NEWS: Clean energy super PACs have a message for anti-renewable candidates: You're on the hot seat.

New political groups are helping the renewable industry pack more punch, particularly at the state and local levels. But can they succeed amid federal opposition to clean tech?

Renewables bite back: Recently formed super PACs are taking a tougher line with politicians—one that clean energy advocates historically haven’t touched: If you come after renewables, we’ll spend millions to unseat you. 

“These super PACs are a new evolution for how the clean energy industry is approaching advocacy,” said Silvio Marcacci, senior director of communications at Energy Innovation, a non-partisan energy and climate think tank.

The key players include the American Power Forward PAC and the Invest in Tomorrow Coalition (ITC). American Power Forward, which launched this September and is linked with the Solar Energy Industries Association, aims to “build long-term, durable political power” for renewables. ITC, which also arrived on the scene this year, works to elect pro-renewable candidates and hold industry opponents “accountable.” 

“If you are a sitting elected official, no matter what level of government you work in or how safe you think your seat is, we exist to ensure you treat the renewable energy industry responsibly,” ITC co-founder and CleanChoice Energy CEO Tom Matzzie told Energy Central.

The focus: Right now, the groups are targeting state and local elections. Why? These offices influence key processes like permitting and financial incentives (which can help make up for extinct federal ones). 

Case in point: The Invest in America’s Future PAC (which is funded by ITC) spent $500K on the Rhode Island gubernatorial primary, attacking the incumbent for his anti-clean energy record. 

Another technique? Not mentioning clean energy at all. That was the strategy behind the ITC’s successful campaign against Republican Chip Roy, a prominent clean energy critic who ran for Texas attorney general earlier this year. To land with conservative voters, the org claimed that Roy wasn’t “MAGA enough for Texas.”

The outlook: It’s too soon to say whether this strategy will work in the long run. But if you ask Matzzie, it has staying power. 

“We are undefeated in every race we have gone into,” he said. “As our efforts continue to succeed, leaders in the industry will be more comfortable with hardball politics and we expect our war chest will continue to grow.”