Made in America: Entergy named one of top utilities for economic development by Site Selection magazine
by October 2, 2016 8:50 am 173 views
Editor’s note: Each Sunday, Talk Business & Politics provides “Made In America,” a round-up of state and global manufacturing news.
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ENTERGY NAMED ONE OF TOP UTILITIES FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT BY SITE SELECTION MAGAZINE
Entergy Corp., the parent company of Entergy Arkansas, has been named one of the nation’s Top 10 utilities in economic development for 2015 by Site Selection magazine for the ninth year in a row for its integral role that resulted in nearly $10.3 billion of capital investment and the creation of more than 4,800 new jobs in its service territory.
Criteria used by Site Selection to choose the top 10 includes the utility’s use of innovative programs and incentives for business and the utility’s own job-creating infrastructure and facility investment trends. New Orleans-based Entergy provides companies with access to essential information to locate, expand and promote their company in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas.
In addition, Entergy provides companies with services in site selection, project management, large project transmission and distribution engineering and contracts. American Electric Power and CenterPoint Energy, which also have operations in Arkansas, were selected in the top 10 of the annual ranking, which can be viewed on Site Selection’s website here.
ERNST & YOUNG: U.S. BUSINESS INVESTMENT TOPS $165 BILLION IN 2015
U.S. business investment projects accounted for $166 billion in capital investment in 2015, with the state of Texas topping the list with more than $48 billion in capital influx, according to a recent report from Ernst & Young. More than 5,400 business investments were announced in 2015 and are expected to create or retain more than 402,000 jobs in the U.S. Although the total amount of capital is $16 billion higher than the previous year, there was a 2% decrease in the total number of projected jobs.
The report focuses on U.S. and foreign companies’ mobile capital investments, which are not tied to specific markets or geographies. Mobile capital investments include headquarters facilities, data and call centers, manufacturing facilities, distribution centers, and research facilities, which have a wide range of location options. Data from the announced projects analyzed in the 2016 report points to longer-term trends shaping economic development both regionally and across industries.
HOT SPRINGS WINS NATIONAL AWARD FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT EFFORTS
The Hot Springs Metro Partnership of Arkansas received a Bronze Excellence award in Economic Development for its 2016 project in the category of Economic Development Week from the International Economic Development Council (IEDC). The honor was presented at an awards ceremony on Sept. 27 at the IEDC annual conference in Cleveland.
The Hot Springs Metro Partnership partnered with local government and media to increase visibility for local economic development efforts during Economic Development Week 2016. The Hot Springs Metro Partnership is Hot Springs, Arkansas’ public-private economic development organization. IEDC’s Excellence in Economic Development Awards recognize the world’s best economic development programs and partnerships, marketing materials, and the year’s most influential leaders.