Contacts: Erin Bowser, Environment Ohio Director, (614)
314-1863
Rob Sargent, Environment America Energy
Program Director, (617) 747-4317
Columbus: Governor
Strickland will sign Sub Senate Bill 221 into law today, one year after he
announced his original energy principles, making Ohio the 26th state
to enact a renewable energy standard.
Environmental groups, wind and solar businesses, labor organizations,
manufacturers and many others applauded the work of Governor Strickland and Ohio’s
legislative leaders, most notably Speaker Jon Husted, for making this
investment in Ohio’s future.
“Ohio is now on the map for clean energy development that
will reduce pollution, eliminate the need for expensive new coal-fired power
plants and take advantage of a booming new green economy that will create
jobs,” stated Erin Bowser, Director of Environment Ohio.
It is of national significance that more than half of the
states in the U.S. now have renewable energy standards. Congress has failed numerous times to send a
national renewable energy standard to President Bush’s desk - which has led
states from Texas to Ohio to lead the way.
Other Midwestern states including Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota have
also put renewable energy standards into place and Michigan could be next.
“Clearly this is a case of individual states leading the way
in the face of failed attempts by Congress to pass a national renewable energy
standard,” stated Bowser.
Ohio will reap both environmental and economic benefits of
generating more clean energy. This is
due to the fact that Ohio is better positioned than most states to reap the
economic rewards of investing in clean energy because of its extensive
manufacturing base and skilled workforce.
“Ohio’s legislation
is very significant for two reasons,” said American Wind Energy Association
Executive Director Randall Swisher. “First, Ohio, as a major industrial state, uses a
lot of power and will now become an important market for renewable
energy. Second, this legislation can jump-start the involvement of Ohio’s
world-class manufacturing infrastructure and world-class skilled manufacturing
workforce in wind energy manufacturing, which will bring benefits not only to
Ohio—new jobs—but also to the whole country and industry as we tap Ohio’s
expertise. This law is nationally significant.”
Environment Ohio and a coalition of partners from business
leaders, clean energy developers and many others worked to ensure that an
effective policy was put into place that would allow Ohio to reap all of the
benefits of clean energy including reduced pollution and economic
development.
“As a developer of wind energy projects in many states
across the country we know how important it is for a state to have a renewable
energy standard in place that actually establishes a market for clean energy
from day one,” stated Beth O’Brien, Representative of Babcock & Brown. “We applaud Ohio’s leaders and look forward
to generating clean wind energy in Ohio.”
Gov. Strickland’s emphasis on the need for clean energy
during his 2006 campaign, and his “Energy, Jobs and Progress” proposal, set the
stage for eventual bi-partisan, majority support for strong renewable energy
and energy efficiency standards. Speaker
of the House Jon Husted led the way in the House by strengthening important
aspects of the renewable energy standard, including the addition of benchmarks
and a carve-out for solar power, and the bill passed 93-1. The Ohio Senate concurred unanimously with
the House bill on April 23, 2008.
“At the end of the
day Ohio’s leaders understood that clean energy is an American issue not a
partisan issue and they delivered a policy that is a wise investment for Ohio’s
economic and environmental future,” stated Bowser. “We urge our leaders in Congress to do the
same and enact a renewable energy standard for the nation that sets us on a
path to a cleaner and more energy independent future.”
Environment
Ohio is a nonprofit, statewide, environmental advocacy organization.
Environment America is the federation of
state-based, citizen-funded, environmental advocacy organizations.
