FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 6, 2014
Contacts: Shelly Baron, 501-537-0190 or shelly@arkansasadvancedenergyfoundation.org
Steve Patterson, 501-537-0190 or steve@arkansasadvancedenergyfoundation.org
Business Group to gather for 3rd Annual emPOWERing Arkansas Conference in Little Rock, Oct. 17
Little Rock, AR –The advanced energy industry will gather for a third one-day annual meeting and policy conference, “emPOWERing Arkansas,” in Little Rock on October 17 to examine the critical issues that have helped advanced energy become one of the state’s most reliable job creators since 2010, according to the Arkansas Advanced Energy Association (AAEA).
Scheduled at the Doubletree Hotel in Downtown Little Rock, this year’s conference will feature three of the region’s experts on energy efficiency technology and investment trends. Joe Mowery, Managing Director at Stephens Inc. and a leading investment banker in the area of energy technology, will moderate a panel discussion during lunch with two of the country’s top energy efficiency company CEOs. Dr. Randy Hoff, CEO of Cenergistic of Dallas, TX and Glenn Garland, Chairman and CEO of CLEAResult, headquartered in Austin, TX. As the lowest cost fuel, energy efficiency is adding jobs, reducing costs and expanding consumer choice in Arkansas. Mowery, Hoff and Garland will provide a glimpse of what the future holds.
A morning policy roundtable, one of the event’s most popular programs, will be co-moderated by AAEA Policy Director Ken Smith and Matt Stanberry, Vice President of Market Development at Advanced Energy Economy (AEE). This year’s roundtable will focus on ways the Arkansas’s advanced energy technologies can enable the state’s compliance with EPA’s Clean Power Plan.
Following the luncheon, Jim Metzger, Principal and economist at HISTECON Associates, Inc. will give a briefing on his preliminary findings from a comprehensive Advanced Energy Jobs Census commissioned by the Arkansas Advanced Energy Foundation (AAEF). Metzger’s study is designed to help Arkansas leaders better understand the impacts on the state economy of advanced energy development.
Advanced energy in Arkansas is a diverse industry including renewable energy, alternative fuels, and energy efficiency companies. Metzger’s study will update an earlier study that found 11,337 advanced energy jobs in Arkansas in 2010. The Arkansas Advanced Energy Association counts nearly 80 members including many advanced energy companies along with several government entities, economic experts, university researchers and individuals.
“We are looking forward to another exceptional event this year with the 2014 emPOWERingArkansas Conference,” said Steve Patterson, AAEA Executive Director. “We’ve had a great response from advanced energy leaders across the state. This will be a day to reflect on our successes so far and to identify the challenges that lie ahead. We want to sustain advanced energy’s momentum as an economic contributor to the state.”
The day’s schedule will also be interspersed with scheduled remarks from the state’s major U.S. Senate and Gubernatorial candidates.
Current sponsors of “emPOWERing Arkansas” include:
Presenting Sponsor: Powers of AR and Advanced Energy Economy
Partner Sponsor: Seal Energy Solutions and Viridian
Program Sponsors: Energy Systems Group and Pinnacle Energy Services
Advanced Energy Supporters: CenterPoint Energy, CLEAResult, Entegrity Energy Partners, Harrison Energy Partners, Home Energy RX, Middleton, Inc., NextGen Illumination, Picasolar, Silicon Solar Solutions
Refreshments Sponsor: Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., Inc.
The day’s events begin with registration at 9:00 a.m. and continue through the day. The Program Agenda for emPOWERing Arkansas is as follows:
9:30 a.m. – Remarks from Senator Mark Pryor
Policy Roundtable: AR Advanced Energy Companies Poised to Answer the Clean Power Challenge
- A few weeks before Arkansans go to the polls, Senator Mark Pryor will address advanced energy stakeholders. Pryor will make remarks regarding strategies for federal energy policy.
- Moderated by Ken Smith, AAEA Policy Director, and Matt Stanberry, Vice President of Market Development for the Advanced Energy Economy (AEE), this discussion will focus on the latest array of advanced energy technologies in Arkansas that can factor into a state plan to implement EPA’s Clean Power Plan.
12:00 p.m. – Lunch to name the winner of the first Ron Bel Advanced Energy Leadership Award and a program featuring three of the region’s experts on energy efficiency technology and investment trends.
Joe Mowery, Managing Director at Stephens Inc. and a leading investment banker in the area of energy technology, will moderate a panel discussion with two of the country’s top energy efficiency company CEOs – Dr. Randy Hoff, CEO of Cenergistic of Dallas, TX and Glenn Garland, Chairman and CEO of CLEAResult.
1:30 p.m. – Remarks from Gubernatorial Candidate Mike Ross
Advanced Energy Economic Empact Briefing
Remarks from Gubernatorial Candidate Asa Hutchinson
- A few weeks before Arkansans elect their new Governor, candidates Mike Ross and Asa Hutchinson will address advanced energy stakeholders. Ross and Hutchinson will each make remarks regarding their respective energy and economic development strategies.
- A briefing by Jim Metzger with HISTECON Associates on the results of the latest Advanced Energy Jobs Census conducted by the Arkansas Advanced Energy Foundation (AAEF).
HOW TO PARTICIPATE:
AAEA Members and Guests: For event information, registration, and sponsorship opportunities, please visit: http://arkansasadvancedenergy.com/index.cfm?objectid=FF71F3C0-9294-11E3-87080050569A5318
Members of the media: Please contact Shelly Baron at (501) 537-0190 or shelly@arkansasadvancedenergyfoundation.org for information on media credentials.
Arkansas Advanced Energy Association is a business group dedicated to growing Arkansas’s economy by expanding our energy workforce and manufacturing base through the increased development, manufacture, and utilization of advanced energy technologies. www.arkansasadvancedenergy.com
The Arkansas Advanced Energy Foundation is the educational affiliate of the AAEA. The Foundation promotes greater public understanding of advanced energy in Arkansas through research, public education programs and economic and workforce development. The Foundation is dedicated to informing the energy policy debate with well-researched, fact-based data on the advanced energy economy in Arkansas and by providing a public forum where state leaders can address Arkansas’s energy challenges for the future. www.arkansasadvancedenergyfoundation.org
Report Shows Global Economic Impacts of Advanced Energy
A report released in January 2013 by Advanced Energy Economy (AEE) shows that advanced energy was a $1.1 trillion global market in 2011, larger than pharmaceutical manufacturing worldwide. Read the full report here: http://arkansasadvancedenergyfoundation.org/files/dmfile/AEEIEconomicImpactofAdvancedEnergy-Final.pdf
Follow Arkansas Advanced Energy on Twitter @ArkAdvEnergy and like “Arkansas Advanced Energy Association” on Facebook.