Energy bill may aid job creation

Jul 17 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Amy Saunders The Columbus Dispatch, Ohio

A proposed national law requiring utility companies to produce more renewable energy could boost the Ohio economy while also making the air cleaner, according to a new report.

More than 7,000 new jobs could be created in Ohio if the U.S. House of Representatives passes an energy bill that might come to a vote this week, the Union of Concerned Scientists said.

Jeff Deyette, an energy analyst at the nonprofit environmental group, said that Ohio has a "leg up" on creating energy-related manufacturing jobs because of its existing infrastructure.

"Ohio has a high-skilled, well-trained work force in place, it has the facilities available, the capacity for transport," Deyette said. "All the reasons why it was an ideal manufacturing state 100 years ago and 50 years ago make it such today for the clean-energy industry."

But job creation in the renewable energy field "is not quite the good news that a report like this would seem to suggest," said James Newton, chief economic adviser for Commerce National Bank.

The proposed law could also take away jobs in traditional industries, such as mining, Newton said.

Still, the need to increase alternative energy use is "probably inevitable" as oil prices continue to rise, Newton said. "Ohio needs to reposition itself, like any state."

Ohio is in one of the best positions to benefit from this changing economy, ranking third behind California and Illinois in terms of its potential to grow renewable energy jobs, Deyette said.

Amy Gomberg, an advocate for Environment Ohio, said some Ohio companies are already making equipment and materials used in wind turbines and other applications -- but they're shipping them out of state.

"They don't have a market for their own products here in Ohio because we don't have a demand for renewable energy," Gomberg said.

The 20 states that have passed minimum standards for producing renewable energy are "the first in line to get these products" and unless Ohio passes similar legislation, the state will also lose job creation opportunities, Gomberg said.

Less than 1 percent of Ohio's energy comes from alternative sources, according to Gomberg.

The House bill would require that utility companies increase their use of renewable energy to 20 percent by 2020. Currently, 2.5 percent of energy nationwide comes from renewables, Deyette said.

asaunders@dispatch.com

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