Resources

With global energy consumption projected to rise nearly 40 percent by 2030, future prosperity depends on new ways to meet the world’s energy needs. Advanced energy - technologies, products, and services that make energy more secure, clean, and affordable - presents an economic opportunity for American companies and workers.

Arkansans have taken note. The state is home to over 90 advanced energy companies across 22 industry segments that collectively employ 11,000 Arkansans, according to an October 2012 report by the Advanced Energy Economy Institute for the Arkansas Advanced Energy Association, a partner of AEE. That’s nearly equal to Arkansas employment in the accommodation services segment (i.e. hotels and motels) of the hospitality and leisure industry, a traditionally strong sector of the Arkansas economy.

Arkansan businesses are well positioned to further develop a vibrant local advanced energy industry. Arkansas’ favorable business climate, ranked number one in the country for cost of doing business in a recent CNBC study, is an important asset, as are the state’s transportation infrastructure, supportive state policies and abundant natural resources, including biomass and geothermal. What’s more, 88 percent of Arkansans think it’s important to the state economy to manufacture advanced energy products like batteries for power storage, high-efficiency motors and equipment, and wind turbine components.

Advanced Energy is a new concept representing the best available commercial technologies, products, and services for meeting energy needs today and tomorrow. Electric and plug-in hybrid cars, natural gas-fueled trucks, high-performance buildings, energy-saving industrial processes, high-capacity wind turbines, on-site solar power, and advanced nuclear power plants are all examples of advanced energy, as they diversify energy sources, reduce health and environmental costs to communities, and use energy resources more productively.