FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 23, 2015
Contacts:
Steve Patterson, 501-537-0190 or steve@arkansasadvancedenergy.com
Mollie Merry Campbell, 501-537-0190 or mollie@arkansasadvancedenergy.com
Statement:
by Steve Patterson, Executive Director, Arkansas Advanced Energy Association (AAEA)
RE: Publication of EPA’s final rule on the Clean Power Plan
DATE: Friday, Oct. 23, 2015
“Today’s publication of EPA’s Clean Power Plan in the Federal Register means Arkansas can now move forward with modernizing its electric power system for the 21st century. As we see it, the Clean Power Plan simply accelerates the technology and market trends that are already moving Arkansas toward an electricity system that is more reliable, clean, affordable, and responsive to customer demands. Projects around the state are bringing more than 100MW of solar energy online and developers tell us this is the tip of the iceberg. Meanwhile, the state’s utility energy efficiency programs and a burgeoning private sector energy efficiency financing market promise huge energy consumption reductions in the years ahead.
As a stakeholder in the Clean Power Plan compliance initiative by ADEQ and the APSC, AAEA and our member companies stand ready to bring the full impact of our advanced energy technologies to bear on a state compliance plan that minimizes or reduces costs to customers.
Unfortunately, Arkansas’s dual track strategy of seeking compliance options while pursuing legal challenges to the new rule only dilutes the state’s resources that should be wholly dedicated to a low-cost, clean energy future. Any legal action to delay the implementation of this rule would be disruptive to the market for advanced energy technologies and stifle growth and investment in modernizing the electricity system.”
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Clean Power Plan Popular Among Arkansas Voters
Two-thirds of Arkansas voters support proposed rules by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that require Arkansas power companies to significantly reduce the amount of carbon dioxide emissions released by their coal-fired electricity generating plants, according to a poll commissioned by the Arkansas Advanced Energy Foundation (AAEF). http://arkansasadvancedenergy.com/index.cfm?objectid=9E3E2150-CCE0-11E4-BC940050569A5318
Report Shows Economic Impacts of Advanced Energy in Arkansas
A report released in January 2015 by the Arkansas Advanced Energy Foundation (AAEF) shows that 25,000 Arkansans are working in the state’s advanced energy sector, with a total impact on the Arkansas economy of $2.8 billion in output. “The Economic Impact of Advanced Energy in Arkansas: A Survey of Business Activity in 2014” can be viewed or downloaded at www.arkansasadvancedenergyfoundation.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
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