MEDIA ADVISORY: October 4, 2017
Contact: Katie Laning Niebaum
katie@arkansasadvancedenergy.com
(501) 537-0190

Little Rock – Arkansas’s advanced energy business leaders, utility executives, policy makers and regulators, and other industry stakeholders will meet Tuesday, October 10, to examine critical advanced energy policy issues at emPOWERing Arkansas 2017, the Arkansas Advanced Energy Association’s 6th annual meeting and policy conference.

Program highlights include:

  • Keynote speaker Ted J. Thomas, Chairman of the Arkansas Public Service Commission, will deliver remarks on the trends and challenges facing our nation’s energy system and their impact on Arkansas’ advanced energy industry.
  • A policy panel will focus on the grid integration of renewable energy sources and feature representatives from Little Rock-based regional transmission operators MISO and Southwest Power Pool and large-scale solar developer Silicon Ranch.
  • During the lunch program, the winners of the Arkansas Advanced Energy Awards will be recognized and the winner of the prestigious Ron Bell Advanced Energy Leadership Award will be announced.
  • Ygrene Energy Fund and Entegrity are event sponsors.

“Customer demand and innovation are driving the growing adoption and deployment of advanced energy sources and technologies,” AAEA Executive Director Katie Laning Niebaum said. “Arkansas’s advanced energy industry is playing a key role in our state’s economy as the advanced energy transition continues. AAEA members are leading the way, delivering technologies and services that bring added value to the Arkansas economy through job creation and economic development.”

Media is invited to attend emPOWERing Arkansas. Registration is requested in advance to katie@arkansasadvancedenergy.com, or (501) 537-0190.

emPOWERing Arkansas 2017:

AAEA’s 6th Annual Meeting & Policy Conference
Presented by Ygrene Energy Fund
Tuesday, October 10, 2017
8:30 am – 1:30 pm
Embassy Suites, 11301 Financial Centre Parkway
Little Rock, AR 72211

Program Schedule:

8:30 – 9:30 am
Registration & Breakfast Reception

9:30 – 11:30 am
Policy Panel & Roundtable Discussion

Part 1: “Grid Integration of Renewables” Panel, featuring:
Peter Candelaria, Chief Technology Officer, Silicon Ranch
Scott D. Hamilton, Regional Director, MISO
Mike Ross, SVP Government Affairs, Southwest Power Pool

Part 2: “Our changing energy ecosystem & advanced energy opportunities”
Roundtable Discussion with all meeting attendees

11:30 am – 12:00 pm
Meet and Greet with Keynote Speaker

12:00 – 1:30 pm
Lunch Program

Arkansas Advanced Energy Awards Program

  • Advanced Energy Rising Star Award winner: Gerardo Galdamez, Entergy Arkansas
  • Advanced Energy Business Innovation Award winner: Entegrity
  • Announcement of 2017 Ron Bell Advanced Energy Leadership Award – Finalists:
    Bill Harrison, Chairman and CEO, Harrison Energy Partners
    Morris Jenkins, former director, Arkansas Energy Office
    Chris Ladner, founding partner, Entegrity
    Frank Mayfield, HVAC Efficiency & Controls Specialist, Chair of Energy Improvement District No. 1

Keynote Speaker: The Honorable Ted J. Thomas
Chairman, Arkansas Public Service Commission
Trends and challenges facing our nation’s energy system and their impact on Arkansas’ advanced energy industry

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The Arkansas Advanced Energy Association (AAEA) is the business voice for advanced energy in Arkansas. AAEA is dedicated to growing Arkansas’s economy through expanded utilization of advanced energy technologies, including energy efficiency, demand response, natural gas electric generation, solar, wind, hydro, nuclear, electric vehicles, alternative fuels and smart grid. These are innovations that make our energy supply more secure, clean and affordable. Visit arkansasadvancedenergy.com, and find us on Facebook and Twitter.