Alternative energy generating jobs in Ohio

Jan 5 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Dan Gearino The Columbus Dispatch, Ohio

Ohio's manufacturers have embraced alternative energy, with 169 businesses making materials used to produce solar or wind energy, according to a new analysis by the Environmental Law and Policy Center.

The Chicago-based nonprofit group wants to see greater government investment in renewable power. It produced the list for Ohio to show the importance of solar and wind energy as a source of jobs.

Central Ohio is home to 15 of the businesses, the largest of which is DuPont in Circleville, which makes a material used in solar panels.

"What we're seeing is that old-line manufacturers are retooling to create the components for the growing renewable-energy market," said Howard Learner, executive director of the group that produced the report.

By showing the number of employers in the solar and wind industries, his group is attempting to demonstrate the economic benefits of proposed legislation, such as the federal renewable-electricity standard. The proposal would require all electric utilities to obtain a growing share of their power from renewable sources.

Ohio already has its own renewable-energy standard, a 2008 law that says investor-owned electric companies must get 25 percent of their power from "advanced" or renewable sources by 2025.

In addition, the report recommends the continuation and expansion of tax credits that make solar and wind energy more affordable.

The report is the latest of many surveys and studies that try to provide firm numbers for concepts that can sometimes be hazy, such as "green jobs."

Previously, the Environmental Law and Policy Center issued similar studies about Illinois and Iowa, two states that each have fewer manufacturers of clean-energy components than Ohio.

For now, wind and solar manufacturers have a much greater presence in Ohio than actual wind- and solar-energy production. The largest solar installation opened last year in Wyandot County, providing a capacity of 12 megawatts. The state's various utility-scale wind turbines had a combined capacity of 10 megawatts as of last year, according to the American Wind Energy Association.

The state's largest energy projects are in the planning stages, including several larger wind and solar installations. American Electric Power is a leading investor in the Wyandot County project and in several of the others.

dgearino@dispatch.com