The Southern Alliance for Clean Energy (SACE) is a nonprofit advocacy group that promotes the use of

clean energy Clean may refer to: * Cleaning, the process of removing unwanted substances, such as dirt, infectious agents, and other impurities, from an object or environment * Cleanliness, the state of being clean and free from dirt Arts and media Music A ...

in the

southeastern United States The Southeastern United States, also referred to as the American Southeast or simply the Southeast, is a geographical region of the United States. It is located broadly on the eastern portion of the southern United States and the southern por ...

History

SACE was founded in 1985 under the original name Tennessee Valley Energy Coalition (TVEC). TVEC championed for rate-payer protections and tracked the environmental and energy policies of the

Tennessee Valley Authority The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is a federally owned electric utility corporation in the United States. TVA's service area covers all of Tennessee, portions of Alabama, Mississippi, and Kentucky, and small areas of Georgia, North Carolin ...

. In 1992, TVEC's name changed to Tennessee Valley Energy Reform Coalition (TVERC). In 1993, Stephen A. Smith, SACE's current executive director, became the executive director of TVERC after serving on the board. Following completion of TVA's 1995 IRP, TVERC shifted its focus to research on air pollution and efforts to clean up or retire coal-fired power plants. In 1997, TVERC worked with the Tennessee Clean Air Task Force. In 1998, TVERC engaged with TVA to launch the Green Power Switch program, giving TVA rate-payers the option to support wind, solar, and

biogas Biogas is a mixture of gases, primarily consisting of methane, carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulphide, produced from raw materials such as agricultural waste, manure, municipal waste, plant material, sewage, green waste and food waste. It is a ...

renewable resources. In 1999, TVERC was renamed the Southern Alliance For Clean Energy (SACE) as the organization expanded its focus beyond the TVA service area to encompass clean energy efforts with other utility providers in Florida and South Carolina. In 2001, SACE merged with Georgians For Clean Energy, thereby expanding its influence in the Southeast to also include Georgia. Since 2001, SACE's programs have expanded to address multiple issues relating to energy and the environment, such as increasing

solar power Solar power is the conversion of energy from sunlight into electricity, either directly using photovoltaics (PV) or indirectly using concentrated solar power. Photovoltaic cells convert light into an electric current using the photovolta ...

programs and the use of clean, electric transportation, reducing reliance on

fossil fuel power station A fossil fuel power station is a thermal power station which burns a fossil fuel, such as coal or natural gas, to produce electricity. Fossil fuel power stations have machinery to convert the heat energy of combustion into mechanical energy, wh ...

s, and addressing climate change. Southern Alliance for Clean Energy#cite note-7

References

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External links

Official website
Renewable energy organizations based in the United States 1985 establishments in Tennessee Environmental organizations based in Tennessee