Jun 30 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - John Arthur Hutchison The News-Herald, Willoughby, Ohio


U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown was optimistic Tuesday after he attended a bipartisan meeting led by President Barack Obama that focused on efforts to pass clean energy legislation and to outline priorities for energy independence and clean energy manufacturing jobs.

About two dozen people, including key U.S. Senate leaders from both parties, were in attendance at the White House meeting, said Brown, who discussed the meeting during a conference call with statewide and national media.

"There was broad agreement that the U.S. must transform our energy system," Brown said. "The stakes couldn't be higher -- done right, a clean energy bill will be a jobs bill. It will prevent us from replacing our dependence on foreign oil with a dependence on Chinese-made clean energy components."

The senator said that based on Ohio's manufacturing heritage and existing supply chain that the state can become the "Silicon Valley of Clean Energy Manufacturing."

 He released a report and interactive map on his Senate website that details clean energy projects in Ohio that are funded by the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act of 2009.

Among the projects funded include $512,200 to the city of Mentor to retrofit traffic signal bulbs with LED bulbs, retrofit street lighting bulbs, and a city hall retrofit of boiler and HVAC condensing units.

Another local project was $1 million to Lincoln Electric Co. for the installation of a 2.5 megawatt Kenersys wind turbine at the company's Euclid manufacturing plant.

Since the passage of that legislation, Ohio has received approximately $889,865,710 for 20 programs overseeing 219 projects, according to Brown.

The senator outlined two key priorities for clean energy legislation -- the establishment of a $30 billion Manufacturing Revolving Loan Fund to help former auto suppliers and small- and mid-sized manufacturers retool for clean energy production and the expansion and improvement of the Advanced Energy Manufacturing Tax Credit.

The credit provides a 30 percent credit for domestic companies for investments in new, expanded, or re-equipped clean energy manufacturing projects, Brown said.

Qualifying facilities manufacture a wide range of clean energy products, including wind turbines, solar panels, hybrid vehicle systems, carbon capture and sequestration systems, and biofuel refinery components, among others.

According to a report released by the Council of State Governments, Ohio led the country in the number of clean energy jobs created by the Recovery Act during the first reporting period, the senator said.

Ohio is also a national leader in the number of homes weatherized through the Home Weatherization Assistance Program.

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