promoting Workable Siting and Permitting at the Federal, State & Local
Levels

Key Performance Indicators

1) Achieve practical reforms and revisions to federal permitting rules that accelerate
timelines, reduce uncertainty, and lower costs.
2) Leverage state legislative and regulatory initiatives to improve state and local siting
and permitting conditions for clean energy projects.
3) Defend against and defeat policy proposals that make it more difficult to develop
clean energy projects.

There are potential barriers and opportunities on siting and permitting at the federal, state,
and local levels. ACP actively engages in each.

Federal

ACP anticipates final rules this year from the Department of the Interior (namely from U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM)) on important
topics such as Eagle Take Permit Program revisions (impacts wind and transmission
mostly, expected to include general permit programs for both that should expedite
coverage), BLM Conservation and Land Health Rule (which without incorporating
suggestions filed by ACP could undermine permitting of clean energy), National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Phase 2 reforms, a regulatory reform proposal from BLM
for wind and solar (which is also expected to include an ability to pursue stand-alone
storage projects on public lands), and several targeted reforms under the Endangered
Species Act (ESA). ACP filed detailed written comments in all these proceedings with
specific recommendations for improvements to draft rules, met with Administration
officials to discuss, and in some cases, such as the eagle rule, coordinated with

30 | P a g e ACP CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION

conservation organizations influential with Interior to file joint comments and hold joint
meetings with officials to maximize the chances of securing wins.

The BLM just published an updated planning document for solar development on public
lands in 11 western states. ACP will be engaging in this proceeding. Comments are due in
April. We just filed comments in January on a BLM land use plan amendment because it
could set a precedent for managing lands for conservation and to the exclusion of wind,
solar, storage, and transmission development. We encouraged a more balanced approach.

There may be a draft rule published as early as this summer to establish a permit program
under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) impacting at least wind and transmission.

FWS will be finalizing a listing decision for the tri-colored bat and will be publishing a draft
decision on the little brown bat. If both are listed as threatened or endangered, it could
impact both development and operation of wind facilities across much of the United
States, along with tree-clearing activities related to transmission, solar, and storage. ACP
filed detailed comments in these proceedings, which included expert biological evidence.
We have also been working with FWS regional leadership and headquarters over the last
18 months to secure reductions in bat-related monitoring at wind facilities under certain
conditions that should be finalized in Q1 2024, secured some flexibility in mitigation by
allowing research to qualify in some circumstances, and are initiating work with them to
improve the usability of an existing template habitat conservation plan previously
negotiated with industry. The hoary bat is now on the FWS national listing workplan, with
negative impacts primarily attributable to wind energy. A listing would affect virtually all
wind facilities in North America and could also have implications for tree-clearing activities
for solar, storage, and transmission. ACP is engaged in an industry working group to
develop a strategy aimed at preventing a species listing.

ACP continues to collaborate with a diverse set of industry associations to advance

permitting reform in Congress, including renewable and other energy and utility trades, oil
and gas trades, and broader business groups such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Recognizing that a bipartisan agreement would likely need to include reforms to both
environmental laws and transmission policies, we have worked to cultivate support across
the political aisle from champions like Rep. John Curtis (R-UT) and Rep. Scott Peters (D-
CA), while also collaborating with both the majority and minority Senate Energy and
Natural Resources Committee staff. Recognizing that the likelihood of legislative success
is very slim in the 118th Congress, our efforts remain primarily focused on continuing to
build momentum to take advantage of a potential window of opportunity in early 2025.

ACP CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION P a g e | 31

State

ACP is coordinating with regional partners on state-level legislation and regulatory

proceedings – both offensive and defensive. We anticipate, for example, state-level siting
legislation in Colorado, Virginia, Iowa, and Indiana this year, building on previous industry
wins in Illinois and Michigan. ACP is providing expert drafting assistance on the legislation
and has provided written comments in proceedings like best management practices for
wind and/or solar proposed by state agencies in Michigan and Georgia. ACP is working
with members on model provisions, including for storage, and developing messaging
materials on topics of concern to stakeholders, e.g., fires, public safety, property values,
and similar topics.
ACP is also building our relationship with the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies
(AFWA), the national trade organization for state fish and wildlife departments, and its
members. ACP was the first energy industry representative invited to join AFWA. We
participate in three committees involved in energy and wildlife issues, which allows us to
educate those officials, provide an industry perspective on topics that come up, and
provides early warning of state-level concerns about wind and solar. In 2023, we jointly
developed and published a state agency-wind industry communications protocol to
address the limited engagement of some developers, which was a key concern of state
wildlife officials,. In 2024, we will jointly publish a similar document on solar
communications.

ACP is working with members to develop a solar site assessment framework as a proactive
tool to demonstrate industry’s responsible development processes and try to head off
federal and/or state efforts to develop siting guidelines.

Local

In 2023, ACP revived “Power Up” coalitions in Iowa, Colorado, Virginia, and Nebraska , to
help address local opposition that is growing and stopping clean energy projects. The
Power Ups are led by a local individual on the ground in a state but are managed by ACP
D.C. staff in coordination with a grassroots consulting firm. They are focused on identifying
grass tops leaders in individual counties and building coalitions with business leaders,
economic development officials, rural and agricultural voices, county and state elected
officials, faith leaders, college leaders etc. that can be activated to support clean energy
generally, as well as support for individual projects through meetings, media outreach
(such a Letters to the Editor and Op-Eds), and participation in permitting hearings and

32 | P a g e ACP CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION

town hall and related forums. The goal is to seed the ground more favorably in targeted
counties to create a more favorable environment for securing project approvals.

In 2024, ACP is planning to continue these coalitions as we evaluate their performance

and assess whether there are more efficient ways to provide these services to members.
This work is being done in coordination with our “Fuel for Thought” Campaign that is
focused on federal officials in targeted states to support defense of the Inflation Reduction
Act.

Removing Barriers in Wholesale Markets and Advancing Robust

Transmission

Key Performance Indicators

1) Build a best-in-class markets and transmission team, including hiring two
additional professional staff.
2) Develop and execute a strategy to advance advantageous transmission planning
and market structures in key RTOs and ISOs.
3) Develop ACP policy positions on timely and key transmission topics, including cost
allocation, planning, permitting, and interconnection.
4) Ensure that any future federal energy or permitting reform authorizing legislation
includes transmission provisions aligning with ACP policy positions.

To effect change in the transmission planning process and to a promote the design of
better functioning markets that support reliability through clean energy resources, we
need to tackle the issues on all fronts: administrative and regulatory (FERC, NERC,
ISO/RTOs, EPA, DOE, and state agencies where appropriate), federal legislation, and
building a better public narrative.

Administrative and Regulatory

Many of the barriers for clean energy to continue to scale are a result of the decisions
made at the respective ISO/RTO and, where there is no market, at the state utility
commissions. We have already filled ACP’s Senior Eastern Markets Director position and
will hire the Western and ERCOT Directors by the end of Q2. Building a best-in-class
markets and transmission team will allow us to proactively engage policy makers at the
point where important decisions are made during regulatory/stakeholder proceedings.

