• Government

Government Buildings


 

Public buildings are often prime opportunities for reducing energy use while saving taxpayer dollars.  Nationwide nearly one-third of the energy used in a typical public building goes to waste.  Energy efficient government buildings allow public entities to spend more on public services and less on utility bills.  Several efforts are underway throughout Arkansas to make governmental operations more clean and efficient. 

State of Arkansas Efforts 

At the state level, Act 1494 and Governor Mike Beebe's Executive Order 09-07 create a comprehensive approach for reducing energy usage from state facilities.  

Executive Order 09-07 

The Executive Order requires all executive branch agencies under the jurisdiction of the Governor to develop and submit individual Strategic Energy Plans (SEPs) with the following goals:

  • Reducing each agency’s annual maintenance and operating budget devoted to energy consumption, and
  • Promoting agency operations and practices that will reduce, to the extent practicable, the environmental impact of their overall operation

Act 1494

 

Act 1494 directs the State to develop a plan for reducing energy use in all existing state buildings by 20 percent by 2014 and a 30 percent reduction by 2017.  The state spends on average $100 million annually on energy for state buildings, including public universities and colleges.  

 

Small Cities and Counties

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 provided the Arkansas Energy Office with $5 million to grant to small cities and counties through the Energy Efficiency Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) program.  Find out more information on the EECBG Small Cities and Counties webpage. 

 

Large Cities and Counties

The ten largest cities and counties in Arkansas receive ARRA funds directly from the Department of Energy (DOE) through the Energy Efficiency Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) program.  These cities and counties include:

  • Cities: Conway, Fayetteville, Fort Smith, Hot Springs, Jonesboro, Little Rock, North Little Rock, Pine Bluff, Rogers, and Springdale.

 

  • Counties: Benton, Crawford, Crittenden, Garland, Lonoke, Pope, Pulaski, Saline, Washington, and White.

Grant allocations for these large cities and counties can be found by clicking the map on DOE's EECBG Grant Allocations Page