Community Leaders & Experts Call on Elected Leaders to Invest in Ohio’s Wind Energy Potential
Cleveland, Ohio – Environment Ohio, the new home of Ohio PIRG’s environmental work, released a new study today: “Ohio’s Wind Energy Future.” Environment Ohio and a coalition of experts called on Ohio’s elected officials to invest in wind energy and make Ohio a global leader of wind energy research, development and production.
“Ohio’s technological know-how, existing manufacturing base and wind energy potential are a recipe for Ohio to control its energy future, yet Ohio lags behind many surrounding states like Pennsylvania and West Virginia,” stated Amy Gomberg, Environmental Advocate for Environment Ohio. “Ohio’s leaders know that Ohioans want energy independence. Today, we’re urging them to heed that call and invest in Ohio’s wind energy future.”
Wind energy is one of Ohio’s most viable energy resources but one that is largely untapped. New detailed wind maps show significant wind resources along the glacial ridges in central Ohio, across the farmlands of northwest Ohio, as well as on and off the shores of Lake Erie. In fact, within the next decade, Ohio could harness at least 10 percent of our electricity from wind, the equivalent of powering over a million homes. To date, Ohio has only one utility scale wind farm located in Bowling Green, Ohio. The four wind turbines generate enough electricity to power more than 2,000 homes.
“We have learned from Bowling Green and other wind monitoring projects that we have better wind resources in Ohio than what was originally expected,” stated Steven Watts, Green Energy Ohio Wind Program Manager. “To realize Ohio’s wind potential, Ohio’s leaders must come together now and enact energy policies that will enable and encourage the development of large-scale wind projects statewide.”
In addition to on-land wind development, the strong winds that blow across Lake Erie are ripe for developing clean renewable wind energy. Currently, the Cuyahoga Regional Energy Development Task Force, chaired by Bill Mason, Cuyahoga County Prosecutor, is exploring off-shore development.
Environment Ohio’s study also documented how an investment in wind energy would reduce our over-dependence on expensive out-of-state fossil fuels and keep more of our dollars in-state boosting our own economy and creating Ohio jobs.
“We’ve been enthusiastic for years about the potential for wind energy to be an important part of the local economy,” noted Richard Stuebi, BP Fellow for Energy and Environmental Advancement at The Cleveland Foundation. “Not only are we blessed with wind resources that eventually could supply a meaningful portion of our local power requirements, our region’s industrial strengths clearly suggest that Northeast Ohio is well-positioned to become a high-employment manufacturing center supplying turbines and other components to the burgeoning North American wind market.”
Ohio’s rural communities and farmers also stand to gain from an investment in wind energy. Individual farmers could lease small swaths of their land to wind developers for an additional income of $2,000 to $20,000 a year. Rural communities who utilize their wind resources can also benefit from property tax revenues generated from installing wind turbines.
"Today in Ohio, farming families and rural communities all too often find themselves in deep economic distress,” stated Joe Logan, President of the Ohio Farmers Union. “Developing wind farms in rural Ohio will provide additional income and an added tax base to revitalize Ohio’s farming communities.”
Twenty-one states and the District of Columbia have enacted state-specific renewable energy standards that create a market for clean energy by mandating that a specific percent of their energy mix come from renewable or alternative sources by a particular date. Currently, Ohio does not have a renewable energy standard. The Environment Ohio study calls for Ohio leaders to consider a renewable energy standard, provide tax incentives for wind developers and Ohio businesses that manufacture renewable technologies, as well as to continue to invest in programs like the Energy Loan Fund which provides grants and loans to qualified people for wind development projects
Wind developers from as far away as Germany and Spain are interested in developing wind in Ohio, but without a commitment from Ohio’s leaders and investor owned utilities like Columbus based, American Electric Power, to reform our energy policies, Ohio could lose lucrative wind development projects to other states like Texas, Illinois and Pennsylvania.
“While current state policies leave Ohio considerably behind other states and a good part of the rest of the world, we are optimistic that changes are in the wind that will bring us back to our rightful place as world leaders in the development and manufacturing of wind energy technologies,” commented AAron Godwin, the founder of The Renaissance Group an Ohio based wind developer.
“Starting today, Ohio’s leaders should come together and develop energy policies that will result in more wind energy,” stated Gomberg. “By harnessing Ohio’s homegrown wind energy we can lure new business to our state, create jobs, reduce pollution and ensure a safer and healthier future for all Ohioans.”
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Environment Ohio is the new home to Ohio PIRG’s environmental work. Visit us at: www.EnvironmentOhio.org