The two top priorities in the regulatory space are interconnection and transmission
planning, either through FERC or at the RTOs.

ACP CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION P a g e | 33

The FERC Order No. 2023 issued last year is a good first step, but more work is needed to
truly unlock interconnection queues. Compliance filings for Order No. 2023 are due in April
2024. ACP is monitoring the compliance filings submitted by RTOs and non-RTO
transmission providers during this process. ACP will actively engage in those stakeholder
processes and filings before FERC to ensure compliance with the spirit of the Order.
Additionally, ACP is developing a list of additional measures beyond FERC Order 2023 that
will result in decreased wait times needed to interconnect clean energy resources onto
the grid.

ACP will also proactively advocate for transmission planning reform at various venues. At
FERC, ACP is actively pushing for the Commission to issue its Final Transmission Planning
Rule and will engage in both the Final Order and Compliance filings to ensure the rule
includes member priorities. Additionally, ACP will continue to engage the RTOs in their
current Transmission Planning stakeholder processes.
We will more proactively shape markets through advocacy at RTOs and FERC, such as
pushing for accurate capacity accreditation of clean energy resources, whether through a
technical conference at FERC, or through the RTO-specific stakeholder processes. Also,
we will pursue market reforms that will adequately value the reliability of clean energy
resources. In addition, we will advocate for markets to include the flexibility and ramping
products that storage resources can provide. This year, we have added more coverage at
NERC to engage in the development of standards for inverter-based resources specifically
considering the winter peaking incidents.

Federal Legislation
We are working to ensure that any future federal energy or permitting reform authorizing
legislation includes transmission provisions aligned with ACP policy positions. We have
already planned for a Congressional staff educational briefing for the House Grid
Innovation Caucus about the benefits and need for better transmission planning with a
companion Senate session. We are hosting a Transmission Leadership Breakfast that will
include key staff from Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chair Manchin
and Ranking Member Barrasso.

The Public
ACP is proactively educating policymakers and the public on both the full suite of benefits
of developing clean energy resources, as well as the importance of building out a robust,
well-planned transmission system. We have already more actively engaged the press

34 | P a g e ACP CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION

following extreme weather events to explain how clean energy provided added reliability
to the grid. We also published a white paper on the economic benefits of transmission and
are planning more ways to engage with policymakers. We will pursue engagement at
NARUC and create our own forums at ACP conferences such as at the Siting and
Permitting, CLEANPOWER, Storage and Offshore Wind Conferences. We are also
planning to hold a Grid Policy Forum in the Fall at ACP’s new office space.

ACP CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION P a g e | 35

WORKFORCE, SAFETY, AND THE CLEAN POWER
INSTITUTE
Key Performance Indicators
1) Build commitment from Board member companies on the adoption of standards
and guidelines as a key mechanism for broader industry improvement.
2) Develop and implement a wind tech strategy and electrician recruitment strategies.
3) Develop a learning management system to include database, credentialing
requirements, and pilot online courses.
4) Build a wind tech certification process and system of testing, partnering with key
industry training partners as relevant.

The Clean Power Institute (CPI), ACP’s 501(c)(3) affiliate, was activated in early 2023 to
advance the clean energy workforce and be a foundation for bridging the gap between
industry and key stakeholders. CPI’s strategy for 2024 is focused on three key pillars: (1)
workforce development that draws talent from all communities; (2) defending and
promoting recent historic clean energy investments across the country; and (3) effectively
engaging with E-NGOs, labor, local economic development authorities and other key
stakeholders in a sustained, coordinated, and strategic manner. The Q1 priorities detailed
in this memo reflect CPI’s workforce development efforts. The priorities for the second and
third pillars listed above are incorporated into ACP’s communication and advocacy
strategies.

Leveraging the Workforce Advisory Council

The clean energy industry needs to hire more than 500,000 workers in the next six years
in an increasingly competitive market for talent. CPI’s vision is to be a driving force in
developing a stable, skilled, and safe clean energy workforce that meets industry needs
and reflects the diversity of our country. The scale of this task is daunting, and it requires
the entire industry to rally together to be successful.

To identify the strategies with the highest potential for impact and to activate the resources
to implement them, CPI established the Workforce Leadership Council (WLC), an
industry-wide planning assembly of executive leadership from solar, wind, and battery
storage companies; philanthropists; and senior leaders from influential workforce
development and community development organizations.

36 | P a g e ACP CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION

Led by the Chair of CPI’s board, Laura Beane, WLC members include:

Two Major Workforce Initiatives Underway

Building from ACP’s solid foundation in safety and operations, the Workforce Leadership
Council identified two top priorities for Q1.

Training Guidelines
Recruiting, training, and upholding the highest
safety standards for the clean energy workforce
has long been a focus for ACP and a priority of
the Board. ACP Board members identified the
need for common training guidelines for wind
techs that would provide a North Star for basic
safety and technical training while allowing
companies flexibility in developing advanced training to meet their unique needs. In 2023,
ACP led a rigorous process in partnership with the Global Wind Organization to develop
common training guidelines for entry-level wind techs. More than 25 companies
participated in developing this consensus document and/or added comments, leading to
the publication of Guidelines for Entry-Level Wind Technician Training in 2023.

ACP CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION P a g e | 37

In 2024, ACP/CPI will work with members and training centers to adopt these guidelines
while building companion guidelines for entry-level solar and battery technician training.
Comments have been gathered for Guidelines for Energy-Level Solar Technician Training,
and the final version will be published in early February 2024. Draft battery tech guidelines
also are expected to be released in early February 2024.

Initial Industry-Wide Recruitment Effort

As a nascent industry, today’s youth, especially those from disadvantaged communities,
do not know about the career pathways available to them in clean energy. ACP/CPI is
particularly well-positioned to develop and advance an industry-wide awareness
campaign for clean energy jobs.

The Case for Starting with Wind Techs. Interviews with leading clean energy company
executives and data on job vacancy rates revealed one role to consistently be the greatest
challenge to fill and retain: wind techs. These roles will experience the greatest rate of
growth (100%) and are uniquely challenging to recruit for and retain because they require
specialized training, are physically demanding and dangerous, and are often based in
isolated locations. In addition, wind techs are leaving the industry at an alarming rate. Our
research shows that wind tech turnover ranges from 15-25%, creating shortages at service
sites and increasing recruiting and training costs. Compounding the impact of this
attrition, post-COVID applications to join the industry have decreased per job posting,
narrowing the available recruitment market.

An Industry Approach to the Challenge. CPI will hire a marketing firm to develop a
campaign strategy and collateral that will appeal to talent from diverse backgrounds: the
demographics making up the current base of talent, women, people of color, and non-
English speakers. Collateral will include a range of materials with key messages, mediums,
and placements based on findings related to what grabs the attention of these
demographics and motivates them to apply for wind tech jobs – videos, bus ads, billboards,
etc. The campaign strategy will be comprehensive, including target channels, key markets,
key messages, and visuals.

