Arkansas Alternative Energy Companies Pitch Climate Bill
Posted on 27 October 2009
By Tulsa Business Staff
Alternative energy companies need Congress to pass the climate bill so they will be assured of a long-term market, said one Arkansas-based industry group.
The bill, which is before the Senate, includes a cap-and-trade system that would require factories, refineries and power generation plants to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other climate-changing pollution. Companies would be able to purchase emission allowances to limit reductions.
The measure would ultimately lower energy costs and employ 25,000 in Arkansas by 2020, said Ralf Sigrist, president and chief executive of Nordex USA, which is building a $40 million windmill factory in Jonesboro, Ark.
Wind energy companies won’t replace other power generation sources already operating, but wind is an affordable option in the nation’s energy portfolio.
"This is now a viable, competitive alternative," said Sigrist, whose company expects to employ 700 people within four years.
Sigrist spoke during a conference call set up by the group Arkansas Business Leaders for a Clean Energy Economy.