A heightened commitment to wind power in Ohio could create more than
3,000 jobs, boost the state's economic output, generate more property
taxes for county governments and help rural landowners, says a report
released Thursday by an environmental advocacy group.
To achieve all that,
Environment Ohio wants state lawmakers to adopt a policy that would require Ohio's
electricity mix to include at least 20 percent renewable energy by
2020, said Amy Gomberg, an advocate with the Columbus-based group that
published the report.
Environment Ohio wants that renewable energy provision to be part
of an energy policy expected to be hashed out in the General Assembly
this fall. The issue is coming to a head because Ohio's electricity
rate stabilization plans for investor-owned utilities will expire at
the end of 2008, moving the state to a fully deregulated market for
electricity rates. Power users are raising warning flags that electric
rates will soar under full deregulation.
Environmental, labor, business and consumer groups discussed the
energy policy question during a teleconference after the release of the
Environment Ohio report.
The report examined the economic and environmental effects of the
state requiring 20 percent of its electricity be produced by wind
sources by 2020. The report projected Ohio would:
- Gain 40,000 man-years of employment through 2020, the
equivalent of 3,100 permanent jobs, with an added $3.7 billion in wages
paid.
- Increase its gross product by $8.2 billion.
- Generate up to $1.5 billion in property taxes for county governments.
- Supplement rural landowners' incomes by $200 million.
-
Avoid the release of 170 metric tons of carbon dioxide, the equivalent
of taking more than 2 million cars off the road, and other pollutants,
including sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and mercury.
The report didn't address the effect a 20 percent renewable energy
requirement by 2020 would have on electricity rates in Ohio. But it
said wind energy would not be subject to increased costs associated
with federal caps that could be placed on carbon dioxide emissions.