Working in partnership with industry and community-based organizations, public schools,

the military, training institutions, and national and local workforce councils, CPI will launch
the campaign in key markets. Companies interested in being a part of this campaign
should contact Laura Wilson Phelan ([email protected]).

38 | P a g e ACP CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION

How You Can Get Involved
1) Adopt the Training Guidelines
The guidelines are only as useful if they are implemented. More than 10 companies
have already evaluated their training against the ACP guidelines, and we invite you
to become part of this group. Connect your training/health and safety leads with
Josh Rogers ([email protected]) to get support on integrating the guidelines
into your basic safety and technical training guidelines.
2) Weigh in on the Solar and Battery Tech Guidelines
We want the solar and battery guidelines to be as useful as the wind ones have
proven so far. Encourage your training/health and safety leads to comment on the
solar and battery training guidelines to ensure they reflect the best thinking of the
industry. Contact Josh Rogers ([email protected]) for more information.
3) Sponsor the Recruitment Campaigns
CPI would be delighted to include your company in the wind tech recruitment
campaign. We are seeking campaign sponsors who would like to get their brand
out in front of potential recruits and weigh in on geographic priorities for our initial
recruitment effort. Contact Laura Wilson Phelan ([email protected]) to
learn more.

ACP CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION P a g e | 39

APPENDIX A: KEY IRA GUIDANCE DATES

Guidance Background Comment Deadline/Status

Section 48 Proposed rule issued Nov. 2023 January 22, 2024 – submitted
(Investment Tax updating the definition of “energy comments on
Credit) property” and scope of the ITC interconnection property,
offshore wind, among others
Section 45X Proposed rule issued Dec. 2023 February 13, 2024 –
(Advanced affecting eligible comments due
Manufacturing wind/solar/battery components
Credit)
Section 45V Proposed rule issued Dec. 2023 February 26, 2024 –
(Clean Hydrogen setting forth requirements for the comments due
Credit) three pillars for claiming the
hydrogen production credit
Domestic Content Notice of intent to propose rule Proposed rule expected
issued May 2023 setting forth spring 2024 – submit further
requirements for claiming comments in Feb. 2024 to
domestic content bonus credit influence proposed rule
Energy Notice of intent to propose rule Proposed rule expected
Communities issued June 2023 issued summer 2024 – submit
addressing the requirements to further comments in
qualify for the energy community advance to influence
bonus credit
Labor Proposed rule issued Aug. 2023 Additional guidance
Requirements regarding prevailing wage and expected in spring 2024 –
apprenticeship requirements submit further comments in
advance to influence
Transferability/ Proposed rule issued June 2023 Final rule expected fall 2024
Direct Pay regarding transferability and
direct pay
Tech Neutral Guidance setting forth rules for Proposed rule expected
Credit transition to tech-neutral credits spring 2024 – submit
starting in 2025 comments in advance to
influence

ACP CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION Page |i

APPENDIX B: ACP REGIONAL ORGANIZATION
UPDATES
As discussed above, ACP’s regional organizations are key partners to the local and state-
level advocacy critical to driving clean energy deployment across the country and to
maintaining broad and deep support for the clean energy provisions of the IRA. Below is a
short summary from each organization on Q4 highlights and plans for 2024. We intend
this section to be part of the Board books going forward in order to elevate their hard and
important work.

Advanced Power Alliance (APA)

For over 20 years, APA has maintained a strong industry voice in legislative, regulatory, and
technical affairs across the Southwest Power Pool (SPP), Electric Reliability Council of Texas
(ERCOT) and Southeast regions.
Expanding access to and the capacity of the transmission system continues to be central
to Advanced Power Alliance’s work in ERCOT and SPP. In ERCOT, which has been
especially active, the APA team has been working in response to recent revision requests
with unprecedented proposals for retroactive ride-through requirements on inverter-
based resources and overburdensome state of charge responsibilities for battery energy
storage. On the Texas Legislative front, there is no 2024 legislative session, but nearly 60
incumbent lawmakers face challengers in the upcoming March 5 Primary Election. APA
continues to push the clean energy industry to step up political involvement in the state
that leads in installed capacity of both of wind and solar power, with more on the way.
Coordination with American Energy Action on the electoral side is key, but also essential
are non-corporate dollars contributed to candidates by individuals or through Political
Action Committees. APA is coordinating industry-only fundraisers for its legislative
champions and has partnered with a firm to provide PAC creation and management
services for companies needing them.

On the legal front, several issues have required a formal legal response. We have engaged
legal counsel on questions regarding whether local governments may impose a
moratorium on utility-scale solar projects using restrictions through the Texas
Transportation Code, if components of projects such as Power Purchase Agreements or
Production Tax Credits should be considered as tangible property under the Texas Tax
Code, and whether landmen negotiating a wind lease (but not a lease involving mineral

ii | P a g e ACP CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION

interests) should be required to hold a license from the Texas Real Estate Commission.
Each instance likely foreshadows a proposal in the legislative session in 2025. Just as we
have done with each of the legal filings, the APA will continue to advocate for non-
discriminatory pro-business policies and will work to build broad coalitions of stakeholders
outside of clean energy to support our positions.

Legislative sessions are convened across the APA footprint with siting and other
legislation being faced in Georgia, Louisiana, Kansas, and elsewhere. APA’s SPP, ERCOT,
and Southeast teams are coordinating with ACP to provide a coordinated response.

Jeff Clark, President & CEO

[email protected]

Alliance for Clean Energy New York (ACE NY)

ACE NY promotes the use of clean, renewable electricity technologies and energy efficiency
in New York state, in order to increase energy diversity and security, boost economic
development, improve public health, and reduce air pollution.
In December 2023, the Alliance for Clean Energy New York (ACE NY) and the New York
Offshore Wind Alliance (NYOWA) joined with state and local officials and like-minded
organizations to celebrate the “first power” delivered to New York from the South Fork
(Offshore) Wind Farm. As part of the ceremony, many state and local officials took a boat
tour of the site. This project, expected to be completed soon, will provide power to 70,000
Long Island households and is a major milestone for New York’s offshore wind industry.

Photo Credit: NYSERDA

Barry Wygel, Communications Director

[email protected]

ACP CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION P a g e | iii

Clean Grid Alliance (CGA)
The CGA footprint includes nine states – Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota,
Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. CGA work includes Midcontinent
Independent System Operator (MISO) technical transmission, markets, and operations work
with our 9 states, that also includes MISO South states of Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi,
and a small part of Texas.
CGA’s state advocacy team lead policy/advocacy on clean/advanced energy in each of
our nine states. As of January 1, 2024, we launched Clean Grid Association, a 501(c)(6)
trade organization for the Midwest. Clean Grid Association founding board members
include Apex Clean Energy, Clearway, EDF Renewables, EDPR, Invenergy, National Grid
Renewables, NextEra Energy Resources, Ørsted, Pattern, and RWE. We are grateful to our
founding board for their leadership and help taking our advocacy capabilities to the next
level.

