FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
DATE:  June 17, 2010

Contact:  Ken Smith, Arkansas Business Leaders for a Clean Energy Economy
Phone:  501-912-1090

Little Rock, Ark.–As the Senate Democratic Caucus prepares to meet today and discuss the direction and strategy for moving forward on a climate and energy package, business leaders throughout Arkansas sent its economic case for support for building the clean energy economy to Senators Lincoln and Pryor encouraging them to stand behind a comprehensive approach that includes a price on carbon and reminding them that a scaled-down energy only bill will not adequately address our dependence on oil, will not stimulate our economy and will not provide the market stability American businesses need to grow and compete.

Below is a statement from the Arkansas Business Leaders on the importance of passing comprehensive climate and energy legislation.

On behalf of business leaders throughout Arkansas, the Arkansas Business Leaders for a Clean Energy Economy is urging our Senators to stand up for comprehensive climate and energy legislation now. As the disaster unfolds in the Gulf, this is the time for bold action, not a stripped-down energy bill.

We must move quickly and decisively to wean ourselves off dirty fossil fuels for the sake of our economy.   Arkansans need and demand comprehensive legislation that puts a price on carbon, unlocks the creativity of the market, and points our state toward a more profitable, more sustainable, and more secure clean-energy future.

The Arkansas council’s business members range from home energy auditing companies to multinational renewal energy corporations, and come from every part of our state. Over the past year, we have:

•    Released the energy efficiency study in April by Georgia Institute of Technology and Duke University’s Nicholas Center showing that utility bills in Arkansas could be reduced by $1.2 billion and job growth in energy efficiency in could increase by 8700 jobs.
•    Released an economic analysis from three leading universities that shows the House passed version of climate and energy legislation would add up to 25,000 jobs and increase our GDP by $1.2 billion.
•    Sponsored economic forums in northwest Arkansas and in the Delta.
•    Arranged congressional briefings in Arkansas and in Washington, DC with our Senators staff and several of state’s leading clean energy executives.

Our council is part of a wider movement sweeping the state’s business community. Across Arkansas, 108 businesses are calling for comprehensive climate and energy legislation this year. These businesses employ 16,916 of your fellow Arkansans—and will employ many more if Congress acts now to set our nation on a path to a clean energy future.

Now is the time to act. Between the tragic spill in the Gulf and the mine disaster in West Virginia, Americans have spent months dealing with the consequences of our continued reliance on fossil fuels. There can be no better time to ask Americans to turn away from an increasingly outdated way of powering our economy – it is impossible to ignore the real costs of our fossil-fuel addiction.

Energy-only legislation is not enough. Research shows that a comprehensive climate and clean energy bill will cut US oil imports and greenhouse gas emissions much faster and further, boosting employment higher than an energy-only bill.

A comprehensive climate and energy bill, according to the Congressional Budget Office, will slash our budget deficit by $21 billion by 2019.  In comparison, an energy-only bill means more oil imports, more greenhouse gas emissions, and fewer new jobs – and according to Congressional Budget Office estimates available at www.cbo.gov – an energy-only bill would actually increase the budget deficit.  To us, the choice is clear.

Here in Arkansas, studies show comprehensive climate and energy legislation could mean up to 25,000 new jobs and increase the state’s GDP an additional $1.2 billion.  We need those jobs.  In order to create them, business owners need the kind of market certainty that only putting a price on carbon emissions can give.

For the sake of our businesses, our state, and our nation, we are asking Senators Lincoln and Pryor to stand up and support comprehensive clean energy and climate legislation. Now is the moment, and we urge them to act.

For more information visit: www.arkcleaneconomy.biz

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Signals Critical Progress & Major Gains for Arkansas

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
May 12, 2010

Contact:
Eddy Moore
AR Business Leaders for a Clean Energy Economy
C: 501-772-5426

Little Rock, Ark — Today, a comprehensive energy and climate bill was introduced, reflecting months of hard work from Senators John Kerry (D- MA), Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Joseph Lieberman (I-CT). The American Power Act is a major step forward that would reduce United States’ dependence on oil and move our country toward a cleaner, more secure energy economy.

