COLUMBUS, Ohio, USA, August 29, 2007.
The state of Ohio could gain 40,000 person-years of employment if it were to commit to a 20% level of wind energy by 2020.
That commitment would add US$3.7 billion in wages paid and increase the Ohio gross state product by $8.2 billion, explains Environment Ohio in its report, ‘Energizing Ohio’s Economy: Creating Jobs & Reducing Pollution with Wind Power.’ Other benefits would be $1.5 billion in property taxes to county governments, supplementing rural landowner income by $200 million, and avoiding the emission of 170 Mt of C02.
“Ohio’s wind energy resources, manufacturing base and technological know-how are a recipe for Ohio to become a leader in the development of clean renewable energy,” says Amy Gomberg of Environment Ohio. “Diversifying our electricity mix by requiring at least 20% of Ohio’s energy come from clean renewable sources like wind would create more jobs, provide a bigger boost to our economy and make Ohio more energy independent than staying the course.”
Currently, 90% of the state’s electricity is generated from coal while 1% comes from renewables. In 2005, Ohio spent $1.5 billion importing 60% of its power plant fuel supplies used to generate electricity.
There are 70 businesses across the state that are involved in the renewables supply chain. Twenty-five other states have passed renewable portfolio standards which require that a certain percentage of a state’s electricity come from renewables.
“Clearly Ohio’s leaders should support and enact a renewable energy standard that is strong enough to ensure that Ohio can compete with our neighbours in Pennsylvania, Illinois and Michigan for new jobs,” says David Caldwell of the Ohio United Steelworkers Union. “Because of Pennsylvania’s commitment to developing wind energy, Gamesa, a large manufacturer of wind turbines recently established their American corporate headquarters in Pennsylvania and created hundreds of union jobs.”
“With stronger environmental regulations on the horizon and the increasing costs of fossil fuels, renewable energy and efficiency programs are all the more attractive to ratepayers,” adds Janine Migden-Ostrander of Ohio Consumers. “Residential consumers need the long-term benefits of Ohio’s untapped renewable energy potential coupled with energy efficiency programs that would lessen our demand for electricity.”
Environmental advocates, labour representatives and renewable energy leaders want Governor Ted Strickland, a Democrat, to release an energy plan to update a 1999 law that made changes to the power industry. The Republican-controlled legislature believes renewables should be a separate issue from the reform of the electricity industry which becomes deregulated in 2009.
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