We are thrilled to be working closely with ACP on state advocacy and lobbying in 2024
with our advocacy partner CG Association. CG Association (CGA) has lobbyists in eight
states in 2024 as we grow our brand and drive a larger proactive agenda in the Midwest.
A few highlights from Q4 2023 and early 2024 include:

Successful statewide renewable energy/storage siting legislation in Illinois and Michigan.

• 2024 PROACTIVE state priorities include: Iowa (siting); Illinois (storage incentives,
IPA procurement improvements); Minnesota (storage incentives, permitting
reform); Missouri (solar property taxes).
• Creating/managing the clean energy message/playing defense during 2024
legislative sessions in: Indiana, Michigan, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin.

During 2023 and early 2024, with a grant from ACP and additional industry funding, CGA
has created/hosted wind, solar and battery storage “101” events. The state/local
communities were selected by working with developers to identify areas where early-
stage development is underway, and folks could use good, basic information about
renewable energy. We have held the 101 events in places where the community was
supportive of renewable development, and locations that were more challenging.

On long range transmission planning, CGA is proactively participating in the MISO

stakeholder process to produce a robust package of transmission lines for Tranche 2.
Workshops are scheduled all through early 2024 as MISO works through its modeling for
another large package of transmission lines. CGA’s main goal is to keep the package of

iv | P a g e ACP CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION

lines as large as possible to facilitate the clean energy transition, and to move them into
the state regulatory process immediately upon approval by the MISO Board of Directors.
Board approval is scheduled for sometime in later 2024.

Beth Soholt, Executive Director

[email protected]

Interwest Energy Alliance

Interwest is a regional trade association representing some of the largest developers and
manufacturers of large-scale renewable energy in the world. Their mission is to create
market opportunities for utility-scale renewables across the Interior West through policy and
regulatory intervention. With deep policy knowledge, convening skills, and advocacy reach
of its experienced Board of Directors and staff, Interwest is a leading regional driver for the
responsible expansion of renewable energy in Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah,
and Wyoming.
For Colorado, Interwest partnered with ACP to develop Statewide Siting and
Decommissioning bill language, based on successful industry initiatives in IL and MI. The
Polis Administration is adopting our proposed draft bill language as a starting point for
legislation to be introduced in the coming weeks. In addition, the Colorado Electric
Transmission Authority (CETA) was created following Interwest advocacy in the 2021
Legislative Session. CETA released a draft Strategic Plan in November 2023 and is actively
incorporating feedback from Interwest and other parties. Additionally, CETA has begun a
new transmission planning study analyzing the need for expanded transmission capacity
in Colorado.
The Western Interstate Energy Board (WIEB) launched the “West-wide Governance
Pathways Initiative,” which is developing options to create a new entity with an
independent governance structure that can oversee an expansive suite of West-wide
wholesale electricity markets and related functions. Interwest serves on the Launch
Committee.

The Western Power Pool (WPP) developed the Western Transmission Expansion Coalition
(WestTEC) to explore a new approach for West-wide transmission planning that will result
in an actionable transmission plan to address regional and inter-regional needs. Interwest
serves on the Steering Committee and Technical Committee.

Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs (D) issued a strong letter to Representative Gail Griffin (R),
supporting renewable energy and refuting Rep. Griffin’s claim that renewable energy

ACP CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION Page |v

projects could go bankrupt and pollute state lands. For a copy of the letter, please contact
Sarah Cottrell Propst. Also in Arizona, Tucson Electric Power and UniSource Energy
Services released a new all-source RFP for up to 625 MW of renewable and energy
efficiency resources, and up to 825 MW of “firm capacity” resources.

In New Mexico, Southwestern Public Service released its 2023 IRP showing a large
renewable need of 4,281 MW to 6,631 MW of new clean energy resources (wind and solar),
in addition to 1,043 MW to 4,290 MW from dispatchable resources.

Rikki Seguin, Executive Director

[email protected]

MAREC Action
MAREC Action is a coalition of utility-scale solar, wind, and battery storage developers, wind
turbine and solar panel manufacturers, and public interest organizations dedicated to
promoting the growth and development of renewable energy in the Mid-Atlantic region.
They offer expert guidance and advocacy on policy and regulatory issues, as well as a unified
voice for the industry. Members of MAREC Action value a voice and seat at the table in
industry discussions.

MAREC Action’s fourth quarter 2023 featured significant advocacy wins and positive
internal changes. Kentucky was a major focus for their land-based renewables advocacy.
They hosted a successful lobby day on October 17th in Frankfort, featuring eight member
companies attending meetings with key legislators and members of Governor Beshear’s
staff. In November, their executive director Evan Vaughan was invited to testify before the
Joint House and Senate Committee on Natural Resources & Energy—where he highlighted
the reliability benefits solar can add to the grid as part of an “all of the above” energy
solution.

Following on a major win with the passage of Maryland’s POWER Act—which expanded
offshore wind and transmission earlier this year—they continued to partner with ACP on
efforts to maximize BOEM’s upcoming Central Atlantic lease auction by coordinating a
joint letter from four Delaware state legislators (including the chairs of the House and
Senate Energy Committees) to Director Klein at BOEM. Internally, MAREC Action created
a new PJM Advocacy Committee to coordinate utility-scale renewable energy and storage
efforts within the PJM process. Last but not least, after six years of distinguished service
as MAREC Action’s Board President, Tom Carlson from EDF Renewables passed the torch
to Rachael Estes from Apex Clean Energy!

vi | P a g e ACP CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION

Pictured, several participants from our Frankfort, Kentucky, lobby day:

Evan Vaughan, Executive Director

[email protected]

Renewable Northwest
Founded in 1994, Renewable Northwest has grown to become one of the nation’s most
impactful renewable energy advocacy organizations. Their strength comes from our
members, a unique and powerful coalition of renewable energy professionals, energy buyers
and marketers, ratepayer advocates, and environmental NGOs. Together, these groups
contribute their respective talents towards the socially and environmentally responsible
advancement of clean energy projects across our region.

Bonneville Power Authority (BPA): In 2023, RNW and partner NIPPC published a study
entitled BPA and the Grid the NW Needs which addresses long-standing issues with
interconnection and transmission. They worked over the year to educate NW delegation
members of Congress on the lack of investment and regional planning participation on
BPA's behalf and this work has paid off in spades. BPA, with Renewable Northwest’s
support and in partnership with Western Power Pool, decided to participate in a regional
transmission planning effort that has just kicked off. WestTEC will be a west-wide regional
planning entity, inclusive of Northern Grid and WestConnect, and the first which BPA will
be an active participant in. This work was funded in part by membership dues and in part
by a generous grant from Google. 2024's strategy will be funded fully by the Clean Grid
Initiative.

ACP CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION P a g e | vii

Pathways Initiative: RNW was engaged in early discussions, working across OR, WA and
CA, to set up the Western Governance Pathways Initiative which is exploring governance
solutions for a west-wide market.

SPP/EDAM: RNW has been heavily active and supportive of both day-ahead market
efforts and has committee seats on executive and stakeholder focused committees.

Clean Grid Campaign: RNW in partnership with the Oregon Environmental Council
successfully launched the Clean Grid Campaign which is a capacity building effort to
educate clean energy and climate focused advocates on the issues developing in the
regional market context to prevent unhelpful state focused policy and regulatory action.

