A Lakewood lawmaker hopes to
see hundreds of electric power producing windmills in Lake Erie,
creating the first wind farm in a fresh water location in the world.
"Ohio can be a leader in the emerging industry of advanced energy," said State Representative Mike Skindell, D-13th District.
"Advanced
energy will not bloom on it's own," said Richard Stuebi, the BP
Representative for Energy and Environmental Advancement at the
Cleveland Foundation.
Stuebi was at the Capitol to lend his
expert support to Skindell's bill requiring Ohio utilities to purchase
20% of their power from renewable wind, sun or agriculture based
sources by 2018.
"Advanced energy is more than a good idea, in
the not to distant future it will be one of the biggest industries in
the world." said Stuebi. "Utilities spend $6 trillion on energy sources
that are finite and polluting, replacing this energy will create
millions of jobs around the world."
"Ohio has hundreds of
manufacturers who can make wind turbines and solar panels," said State
Rep. Bob Hagan, D-60th District, a cosponsor of the renewable power
legislation.
Democrats supporting the proposed power purchase
mandates say the potential for thousands of new manufacturing jobs is
worth the higher cost of the renewable power.
Moreover, they
claim likely federal legislation taxing high carbon emissions will soon
add to the cost of coal fired power and eliminate the cost advantage.
"Ohio
utilities import most of the coal they use, so we currently send
billions to other states," said Amy Gomberg of Environment Ohio.
Governor
Ted Strickland says a renewable energy requirement is a non-negotiable
part of his electric energy re-regulation plan.
The debate
over how much renewable power utilities must buy and how fast they must
make the switch will pit current electric bills against future economic
development opportunities.
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