Arkansas has powerful untapped renewable energy potential, generating jobs and clean energy for Arkansas consumers.  A strong federal standard would accelerate investment and jobs in our state.

• Arkansas’ current renewable energy potential (9%) exceeds proposed federal targets standards for 2015, and almost every other Southern state in both potential and already planned renewable projects.[1]

• Arkansas is a wind industry manufacturing center: Turbine maker Nordex is investing over $100 million on a wind plant in Jonesboro that will create 700 new jobs; Polymarin and Water Wind Technology are investing $20 million in Little Rock, bringing 830 new jobs with an average wage of $15/hour;[2] LM Glasfiber has brought 300 jobs to the Little Rock Plant.

• A nationwide renewable infrastructure investment of $100 billion over the next two years could yield 1,358 jobs in solar power and 1,157 jobs in wind power for Arkansas — 2,119 more jobs than an equivalent investment in conventional power would create.[3]

• Recent wind mapping shows that Arkansas has significant wind resources, as well as biomass and solar resources.[4]

• More than 2 million acres of Arkansas farmland could be used in the production of energy crops – making Arkansas a world leader.[5]
• Arkansas universities are conducting cutting-edge clean energy research: Arkansas Biosciences Institute at Arkansas State University at Jonesboro is at the forefront of second-generation biofuels funded by the U.S. Department of Energy and the Wal-Mart Foundation.[6]

Renewable clean energy protects Arkansas’ economy and consumers.

• Renewable energy sources – unlike fossil fuels — will not run out and have much more stable prices.  Once a renewable energy plant is built, it runs on a free energy supply unlike a traditional fossil fuel energy plant.
• The costs of installing renewable energy plants will fall as the technology becomes more widespread, while the cost of installing and running fossil fuel energy plants will continue to go up due to increased demand and decreased supply.

Actual experience and accurate modeling proves that integrating renewable energy into utility portfolios reduces electricity rates.[7]

1. “Southern Solutions for a Renewable Energy Standard,” Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, Feb. 2009.

2. American Wind Energy Association

3. “Charting a New Path for Arkansas’s Electricity Generation and Use,” National Wildlife Federation. http://www.nwf.org/globalwarming/energypdfs/ARKANSAS_10-22-4.pdf

4. The U.S. Department of Energy, 2008.

5. “Could Arkansas be The Silicon Valley of Alternate Fuels?” Arkansas Business News, 3/25/2009

6. “Dr. Hood to serve as P.I. for $1.845 million grant,” 7/23/2008, Arkansas Biosciences Institute: http://www2.astate.edu/a/abi/press-releases/2008/7-23_hood.dot

7. Public Statement, Empire Vice President Brad Beecher. Modeling by Union of Concerned Scientists using US EIA models indicates national wholesale electricity price reductions around 4% and Arkansas consumer savings of $1.65 billion from a 25%-by-25 RES, due primarily to reduced fuel use and prices.