State Legislative and Policy Work:

Oregon: RNW was successful in passing siting legislation in Oregon which will open up
more opportunities for solar development on agricultural lands. Rulemaking is underway.

Washington: RNW was successful through legislation in WA of also passing siting

streamlining legislation and expanded definitions for battery storage.

Montana: Believe it or not, some positive sitting legislation was passed in Montana also.
Additionally, they killed a tax related bill which was targeting RE and an
anticompetitive ROFR for use of transmission which would negatively impact RE.

Nicole Hughes, Executive Director

[email protected]

Southern Renewable Energy Association (SREA)

The Southern Renewable Energy Association (SREA) is an industry-led initiative that
promotes responsible use and development of wind energy, solar energy, energy storage
and transmission solutions in the South. Their vision is for renewable energy to become a
leading source of energy in the South and their mission is to promote responsible use and
development of renewable energy in the South. SREA's geographic region covers seven
Southeastern states: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, and
Tennessee.

In the Southeastern Regional Transmission Planning process, four out of five transmission
planning studies were submitted by SREA. Those studies found minimal transmission
upgrade requirements to enable nearly 7 GW worth of power flows across the southeast.

viii | P a g e ACP CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION

Georgia Power submitted an IRP update in October seeking the addition of 1 GW worth of
batteries, and recently opened an RFP for 3.3 GW of renewable energy.

SREA is working on a cost allocation proposal for MISO's Long Range Transmission
Planning process for Tranche 3 projects in MISO South and we expect final versions in
Q2.

Simon Mahan, Executive Director

[email protected]

ACP CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION P a g e | ix

APPENDIX C: IRA PRESERVATION – PRIORITY
REPUBLICANS
Alaska Sen. Murkowski
Arizona Rep. Schweikert Rep. Lesko
California Rep. Valadao
Florida Rep. Buchanan
Georgia Rep. Allen
Idaho Sen. Crapo
Illinois Rep. LaHood
Rep. Miller- Sen.
Iowa Rep. Feenstra Rep. Hinson Meeks Grassley Sen. Ernst
Kansas Rep. Estes Sen. Moran
Louisiana Sen. Cassidy
Maine Sen. Collins
Mississippi Sen. Wicker
Montana Sen. Daines
Nebraska Rep. Bacon
Nevada Rep. Amodei
Rep. Rep. Rep.
New York Rep. Tenney Garbarino Rep. Lawler Malliotakis Molinaro
North
Carolina Rep. Rouzer Sen. Tillis
Ohio Rep. Latta
Oklahoma Sen. Lankford Rep. Cole
Rep.
Oregon Rep. Bentz DeRemer
Pennsylvania Rep. Fitzpatrick
South
Carolina Rep. Norman Rep. Duncan Sen. Scott Sen. Graham Rep. Mace
South Dakota Rep. Johnson Sen. Thune
Rep.
Tennessee Sen. Hagerty Fleischmann
Texas Rep. Arrington Rep. Pfluger Sen. Cornyn
Sen.
Utah Rep. Curtis Rep. Moore Romney
Virginia Rep. Kiggans
West Virginia Sen. Capito
Strikethrough indicates retirement after upcoming election

x|Page ACP CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION

APPENDIX D: COMMUNICATIONS
Staffing Up
The effort to defend the IRA is a key part of a larger communications and public relations
program at ACP. 2023 was a year of expansion and growth. We doubled our comms staff,
growing from six to 13, enabling greater media engagement and increasing capacity for
proactive media outreach and rapid response. This new structure has allowed us to
position each member of the media team to focus on a specific portfolio of issues and
technologies. With this growth, we have been able to elevate ACP’s role as a credible,
trusted source for the clean power industry.

Expert Resources – We have engaged support at the national and state levels to augment
our internal efforts, including a Beltway PR Firm (Lot 16), pollsters (GSM, Morning Consult
and Locust Group), and new, sophisticated tracking tools and ad support (Tunnl and
Applecart, to name a few).

Day-to-Day Comms – We maintain a steady drumbeat of coverage with incoming media

queries and creating our own news hooks to advance a positive narrative about the
industry:

• More aggressive posture from ACP Leadership is driving more coverage.

• Shaping the news with reporter one-on-ones, briefings, and backgrounders.

ACP CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION P a g e | xi

 • Rapid response statements; ACP Issued more than 100 public statements or
releases in 2023, just over 2 releases per week, every week.
• An expanded talking points library shared with all communications representatives.
• Trusted resources, reports, studies, white papers, fact sheets and more (20 reports
and 30 fact sheets in 2023).
• Enhanced social media engagement, including amplifying member news.
• Developing thought-leadership opportunities for ACP Board members via new
webinar platforms (PowerCast) and real-world events.

Priority Issues – The restructured Priority Issue Teams (PITs) requires Comms to be fully
integrated into driving advocacy priorities. For each, we will identify target audiences and
employ a variety of paid, earned, owned and social media to advance the industry’s point
of view and create greater visibility and understanding of our issues.

• Growing a Stable Offshore Wind Industry: Strengthening public support for wind
projects.
• Siting and Permitting: Positioning ACP as the leading voice on federal permitting
reform.
• Transmission: Building support for transmission among key influencers.
• Supply Chain: Owning the manufacturing renaissance narrative while also
promoting ACP’s view on bad trade policy.

Countering Misinformation – National efforts to mislead the public – by inventing or

weaponizing local concerns – has become a real threat. From whales and power outages
to battery fires and bats and birds, misinformation campaigns are undermining all
renewable technologies and creating a negative overall impression that threatens our
progress. ACP is undertaking a dedicated campaign to get the facts out and counter
threats by:

• Deploying facts, resources, and research to reporters early and often.

• Utilizing third-party validators with media.
• Developing research with credible organizations to quantify the rise of
misinformation as well as the opponents.
• Building allies in key markets on all technologies to coordinate and collaborate on
setting the record straight.
• Utilizing paid media to set the record straight in key markets and with key
audiences as needed.

xii | P a g e ACP CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION

Member Participation – Multiple levels of engagement opportunities.

• New in 2023, the Communications Task Force includes Communications

representatives from Board companies, serving in a similar capacity as PASC to
provide guidance and direction on strategy, messaging, and campaigns.
• Communications Committee with hundreds of member company representatives
from across the industry who tune in once a month to hear updates on our efforts
and get resources.
• Offshore Wind Communicators with representatives from the industry, who
convene once a month.

Shifting from Reactive to Proactive

This has been the result of an intentional effort to have a stronger and more vocal position
on our advocacy priorities and deeper media relationships. Increased engagement with
reporters has resulted in greater volume of mentions in addition to seeing a greater
positive or neutral outcome in those mentions.