Arkansas Business Leaders for a Clean Energy Economy, an informal network of numerous Arkansas-based clean energy companies, applauds the effort to improve American and Arkansas competitiveness in the emerging trillion-dollar global clean technology economy.

“It is time to pass a comprehensive climate and energy policy to create Arkansas jobs in the wind industry.  These policies will strengthen our economy and national security,” said Nakano Tsuneo, Senior Vice President of Wind Operations for Mitsubishi Power Systems Americas.  Mitsubishi is Arkansas’ newest major wind turbine manufacturing company.  Mitsubishi has broken ground on a $100 million plant in Ft. Smith, Arkansas that will employ at least 400 people.

Like the recently-opened LM Glasfiber windmill blade factory in Little Rock, and the Nordex windmill turbine facility being built in Jonesboro, the Mitsubishi location includes room for expansion, should the wind industry continue the high rate of growth it has seen in recent years.  Arkansas is favorably located for the wind industry due to very windy nearby states and strong transportation infrastructure.

Also, representing the energy efficiency sector of the Arkansas clean energy economy, Robert Wilkins, President of Danfoss North America Corporation stated that “Energy security, economic security and economic growth are so closely tied to climate issues that we cannot separate them.  Clean energy technology offers the platform for a transformational economy and by decisively deploying a strong energy policy, the US will be well positioned be the world’s clean energy market leader.”

Danfoss operates a factory in Arkadelphia, Arkansas that employs 525 people and manufactures components for high-efficiency air conditioners.

“The catastrophic Gulf Coast oil spill will have economic, as well as environmental effects; it demonstrates the urgent need to transition to cleaner energy markets,” said Eddy Moore, coordinator of Arkansas Business Leaders for a Clean Energy Economy.  “The American Power Act introduced today gives businesses and workers in Arkansas a fighting chance to compete in a trillion dollar clean energy economy.”

To arrange an interview with Eddy Moore, Robert Wilkins, or Jonathan Wang, please call Eddy Moore at 501-772-5426.

Visit http://www.arkcleaneconomy.biz/ for more information about Arkansas Business Leaders for a Clean Energy Economy.
To read an extended bill summary, click here

To read remarks from Senator Kerry, click here

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Clean Energy for Our Future (Guest Commentary)

By Bert Fleck
3/15/2010

Recently, Dow Chemical and other Arkansas business leaders met with U.S. Sens. Blanche Lincoln and Mark Pryor in Washington, D.C., to present our views on climate and energy policy.

We represent an informal network called the Arkansas Business Leaders for a Clean Energy Economy. We believe promoting job growth and U.S. energy independence starts with legislation that requires standards for renewable energy and energy efficiency and creates a private-sector market for low-carbon energy solutions.

We met with our senators to deliver a simple message: There is great untapped potential to grow the state’s economy, attract investment and create jobs by enacting a comprehensive national energy and climate policy that supports renewable energy, promotes energy efficiency and cuts carbon dioxide emissions.

Arkansas is well positioned to take full advantage of the fast-growing, multibillion-dollar clean technology market. Between 2006 and 2008, venture capitalists poured $22.8 million into clean technology businesses in our state. Why? Because we are quickly becoming a manufacturing center for wind energy and other clean technologies. New facilities in the state have created thousands of jobs. One study showed that in 2007, 448 Arkansas businesses had generated more than 4,500 clean energy jobs.

A recent study conducted by a consortium of economists at three leading universities found that comprehensive climate and energy policies could generate up to 25,000 additional jobs in Arkansas, increase Arkansas real gross domestic product by $1.2 billion and real household income by $1,230 per year, as measured in 2008 dollars, by 2020.

Entrepreneurs, business leaders and investors who support strong climate and clean energy legislation are convinced that a carbon emissions limit is the best market-based tool to spur new business opportunities and jobs for America. We see it as vital to our long-term economic competitiveness, as clean energy will unleash a flurry of new investments leading to the creation of jobs and the restoration our country’s technological edge.

