Acore taps Clearway’s head of regulatory affairs Ray Long to succeed Wetstone to top job

New head of American Council on Renewable Energy to take on role as industry faces unprecedented growth and headwinds

. Acore's new CEO Ray Long.Foto: American Council on Renewable Energy

Tim Ferry

Industry veteran Ray Long will join renewables lobbyist American Council on Renewable Energy (Acore) as CEO, succeeding its long-standing current chief Greg Wetstone, who is slated to step down in December.

Long is former head of government, regulatory and public affairs with Clearway Energy, a leading owner-operator of renewables and conventional power assets, where he was responsible for managing external activities and policy advocacy for its US portfolio.

Prior to that, he oversaw state and federal government affairs at NRG, a Fortune 500 energy company.

“Ray Long has the deep renewable energy industry knowledge, leadership skills, expertise, and enthusiasm needed to promote and defend” the clean energy transition, said Acore’s board chair Kevin Gresham, senior vice president of government relations & regulatory affairs for RWE Clean Energy.

Long will take over at a time of great tumult in the sector, with trillions of dollars of federal dollars poised to rocket growth while surging inflation and interest rates have sent costs likewise skyward.

Industry advocate American Clean Power Association (ACP)’s second quarter market report found renewable energy capacity in the US rose from around 100GW in 2015 to more than 237GW last year and now generates some 15% of total power demand.

Yet procurement was down 47% across all technologies in the first two quarters of this year in annual comparisons as contract prices blew up a blended average 28% to $53.55/MWh.

Despite these headwinds, Acore's recent survey of market forecasts through 2026 found “increased optimism in the US market’s attractiveness, and appreciation of the long-term policy certainty” created by federal legislation, especially the Inflation Reduction Act.

“The advent of a decade-long set of economic policy initiatives, major technological improvements, and expanded interest in investing have created an unprecedented opportunity to ‘accelerate the transition to a renewable energy economy’,” said Long, echoing Acore’s mission statement.

Wetstone told Recharge: “Over the last eight years, renewable energy development and investment have skyrocketed. The question is no longer whether we can transition to clean power, but whether we can transition rapidly enough to meet the climate imperative.

“At such a pivotal moment, I am thrilled to be able to pass the baton to such a capable and widely respected renewable sector leader as Ray Long,” he added.

Among Wetstone’s notable successes since assuming leadership of the Washington, DC-based organisation in January 2016, the influence Acore had in securing a supportive, long-term clean energy tax platform in the US, along with new mechanisms to facilitate tax credit monetisation as part of the Inflation Reduction Act, enacted last August.

Over his tenure the Acore’s financial standing grew with the organisation’s budget more than tripling.

Acore taps Clearway’s head of regulatory affairs Ray Long to succeed Wetstone to top job

'No turning back the clock': US green groups say year-old IRA sinking 'red' roots

'A year on, the IRA has made America the green envy of the world – but there's more to do'

'Low ambition' US renewable energy 'no longer God's gift to electricity': top DoE official