Over the course of the year, we hosted nearly a dozen briefings to inform and shape stories
to ensure they reflected the industry’s point of view. These efforts included the following:

• Briefing - November 2, 2022: ACP Q3 Market Report

• Briefing - December 5, 2022: California Offshore Wind Lease Sale
• Briefing - March 14, 2023: Auxin Solar Congressional Review Act
• Reporter breakfast - April 14, 2023: Is the IRA Working?
• Reporter Meet & Greet - May 23, 2023
• Briefing - June 15, 2023: Green Hydrogen Framework
• Briefing - August 4, 2023: Investing in America Report
• Briefing - October 25, 2023: ACP Hydrodynamics Study on OSW and Whales
• Reporter Breakfast - December 1, 2023: A Clean Energy Future: State of the Industry
and a Look to 2024

Here is a sampling of national news stories secured in the past year:

ACP CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION P a g e | xiii

 Biden’s Green Subsidies Are Attracting
U.S. has enough clean energy to power
Billions of Dollars to Red States
65 million homes (11/01/23)
(1/23/23)

Whale deaths exploited in 'cynical US installs record clean power capacity

disinformation' campaign against despite ‘disappointing’ onshore wind
offshore wind power, advocates say (11/01/23)
(2/16/23) US clean power industry eyes big
expansion despite challenges, trade
An activist group is spreading group says (12/04/23)
misinformation to stop solar projects in
*While ACP was not highlighted in the piece, we
rural America* (2/18/23)
worked extensively with a member company to
Renewables group urges left to support provide background.
permitting reform (4/14/23)

Live from ‘clean energy Coachella’

(5/25/23)

Bid to End Hydrogen Tax Feud Comes

With Tight Clean-Power Limits
(6/15/23)

Nearly 80 major clean energy factories

announced in year since Biden’s IRA
passed: ‘It seems like every week
there’s a new factory facility
somewhere’ (7/24/23)

Year after Biden’s climate bill sees

spike in renewable energy investment,
industry says (8/07/23)

American Clean Power Tallies Potential

Impact of IRA at $270B (8/07/23)

How the Inflation Reduction Act Has

Reshaped the U.S.—and The World
(8/11/23)

Whale Buffer Zone Could Thwart 3

Gigawatts of US Offshore Wind
(10/25/23)

xiv | P a g e ACP CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION

Creating News Hooks – In conjunction with our in-house team, over the last 16 months
we released 23 research reports to the media that have generated significant amounts
of coverage. Importantly, to ensure we could capitalize on a wave of ACP member
company announcements following the IRA, we worked together with ACP Research &
Analytics to develop the “Investing in America” report which provided a regular snapshot
of company announcements on new facilities, jobs, or economic impact and investments.
The popularity of this data led to the development of a regularly updated microsite that
tells the story of the clean energy industry nationally and by state. We continue to drive
people to the microsite, including highlighting key milestones.

Deepening Engagement Across ACP Social Channels. Utilizing social media to

advance advocacy priorities, combat misinformation, and drive the narrative of the clean
power industry, we’ve carried out a robust and strategic social media comms plan. This
includes the creation of 14 social press kits for members, such as for American Clean
Power Week, ACP Board announcements, and IRA anniversary kits. In the last two years,
overall engagement rates increased over 70 percent across our social media channels.

Raising the Profile of the ACP CEO. With a new CEO at the helm, we executed a smooth
rollout that led to a first wave of positive coverage. Since he took charge of ACP early this
year, we have orchestrated a steady cadence of appearances at public events in support
of the clean energy narrative while raising the profile of ACP. We are also strategically
employing his personal social channels to amplify ACP priority issues.

Deploying More Paid Media. With more financial resources, we’ve been able to deploy
mini-campaigns outside of the Fuel for Thought and Offshore Wind surge efforts around
the following issues: Hydrogen; the one-year anniversary of the IRA; and Clean Power
Week, which coincided with our Lobby Day on the Hill. We also utilized paid social media
campaigns to promote positive news stories that highlighted the benefits of clean energy.
All in, these efforts amounted to roughly $400,000.

Piloting State Work to Insulate IRA

To build Republican support for clean energy in target states, ACP launched a pilot
program with a $2.4M effort in North Carolina, Colorado, and Iowa. Markets were
chosen around three criteria:

1) ACP Federal Affairs targets.

2) Local Affairs priorities.
3) ACP member company project announcements or ribbon-cutting events.

ACP CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION P a g e | xv

The integrated Fuel for Thought effort included a roundtable and ribbon-cutting in North
Carolina in August; an event to celebrate investments in Colorado factories and a
roundtable in Colorado in September; and a Celebration of Clean Energy in Iowa honoring
Sen. Chuck Grassley, Gov. Kim Reynolds, and Iowa Economic Development Authority
Director Debi Durham in December. Each market included a 10-week digital paid
advertising flight.

Research to Inform Campaign Focus – The message and messengers were built around
qualitative and quantitative research conducted in early 2023. A national survey gauged
broad sentiment amongst Republicans about clean energy. Two additional surveys
informed the campaign’s development and identified the target audience, supported by
sophisticated ad targeting that tracks against a key question: Would you be open to a
renewable energy project near or where you live? The campaign provides skeptical
audiences space to come to their own decisions as they are resistant to having change
forced on them.

Goal of the campaign – Aimed at right-of-center voters, the campaign encourages them
to consider non-climate related benefits like supporting family farms and revenue that
communities can use for things like roads, bridges, and schools.

TARGET AUDIENCE TACTICS CREATIVE

Right-of-Center, Tactics were chosen based Creative was designed

Persuadable Clean Energy on campaign budget, based on polling and focus
Skeptics. Research shows geographies, and length groups conducted in late
our target demographic is: of flights. 2022-early 2023.

- Age: 35-65 - Streaming Audio (Spotify, - Ads feature the stories of

- Suburban, exurban, rural Pandora, etc.) real people sharing their
- Political views: moderate, - Connected TV (CTV):15 & positive experience with
conservative :30 clean energy development.
- Education: high school, - High-Impact (large or full-
some college screen banner ads on
- Household income: mobile and desktop) static
middle-income & animated
- Online Video (OLV) :15 &
:30
- Social (Meta) static,
animated, & video

xvi | P a g e ACP CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION

Sophisticated Targeting – In partnership with data analytics firm Tunnl, we targeted
bespoke persuadable audiences in each market. Using online surveys that are built into
the program, Tunnl asked users our core question, created an audience segment based
on users’ responses, and provided regular pulse checks of this target audience; Tunnl also
allows us to retarget those who have seen the ad with the survey to track movement.

You can view the three ads on streaming audio, connected TV, high-impact banner ads,
online video, and on social. The ads featured Monica, Ray, and Byron, our heroes in North
Carolina, Iowa, and Colorado. They are real people telling their own stories – helping
farmers retain their property while preventing suburban sprawl, generating income for
landowners and tax revenue for the local community, developing innovative uses of
farmland – all about how clean energy is sustaining livelihoods for U.S. families and
communities.

Byron | Longmont, CO

Byron is a steward of his family’s land and is dedicated to

teaching his community and lawmakers from around the
country about the benefits of solar. When Byron took over his
family’s 50-year-old farm in 2016, he needed to find new ways
to sustain the land. So he built a solar farm that provides
power to over 300 homes per year.

