FOR IMEDIATE RELEASE: March 19, 2015
Contacts: Shelly Baron, 501-537-0190 or shelly@arkansasadvancedenergyfoundation.org
Steve Patterson, 501-537-0190 or steve@arkansasadvancedenergyfoundation.org
Eighty-one percent of Arkansas voters want leaders to support renewable energy, energy efficiency
Little Rock, AR – A recent poll showing that Arkansas voters overwhelmingly support advanced energy and a transition to a low carbon economy has prompted the Arkansas Advanced Energy Association (AAEA) to launch a new public education and advocacy initiative called “Arkansas Energy Now.” Arkansas based, Impact Management Group conducted the poll for the Arkansas Advanced Energy Foundation.
“Overwhelming voter support for clean energy offers a real opportunity for our elected officials to lead The Natural State to a better energy future that makes clean, secure and affordable energy more accessible to Arkansas,” said Steve Patterson, Executive Director of Arkansas Advanced Energy Association, the business voice affiliated with the Arkansas Advanced Energy Foundation.
Today, Arkansas Energy Now is a growing network of more than 1,500 energy consumers that believe in a better energy future by making cleaner, safer and more affordable energy technologies available to Arkansas. The network supports a variety of clean energy technologies from efficiency to natural gas, solar, wind, geothermal and alternative fuels.
Eighty-one percent of Arkansas voters said it was important for Arkansas’s political leaders to develop policies that encourage energy efficiency and expand access to renewable energy. And 72 percent of voters believe it’s a good idea to retire one or more coal-fired power plants and replace them with natural gas-fired power plants as well as using more renewable energy sources and energy efficiency.
“Arkansas voters are very clear, they want our elected officials to play a larger role in delivering more clean energy options to The Natural State at an affordable price point,” added Patterson.
Adding clean energy generation does not automatically spike electricity costs for consumers.
On average, states that have led on renewables over the past ten years have had cheaper average retail electricity than both the national average and states that lag in generation from renewables, according to a recent report from DBL investors. Moreover, the average annual rate of change in electricity prices has been lower in leading renewable states.
Over the next 10 years, Arkansas voters favor incorporating more natural gas (29 percent), over coal (10 percent) and nuclear (7 percent). Renewable energy was the favorite at 32 percent and incorporating more energy efficiency was favored by 16 percent of voters.
Poll results also show that 67 percent of Arkansas voters favor the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan—a rule that would require Arkansas power plants to reduce carbon emissions. Sixty-six percent of voters favored the plan even after hearing arguments against it.
View Power Point Presentation Analysis of Poll
Methodology
Telephone survey of 600 registered Arkansas voters. The survey was completed December 23 – 30, 2014 and has a margin of error of plus/minus 4.00 percentage points in (+/- 4.00%) in 95 out of 100 cases.
Arkansas Energy Now is a network composed of Arkansans who believe in a better energy future where services and technologies assure us of an energy supply that is secure, clean and affordable. The AEN network will support and defend smart public policies that help introduce new advanced energy technologies into the marketplace. AEN is a public education and advocacy initiative of the Arkansas Advanced Energy Association (AAEA), the business voice for advanced energy in Arkansas. http://www.arkansasenergynow.org
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
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