We believe that Arkansans should note that market-based development of low-carbon energy sources is happening in multiple states and countries, regardless of what leaders in our state do this year. Most of the East Coast and all of the West Coast have already developed multi-state carbon markets. Already they are pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into the technologies that will be the basis of tomorrow’s wealth. European and Asian clean energy policies have helped shift world clean energy leadership from the United States to other nations. Arkansas should not resign itself to being left behind when its potential is so rich.

We disagree with those who believe clean energy is too expensive for Arkansans. Fuel savings by an OG&E wind project in Oklahoma in 2007 offset the entire cost of the project. Empire District Electric Co., located on the Missouri-Arkansas boarder, is the most wind-reliant utility in the nation. Its initial wind contract saved $4.2 million in avoided fossil fuel energy-generation costs in the first quarter of 2006, “far exceed[ing] our expectations and our customers and shareholders have enjoyed the financial benefits,” according to Empire Vice President Brad Beecher.

Due to our geographic location and significant clean energy resources, Arkansas is poised to lead America’s transition to clean, efficient energy. As leaders of established and emerging clean energy technology companies across the state and nation, we recognize the urgency and opportunity of this moment.

We hope Sens. Lincoln and Pryor do too. We urge them to give Arkansas the tools to lead our nation into a cleaner, more prosperous future by voting for strong climate and energy policies, now.

(Bert Fleck is manager of Dow Chemical’s Russellville plant.)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
January 14, 2010

Contact:
Eddy Moore
AR Business Leaders for a Clean Energy Economy
C: 501-772-5426

(Little Rock, Ark)-Four Arkansas businesses in the wind and advanced-battery industries netted over $30 million of a $2.3 billion clean energy manufacturing tax credit in the Federal economic stimulus legislation this week. The significant size of tax credits awarded to Arkansas businesses provides a clear indicator of the strength of the state’s clean energy economy and that comprehensive federal climate and energy policies will further grow Arkansas’ economy, according to the Arkansas Business Leaders for a Clean Energy Economy.

“Arkansas represents a little under 1% of the US population but we received at least 1.5% of the clean energy tax credits during the first round of funding,” said Eddy Moore, coordinator of the Arkansas Business Leaders for a Clean Energy Economy. “This is another indication that Arkansas is strongly positioned to benefit from the shift to a lower-carbon economy.”

Nordex, the Jonesboro windmill turbine manufacturer, garnered one of the twenty largest awards in the nation-a $22 million in support for its new manufacturing facility. Nearby American Railcar Industries, with manufacturing facilities in Paragould and Marmaduke, received over $3.6 million to re-equip a railcar plant so that it can produce the huge towers needed for large-scale windmills. Mitsubishi Power Systems Americas was approved for $5.1 million to help construct a new windmill nacelle manufacturing facility. Also, Little Rock’s Porocel Industries, LLC, received $2.9 million in credits to construct a new facility to supply the battery industry.

“Arkansas’ economy is already benefiting from investment in renewable energy technology, and putting a price on carbon will help Arkansas capture an even bigger slice of what will become a multibillion-dollar industry,” added Moore.

A recent study conducted by a consortium of economists at three leading universities found The strongest climate and energy policies could generate up to 25,000 additional jobs in Arkansas, increase Arkansas real Gross Domestic Product by $1.2 billion and real household income by $1,230 per year (as measured in 2008 dollars) by 2020.

Pew Charitable Trusts’ analysis shows that 448 businesses in Arkansas generated more than 4,500 jobs in clean energy by 2007. The same study showed that between 2006 and 2008, venture capitalists poured $22.8 million into clean technology businesses in the state.

Webster University energy and labor market economist Jim Metzger adds, “the synergies between labor markets that develop as a result of building our clean energy economy may increase the [economic] benefits in the long-term. A national commitment to grow our clean energy economy would make our entire workforce available for new, green jobs.”

Arkansas Business Leaders for a Clean Energy Economy is an informal network of businesses and business leaders, spanning a wide spectrum of industry and commerce. The network supports a transition to a low-carbon clean energy economy in Arkansas and nationally. Its goal is to empower the Arkansas business community to influence public policy that helps get us there.

For more information on AR Business Leaders for a Clean Energy Economy visit: http://www.arkcleaneconomy.biz/
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