Ray | Corning, IA

Ray is a national leader on farming policy and a conservative

political activist who cares deeply about conservation of the
land and supporting the infrastructure and human needs in
and around his community. Ray and his family recently signed
a lease with Invenergy that will make a portion of his family
farm available to wind turbines.

ACP CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION P a g e | xvii

Monica | Moyock, NC

Monica has seen firsthand the impact that unfettered

development can have on a town and the stresses it can place
on local resources. Monica believes solar farms are an
innovative way for her county to help farmers retain their
property while preventing suburban sprawl from overtaking
her community.

Clear Results – Key KPIs indicate that the campaign is right on track. These include:

• Ad Performance. While strictly qualitative, ad metrics are an important

measurement of success. Overall, our campaign performed above benchmark in
KPIs across all tactics.
o High-Impact mobile and desktop ads proved to be a particularly successful
tactic, with a KPI nearly double the benchmark. Notably, our Online Video
creatives saw a very high click-through rate, even though that’s not the
primary KPI for that tactic.
o Our all-video tactics (connected TV and online video) finished above
benchmark in all three states, with the most successful being online video in
Iowa, finishing more than 5% points above our benchmark of 70%
completion rate. Of the three creative tracks, “Monica” performed the best
on online video, beating “Byron” and “Ray” in all three states. While all three
states saw very similar performance on connected TV (within less than a
percentage point), there was more variation with online video. Iowa saw the
highest performance on this tactic, finishing about 3 % points ahead of North
Carolina and Colorado.
• Tunnl Audience. The Tunnl audience performed even or marginally better than the
overall audience on some ad tactics and underperformed on others. We believe
this underscores what we know about this audience from Tunnl data – that most of
them are not huge consumers of streaming media and may be better reached with
traditional TV and radio advertising.
• Website Traffic as a Creative Measure. In Q3, “Fuel for Thought” was the most
viewed page on ACP’s website, even higher than the homepage, with nearly 13
percent of site traffic for the quarter. Between our ad metrics and website traffic
numbers, the ad campaign underscores that we can hook people from their place
of intent – that they will click on something that might be counter to what they feel
or think. This tells us that the creative is engaging people with the right messaging
and framework.

xviii | P a g e ACP CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION

 • Storytelling. This campaign has tested our ability to tell stories that move the
needle. We engaged with members to find the right voices and worked with our
research team to push out state-specific industry-supportive narratives in each
market. Thus far, the campaign has been a successful vehicle for storytelling, both
through the ads and the state-level research reports and media outreach that
supports them.
• While the ads with Byron and Ray saw very similar performance within each tactic,
Monica’s ad performed markedly better across nearly all tactics. The notable
exception is Connected (streaming) TV, where Monica’s ad finished less than half
a percentage point behind.

Member/Stakeholder Engagement. A key KPI is on-site and post-event feedback.

Through these metrics, it’s clear the events provide an important opportunity for member
engagement with each other and with outside stakeholders. Our members on-the-ground
have expressed significant value in the roundtable discussions, stating that the facilitated
conversations with both each other and with representatives from community
organizations have been well received and meaningful. In each state, we have also had
CEO-level participation in public ribbon-cutting events that have garnered media attention
on their own, or coordinated coverage, building on the messaging we are working to
communicate in each location.

Earned and Social Media. The campaign is a meaningful canvas for earned media in the
places where projects are being built. In each state, we secured top-tier media coverage
and interviews, including Raleigh’s NBC affiliate WRAL, Raleigh’s News & Observer and
the state’s Energy News Network in North Carolina; coverage in the Denver Post, reNews,
and local coverage in BizWest; PV Tech, and GreenTech Lead in Colorado; and a Max and
Amy in the Morning Interview, WOI (ABC Affiliate) evening news coverage, a press release
from Sen. Grassley, and a piece in the Corridor Business Journal entitled Iowa leaders
named Clean Energy Champions along with other coverage and social posts from key
event attendees in the Hawkeye state.

ACP CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION P a g e | xix

xx | P a g e ACP CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION
APPENDIX E: ADDITIONAL PRIORITY POLICY &
ADVOCACY KPIS
Accelerating Offshore Wind Permitting and Development

Key Performance Indicators

1) Establishment of a clear and predictable federal permitting process for offshore
wind.
2) Create a sustainable commercial framework through policy solutions at the state
and federal level.
3) Strengthening public and political support for offshore wind projects.

Strengthening the Renewable Industry Relationship with Organized

Labor

Key Performance Indicators

1) Reach a shared understanding with organized labor on clean energy supply chains
with a goal of being able to secure labor’s support or neutrality on key supply chain
and trade issues.
2) Develop and implement an apprenticeship/workforce development strategy by the
end of second quarter 2024, with appropriate consultation and/or involvement with
organized labor.
3) Build relationships with labor to secure workable tax credits and educating them
on a variety of maritime issues, e.g., workforce development, offshore wind vessel
needs, and investments in domestic ship building.
4) Arrive at a functioning advocacy alignment with organized labor on priority policy
issues (e.g., permitting and transmission reform, hydrogen, and tax equity policy)
for impactful coordinated action.

Engaging and Collaborating at the State and Local Levels

Key Performance Indicators

1) Successful execution against state and local initiatives in coordination with our
members and regional organizations.

ACP CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION P a g e | xxi

 2) Build additional capacity in each of the five regions in partnership with the
corresponding ROs, other ACP entities (e.g. AEA, CPI) and allied stakeholders that
members view as an integrated advocacy, communications, and campaign
approach.
3) Pilot direct local affairs efforts linked to ACP’s overarching advocacy goals to recruit
new grasstops leaders and contacts who take direct actions leading to improved
ordinances and/or blocked moratoriums.
4) Alignment of core Board companies on a 2025-2028 approach to resourcing and
structuring ACP’s state and local work by the third quarter board meeting.

Advancing and Expanding Energy Storage Deployment

Key Performance Indicators

1) Advance industry’s preferred standards for safety and positively shape national and
regional narratives on energy storage safety and reliability.
2) Mitigate harmful trade actions on energy storage equipment and develop a
roadmap for a secure and sustainable battery supply chain.
3) Influence and establish state laws and wholesale market rules to accelerate
adoption of energy storage resources, streamline permitting processes, and create
additional market certainty.

