AAC


RESEARCH CORNER Energy efficiency


are old enough to remember the call for use of solar energy during the oil embargo. Te development of alternative energy dates back centuries. Developments in technology and the laws in Arkansas now make energy efficiencies available to counties and local communities. Te mills harnessing the power of the wind or water are nothing new. Europeans commenced use of water mills as sources of energy as far back as 200 B.C. Persians com- menced use of windmills as energy sources to grind grain and pump water in the 10th century. Starting in the 1590s, the Dutch built windmills to saw wood, ground spices and grain, and to reclaim lands from the sea, to control water and keep it back. Te first hydroelectric plant commenced operation in Appleton, Wisconsin, in 1882. Te first windmill to gener- ate electricity was located in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1888. Te Hoover Dam was completed in 1935. Te world’s first wind farm was built in Crotched Mountain, New Hampshire, in 1980. Te World’s largest windmill farm was created in 1981 at Altamont Pass, California, in 1981. Harnessing energy from the sun predates the Carter admin- istration. Te first solar cell, generating electricity directly from sunlight, was produced in 1876 by exposure of selenium to sunlight. Albert Einstein published his papers on light having the packets of energy, quanta, and significant energy known as the photovoltaic effect in 1905. Te first silicon solar cell was developed in Bell Laboratories in 1953 and began the ability to harness energy from the sun. Solar cells flourished in space during the 1960s and 1970s. During the 1970s, solar cells became commonplace on oil drilling rigs on land or sea and remote places. Tese uses provided the fledgling solar cell industry the capital it needed to continue forward. In 1977 the U.S. Department of Energy launched the


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Solar Energy Research Institute in Golden, Colorado, (now the Renewable Energy Laboratory); and the same year Presi- dent Jimmy Cater called upon conservation, reduction in the reliance upon foreign oil, and the development of solar energy. Te Solar One Power plant was the first large-scale power plant to go online in 1981. In 1999 Solar Two was developed near Barstow, California, to collect and store over 10 megawatts. Te largest concentrating solar power plant (CSP) in the world, Ivanpah, commenced generating 393 megawatts in 2014 and services over 94,000 average Ameri- can homes. More recently states including New Mexico,


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ommon sense indicates that counties facing outdated equipment, increasing maintenance and energy costs, and limited budgets should consider energy efficiency projects. Some of us


California and Hawaii are now injecting solar energy panels into the design of new homes. According to the State Energy Office, the following counties have completed energy savings/ solar energy projects: Washing- ton, Pulaski, Jefferson, Howard and Ouachita counties. En- ergy efficiency projects include upgrading county owned buildings, HVAC, lighting, and solar panels for energy efficiency (and as well include local community-based projects to convey energy efficiency to the local businesses and residents). Amendment 89 is related to energy efficiency, the repeal of the usury provisions of the Arkansas Constitution limiting the interest rate ceiling on consumer debt in Arkansas; and amended the provisions on rates for state and local bonds. During the 2009 regular session the Arkansas General As- sembly approved House Joint Resolution (H.J.R.) 1004 to submit the measure to the citizens. By a vote of the people of 448,711 For and 250,167 Against the measure was approved and became effective Jan. 1, 2011. Section 4 of the “Amendment 89, Energy Efficiency


Mark Whitmore AAC Chief Counsel


Project Bonds, Issuance, Terms and Conditions” authorized a government unit, under laws adopted by the General Assembly, to issue bonds to finance all or a portion of the costs of energy efficiency projects. Prior to Amendment 89, the capacity of counties to finance or issue bonds under the Arkansas Constitution was generally contained in Amend- ment 65 (Revenue Bonds) and Amendment 78 (City and County Redevelopment Bonds and Short-Term Financing). During the regular sessions of 2013, 2015, 2017 and 2019, acts were adopted authorizing and enhancing the feasibil- ity of energy efficiency financing, projects and programs. “Governmental unit” means: Te state of Arkansas, county, city, school district, or other political subdivision of the state, special assessment or taxing unit established under the laws of Arkansas, and any agency, board, commission or instrumentality of any of the foregoing. In February 2017, Chet Howland, Financial Projects


Manager with the Arkansas Energy Office, kindly made a presentation to the County Judges’ Association of Arkansas (CJAA) during the CJAA winter conference. Director How- land explained the Arkansas Energy Performance Contracting (EPC) program, which originated with respect to the state of Arkansas under Act 554 of 2013 and extended to local


COUNTY LINES, SUMMER 2019


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