COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio can revive its sinking manufacturing industry and decrease its
dependence on carbon-emitting coal if the state requires a portion of electricity to be produced
with renewable energy technologies such as wind, said a report released Thursday.
The report by the nonprofit group Environment Ohio calls on Gov. Ted Strickland and state
lawmakers to bring a state awash in coal into a growing U.S. and world competition to attract new
energy technologies.
Environmental advocates, labor representatives and renewable energy business leaders said Ohio
cannot afford to continue falling behind in a movement that has seen 25 states enact a requirement
for the use of renewable technologies to produce electricity.
Using wind to supply 20 percent of Ohio's electricity by 2020 would create 3,100 permanent
full-time jobs and reduce carbon emissions by the same factor as taking 2 million cars off the
road, the Environment Ohio report said.
Strickland, a Democrat, will soon release a wide-ranging energy plan that will update a 1999 law
that made changes to the power industry. He views requirements for renewable energy as inseparable
from a comprehensive change in energy laws, said his energy adviser, Mark Shanahan.
But some in the Republican-controlled Legislature, as well as some heavy lobbying groups such as
the Ohio Manufacturers Association and utility companies, believe alternative energy should take a
back seat to the more pressing challenge of reforming the electricity industry before it becomes
deregulated on Jan. 1, 2009.
Advocates for renewable energy hope the environmental and economic benefits of energy from wind,
sun and biomass will attract lawmakers with different viewpoints from both sides of the aisle.
"We believe this to be a great opportunity to put politics aside, not only to address electric
restructuring and regulation but also advanced energy," said Tim Burga, chief of staff for the Ohio
AFL-CIO.
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