The policy failures of the clean energy industry are spurring competition in the advocacy space.
Industry veteran Steve McBee launched a new advocacy firm Tuesday. It’s a bet that he can bring a quicker end to renewables’ time as a punching bag in the climate culture wars.
The group, called Amped, includes an array of fundraising and advocacy services, including a 501(c)(3) nonprofit arm, a (c)(6) advocacy arm and an LLC for-profit arm, with a (c)(4) also planned. Early advisers include Adrian Deveny, a former staffer for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), and Anne Slaughter Andrew, a former ambassador to Costa Rica in the Obama administration and partner at the venture capital fund Clean Energy Ventures.
McBee, a longtime energy strategist who previously served as CEO of NRG Home, the Northeast utility’s now-defunct consumer product arm, described Amped as an “operating platform” that can engage in communications, industry research and fundraising.
