The Environment Ohio Research and Policy Center released its report, Energizing Ohio's Economy: Creating Jobs and Reducing Pollution with Wind Power, that advocates adoption of a renewable electricity standard (RES) of 20 percent of Ohio retail electricity sales by 2020. The report finds wind energy would create jobs, create economic growth, benefit rural areas, reduce pollution, prepare Ohio for a future cap on global warming pollution and protect Ohio's economy from the rising cost of fossil fuels.
Amy Gomberg, environmental advocate with Environment Ohio and one of the report's authors, said, "A 20 percent commitment to wind energy by 2020 would result in a:
- (Net) gain of 40,000 person-years of employment,
- Additional $3.7 billion in wages paid,
- Increase the Ohio gross state product by $8.2 billion,
- Generate up to $1.5 billion dollars in property taxes to county governments,
- Supplement rural landowner' income by $200 million dollars, and
- Avoid 170 million metric tons of global warming pollution (C02), which is equivalent to taking over two million cars off the road.
Another author, Travis Madsen of Frontier Group, said the job gains would occur mainly in manufacturing, construction, and banking and finance with losses spread out among some other sectors.
Joining Environment Ohio in support of the report were David Champagne, manager of wind energy for The Minster Machine Company; Jeff Jacobs, technical sales manager for Honeywell-Urbana; Dave Caldwell, assistant to the director of the United Steelworkers; Tim Burga, chief of staff for the AFL-CIO; Ryan Lippe, senior communications specialist, and Wilson Gonzales, senior regulatory analyst, of the Ohio Consumers' Counsel; Geoff Greenfield, president of Third Sun Solar and Wind Power Ltd.; and Ellen Hawkey, conservation program manager for the Sierra Club Ohio Chapter.
Erin Bowser, the report's third author, also with Environment Ohio, said, "Currently 25 other states in the U.S. have passed RES's and are making them stronger every day. The model exists; it is not complicated; and there is a window of opportunity."
Greenfield added, "Time is of the essence; manufacturers are looking to site facilities, and if Ohio doesn't act (with incentives as well as RES's) they will go elsewhere."
Ohio Consumers' Counsel Janine Migden-Ostrander was quoted as saying, "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. Choices we make today will affect the electric prices and environmental quality of our future generations. 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."
Burga stated, "We believe that an energy plan for Ohio should be an integrated policy, including a unique standard for renewable energy sources such as wind. This will be a catalyst for creating the much needed sustainable jobs in Ohio."
Hawkey said, "Ohio is ranked as the fourth largest emitter of global warming C02 pollution in the country. As Congress considers global warming pollution limits, Ohio needs to diversify our energy resources by investing in energy efficiency technologies and renewable energy sources."
In response to criticism that wind energy is not reliable for either base load or peaking power, Gomberg told Hannah News, "We want wind to be part of a diversified energy package for Ohio, combined with solar, clean biomass, geothermal, hydroelectric and conventional sources." Travis added that a Minnesota study shows wind can supply a
fourth of Minnesota's electricity without storage; borne out by experience in Denmark.
Asked about Gov. Ted Strickland's consideration of an advanced energy portfolio standard that would include clean coal and nuclear, Gomberg said Ohio would be the first and urged the governor to carve out separate tiers for renewables and
keep advanced energy separate.
