5 Critical Ways The American Council On Renewable Energy (ACORE) Is Reshaping U.S. Clean Energy In 2025
The American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE) is currently at the forefront of the United States’ accelerated transition to a clean energy economy, leveraging its unique position to unite finance, policy, and technology sectors. As of today, December 19, 2025, ACORE’s work is highly focused on overcoming critical bottlenecks in grid infrastructure and permitting, while simultaneously driving trillions of dollars in private sector investment and championing diversity within the industry. Their recent reports and 2025 policy recommendations underscore a strategic, multi-pronged approach essential for realizing the nation's ambitious climate and energy dominance goals.
ACORE’s mission is clear: to accelerate the transition to a renewable energy economy through impactful advocacy and industry-leading analysis. The organization operates as a national nonprofit, serving as the leading voice on the issues most essential to the expansion of clean energy, including solar, wind, geothermal, and other enabling technologies. This deep dive reveals the five most critical areas where ACORE is making a tangible, transformative impact in 2025 and beyond.
ACORE: A National Powerhouse Uniting Finance, Policy, and Technology
The American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE) is a pivotal organization in the U.S. energy landscape. Founded to bridge the gap between financial markets, technological innovation, and federal policy, its influence spans the entire clean energy value chain. The organization’s membership breadth—which includes major financial institutions, utility companies, project developers, and technology providers—gives it unique insight into the challenges and opportunities facing the industry. ACORE’s strategic engagement aims to shape the legislative and regulatory pathways that are fundamental to clean energy deployment.
Key areas of focus for ACORE’s advocacy include:
- Transmission Infrastructure: Advocating for cost-effective investment and reforms to build a modern, resilient grid.
- Tax Policy: Ensuring the stability and effectiveness of federal tax incentives like the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) tax credits.
- Permitting Reform: Streamlining the processes for siting and connecting renewable energy projects.
- Market Reforms: Promoting electricity marketplace reforms to better integrate variable renewable resources.
1. Driving the $1 Trillion Investment Goal with the $1T 2030 Campaign
One of ACORE’s most ambitious and impactful initiatives is the $1T 2030 campaign, launched in 2018. This campaign is designed to achieve $1 trillion in private sector investment in U.S. renewable energy and enabling grid technologies by the year 2030. The success of this goal is crucial for meeting national decarbonization targets and establishing U.S. energy dominance.
The State of Clean Energy Finance in 2025
In 2025, the finance landscape for clean energy remains robust, largely due to the long-term certainty provided by the IRA. A significant majority of investors—58%—anticipate that the attractiveness of the U.S. market for clean energy investment will increase compared to other leading countries. ACORE’s analysis highlights that clean energy capacity is currently skyrocketing, with enough electricity generated in 2023 to power 162 million homes.
However, investment still faces headwinds. ACORE's work focuses on mitigating these risks by:
- De-risking Investments: Advocating for tax stability and long-term policy certainty to reassure financial markets.
- Addressing Interconnection Queues: Pushing for reforms that speed up the process for connecting new projects, particularly for solar and wind power, to the grid.
- Capitalizing on the IRA: Providing industry-leading analysis on how to best utilize transferability and direct pay provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act.
2. Championing Critical Transmission and Permitting Reforms in 2025
The biggest bottleneck to clean energy deployment is not a lack of capital or technology, but the difficulty of moving power from where it's generated (e.g., remote wind farms, utility-scale solar arrays) to where it’s needed. ACORE is tackling this through two major policy thrusts: the Macro Grid Initiative and its 2025 Permitting Principles.
The Macro Grid Initiative and Grid Modernization
ACORE advocates for cost-effective investment in transmission infrastructure through its Macro Grid Initiative. This initiative promotes the development of high-voltage interregional transmission lines that can move large amounts of power across states and regions, improving grid resilience and reducing costs for consumers. The need for this is critical, as demonstrated by ACORE's recent report evaluating proposals from grid operators in regions like California and the Great Plains/Midwest, which often face conflicting regulatory and planning hurdles.
2025 Permitting Principles and Policy Recommendations
Released in 2025, ACORE’s Permitting Principles provide a clear roadmap for federal and state policymakers to improve the complex and lengthy permitting process. Key recommendations include:
- Establishing reasonable and predictable timelines for project review.
- Improving coordination between federal agencies involved in the permitting of geothermal, wind, and solar projects.
- Streamlining environmental reviews while maintaining high standards.
- Accelerating the interconnection process for energy storage and generation projects.
3. Accelerating DEI and Innovation with the 2025 Accelerate Cohort
Beyond policy and finance, ACORE is actively working to diversify the clean energy workforce and supply chain through its Accelerate program. The announcement of the 2025 Accelerate Cohort marks the five-year anniversary of this vital initiative, which focuses on supporting small and medium-sized clean energy businesses.
The program is specifically designed to address systemic barriers by offering a complimentary two-year ACORE membership to smaller renewable energy companies that are owned and operated by women and people of color. By providing these businesses with access to ACORE’s powerful network of finance, policy, and technology leaders, the Accelerate program helps them secure funding, navigate complex regulations, and scale their operations. This focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) is considered essential for unlocking the full innovative potential of the sector and ensuring the economic benefits of the energy transition are broadly shared.
4. Analyzing and Shaping Regulatory Pathways for U.S. Energy Dominance
ACORE's role as a non-partisan policy analyst is crucial. The organization consistently releases reports that provide key industry insights and policy recommendations, often directly influencing the regulatory debate in Washington, D.C. For example, a March 2025 report discussed the ambitious goal of making the United States energy dominant and cutting electricity prices—a policy objective that requires a significant, stable, and accelerating deployment of renewable energy.
The organization’s strategic engagement involves:
- Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions Accounting: Leveraging the depth of its members' investments to provide unique insight into effective GHG accounting and reporting standards.
- Regional Grid Operator Evaluation: Providing technical analysis on proposed rules and reforms from regional transmission organizations (RTOs) and independent system operators (ISOs) to ensure fair market access for renewable energy.
- Federal Legislation Advocacy: Working with Congress and the Administration to ensure the effective implementation of major laws, including the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and the IRA.
5. Forecasting Future Renewable Energy Finance Trends (2025-2026)
ACORE’s regular surveys and reports on Expectations for Renewable Energy Finance provide the industry with a forward-looking view of market conditions. Their analysis for the 2023-2026 period emphasizes that while capital is available, its deployment is heavily dependent on resolving non-financial risks like permitting and transmission.
Key financial trends and forecasts ACORE is monitoring include:
- The continued role of tax equity and the rise of new financing structures utilizing transferability.
- Increased investment in long-duration energy storage and hydrogen technologies as critical enabling grid technologies.
- The importance of corporate power purchase agreements (PPAs) in driving demand for new utility-scale solar and wind projects.
By focusing on these five critical areas—investment, transmission, permitting, DEI, and policy analysis—ACORE is not just advocating for clean energy; it is actively building the operational, financial, and regulatory framework necessary for a successful, swift, and equitable energy transition in the United States.
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