Electricity Generating Alternatives in Arkansas: An Economic Analysis

ECONorthwest compares the economic consequences of two alternatives to satisfy and increase in demand for electricity in Arkansas.

The Southwestern Electric Power Company (SWEPCo), which provides electricity to about 450,000 customers in the Arkansas-Louisiana-Texas region, has projected that the demand for electric energy will grow by as much as 1,600 megawatts (MW) by 2011.1 Two major pathways have been proposed for satisfying this increase in demand. One entails building a new coal-fired generator. The other calls for a more diversified set of clean-energy actions, with investments in energy efficiency and new generators powered by wind, biomass, and other renewable sources of energy.  This report describes and compares the potential economic consequences associated with these two pathways. Specifically, it examines the tradeoffs between them in terms of: impacts on jobs, economic costs, and economic risk.

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