The passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) in August 2022 heralded a boom in the US energy sector. 2023 was a record-breaking year for clean energy deployment in North America, with more wind, solar, and batteries installed than ever before and increased support for technologies like hydrogen, CCS, geothermal, and small modular reactors.  

Despite massive tailwinds, however, significant challenges remain for the sector. Interconnection queues are bloated, investment in transmission is lagging, inflation remains high, and offshore wind projects have struggled to get off the ground. Meanwhile, a combination of load growth from data centers and a challenging investment climate for new thermal has led to questions around reliability in some regions.  

The Aurora Energy Transition Forum 2024 took place on Thursday, October 24, bringing together the biggest utilities, policy makers, project developers, investors, and other main players from across the energy space in North America to discuss the status quo of the energy transition and the steps moving forward. The event addressed the impact of the IRA two years on, and focused on energy investment, battery storage economics, and ensuring capacity adequacy through the energy transition.

Following the success of the Aurora Spring Forum in the UK, the Energy Transition Forum aims to become the leading annual gathering of North America’s energy sector. This year’s event featured a full day of insightful debates and discussions, offering delegates a unique opportunity to meet and interact with the most senior representatives across the industry. Networking breaks, including a drinks reception and an evening dinner, created valuable settings for attendees to connect and share ideas.