xxii | P a g e ACP CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION

APPENDIX F: MEETING MINUTES FROM DECEMBER
14, 2023

ACP CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION P a g e | xxiii

 Draft Minutes of Board Meeting
December 14, 2023

Directors:
Susan Nickey (Hannon Armstrong) – Chair, Jason Allen (Leeward), Laura Beane (Vestas), David Carroll
(ENGIE), Ben Catt (Pine Gate), Craig Cornelius (Clearway), Kleber Costa (AES), Amanda Dasch (Shell),
Jacqueline DeRosa (Ameresco), Theresa Eaton (WECS Renewables), Kevin Gresham (RWE), Tristan
Grimbert (EDF Renewables), Greg Hall (AEP), David Hardy (Ørsted), Mateo Jaramillo (Form Energy),
Sheldon Kimber (Intersect Power), Alicia Knapp (Berkshire Hathaway Energy), Downy Magallanes (BP),
Jose Mas (MasTec), Jim Murphy (Invenergy), Phil Musser (NextEra), John Pemberton (Southern Power),
Abhishek Sharma (Amazon), Dan Shugar (Nextracker), Tom Starrs (EDP Renewables NA), Rubiao Song (JP
Morgan), Stephen Swift (GE Renewable Energy), Krista Tanner (ITC Holdings), Elisabeth Treseder
(Equinor), Brian Van Abel (Xcel Energy), Laura Vaught (Dominion Energy), Puneet Verma (AVANGRID),
Jason Widman (Blattner Energy), Sarah Webster (Pattern Energy), and Ken Young (Apex)

Alternate Directors:
Chrissy Camacho Borskey (GE Renewable Energy), Donise Cameron-Dukes (ITC Holdings), Jon Chase
(Vestas), Martin Doern (Xcel Energy), Kathleen Frangione (Ørsted), Greg Hall (AEP); Dan Hendrick
(Clearway), Gil Jenkins (HASI), Kevin Lynch (AVANGRID), Eran Mahrer (Leeward), Rob Minter (ENGIE),
David Rardin (Apex), Virinder Singh (EDF Renewables), Amanda Smith (AES), Kelly Speakes-Backman
(Invenergy), Craig Sundstrom (Amazon), Patricia Tamez (Shell), Matt Tetrault (Wanzek), Sarah Webster
(Pattern), Kathy Weiss (Nextracker), Michael Wheeler (Intersect Power), Brett White (Pine Gate)

Guest:
Michael Steele

Staff:
Jason Grumet, Jason Clark, Kelly Darnell, Frank Macchiarola, Rosanna Maietta, JC Sandberg, Michael
Baird, Becca Dietrich, Gene Grace, Marty MacKay, Bill Parsons, Laura Wilson Phelan, Faye Powers,
Kathleen Robertson, Vanessa Sciarra, Tom Vinson

Call to Order and Opening Business:

The meeting was called to order by Acting Chair Susan Nickey at 9:05AM PT. The meeting started with a
safety reminder regarding the safety incident alert program that launched earlier this year. It was noted
that it is important to have the collective action of our members for the program to be successful.

Michael Baird, ACP Senior Counsel, reminded the Board that this meeting is subject to ACP’s Antitrust
Compliance, Confidentiality, and Conflict of Interest Policies and Rules of Engagement.
The draft minutes for the September 7, 2023, board meeting were provided in the board materials. On a
motion duly made by Alicia Knapp and seconded by Tristan Grimbert, the draft minutes were approved
unanimously as provided.

Review of 2024 Strategic Plan and Budget Proposal

The 2024 program scope and budget proposal were provided in the materials. Treasurer Brian Van Abel
reported that the organization is in a strong position going into 2024 and a bold budget was being
proposed. He noted that the proposed budget reflected a change from a cost-based budget to an
activity-based budget to better align with ACP’s strategic goals. The budget also included organizational
and programmatic investments using both the surplus from the current year and reserves. The
organization’s cash reserves were reviewed and are in a healthy position.

The proposed budget includes deficit spending, recognizing that the 2023 revenues exceeded the board
approved budget by more than $12M. The budget goal was to ensure that programs were sufficiently
funded, and the organization was not sitting on too much in reserves.

The anticipated revenue of $67.4 million in 2024 is largely coming from member dues, conferences (new
and existing), and other secondary income sources. There is $71.5 million in core expenses with large
expenditures representing both organizational imperatives and core programmatic expenses. There was
a brief review of the summary of policy and advocacy expenses as broken into priorities, strategic
positioning and internal structures. The Clean Power Institute (CPI) is moving forward and has been
obtaining resources.

The board discussed the adequacy of the reserves. The Finance Committee considered whether the
proposed budget was too ambitious or too cautious. The Committee thought it met the right balance.

There was concern regarding the organization spending enough for what could be a challenging year
politically, and the need to participate adequately in state, regional and local activities.

Brian Van Abel moved to approve the proposed 2024 budget as detailed in the 2024 Program Scope and
Budget Proposal, with the understanding that there be additional consideration given by staff to funding
additional programs/activities to support key issues discussed. The motion was seconded by Craig
Cornelius and approved unanimously by the board.

Navigating Political Positioning in an Election Year

Michael Steele, former Chair of the Republican National Committee and Lieutenant Governor of
Maryland, provided insights into the foundational perspectives on the current state of the country,
political parties, and politics as we look forward to the presidential election year. There was a discussion
about what this means for ACP and its interaction with the Administration, as well as additional
activities to influence campaigns and voting. The organization continues to work to influence and
insulate the IRA, as well as continuing to hold the Clean Power on the Hill event in April.

2024 Board Election

David Carroll reported on the work of the Nominating Committee. They were charged with reviewing
applications for the elected board seats, taking the diversity of both companies and individuals into
consideration. There was a brief overview of the full slate of Directors – including the thirteen (13)
elected Directors. Recognition and thanks were given to the current members of the Board whose terms
would be expiring.
On a motion duly made by David Carroll and seconded by Alicia Knapp, the slate of thirteen (13)
Directors for the elected seats was unanimously approved to be submitted to the full membership for
consideration.

The Nominating Committee will now turn its attention to electing Officers and Executive Committee
members. The criteria that will be used to evaluate these candidates was outlined in a memorandum
previously sent by Chair Susan Nickey. The deadline for applying for an elected seat on the Executive
Committee and/or Officer position is Wednesday, January 10, 2024.

Governance and Policy Consensus

Governance Committee Chair John Pemberton thanked the Committee members for their work this year
and reviewed the progress made. The 2024 goal for the Committee is to design and implement
additional best practices for governance as well as uphold what has already been established. It was
reported that the Committee reviewed and updated the bylaws to clarify governance issues that needed
to be addressed. A detailed document of the proposed amendments to the Bylaws was provided in the
materials. The Board discussed the proposed bylaw amendments, including the role of Alternate
Director/Delegate, qualifications to apply for Executive Committee positions, and Officer vacancies.

On a motion duly made by John Pemberton and seconded by Craig Cornelius, the proposed bylaw
amendments were unanimously approved to be submitted to the full membership for consideration.

A document outlining the policy decision making consensus process for contentious and/or controversial
issues was provided in the materials. The process was reviewed including the roles of the various bodies
(Executive Committee, Board, etc.), with the Executive Committee being the ultimate decision-making
entity. It was noted that this was not meant to be a frequent process but one for issues identified as
contentious or fast-moving. Another core tenant of the process is transparency and ensuring consistent
communication with the full board. There was a brief discussion on the process and how companies
should act in response to decisions that they may not fully support. It was agreed that the potential
outcomes of this process could include the possibility of no position from the organization.

Executive Session

The meeting went into Executive Session at 2:11PM PT. All Delegates and staff except Jason Grumet and
Mike Baird were excused.

Respectfully submitted,

__________________________________
John Pemberton, Secretary