Columbus, Ohio- Today, Governor Strickland put forth his “first principles” to build Ohio’s energy future.
“Environment Ohio is
pleased to see the Governor’s energy principles continuing his
commitment to
renewable energy in Ohio,”
stated Amy Gomberg, Environment Ohio’s Environmental Advocate. “Using these
principles as a guide, we will be able to build more support for policies that
will help Ohio
harness at least 10-20 percent of the state’s energy from our clean wind
resources by 2020.”
New Department of Energy wind maps of Ohio reveal more considerable wind energy
resources in the state, showing the potential for 66,000 megawatts (MW) of an
onshore wind resource. Ohio’s offshore wind
resource is even greater, and a detailed DOE study of the Great Lake’s
wind energy potential is due out by the end of the year.
“Ohio’s technological
know-how, existing manufacturing base and wind energy potential are a recipe
for Ohio to
control its energy future,” said Gomberg. “The Governor clearly sees Ohio’s opportunity to not only generate clean wind
energy, but to also generate clean energy manufacturing jobs, and to continue
to build on the clean energy research and development that is happening in Ohio's universities.”
Ohio’s manufacturing base, clean energy
business opportunities, and research institutes could provide thousands of jobs
for Ohioans in the wind energy industry. Currently, there are over 60 Ohio
companies including Owens Corning in Toledo, Cast-Fab Technologies in
Cincinnati, and Rotek in Aurora, Ohio that are already involved in the wind
energy supply chain in Ohio.
“Environment Ohio is working with the Strickland Administration and
our legislative leaders to develop policies that will work off of the
Governor’s energy principles and help boost Ohio’s wind energy industry,” continued
Gomberg.
Gomberg will be presenting further information to support Ohio’s wind energy
potential to the House of Representative’s Alternative Energy Committee on May
9th.
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Environment Ohio is a statewide
citizen-based environmental advocacy organization.
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Governor
Strickland’s First Principles Toward Building Ohio’s Energy Compact
1. Transparency and accountability are priorities
throughout the Strickland Administration. We can restore lost faith in both
government and public utilities by designing clear, “common sense” plans and
being responsible for accomplishing them. This also provides a sound basis for
public and private sharing of the investments required to achieve those goals.
2. Customers deserve equal footing with utilities.
The complexity of these issues creates an imbalance of knowledge and expertise
that can create the appearance of a disproportionate influence of utilities in
electric power decision-making. In an era of expensive energy, there is
increased tension between the historical social responsibility of what we call
public utilities and the driver of private sector return on investment. We must
work together constantly to make sure the public understands the issues and the
consequences of our plans.
3. We must establish a stable balance between the
protections of regulation and the opportunities of competitive markets.
Regarding deregulation, we recognize that we cannot put the genie back in the
bottle. At the same time, we must control the economic impact of pure market
pricing. The sticker shock will be too much for Ohioans to bear.
4. Energy efficiency must be a central element in
addressing electric regulation. Emerging “smart energy” technologies
intersect with the looming electric generation capacity shortages to create a
unique opportunity to realize the value of our cheapest energy resource: energy
efficiency.
5. Policies to stimulate renewable energy consumption are
instrumental in attracting investment in advanced energy manufacturing. Ohio already has the
industrial base, technical resources, and skilled labor necessary to build the
technologies and systems that will power the future. The missing ingredient is
a clear policy signal that Ohio
is the right place for advanced energy technology investment.
6. Modernizing Ohio’s
electric infrastructure must be a high priority. Our power plants,
transmission lines, and distribution networks are showing their age. We must
broaden the restructuring debate to include our energy delivery system, not
just our generation capacity. It is our responsibility to marshal the resources
to meet the needs of the 21St Century economy in Ohio.
7. Ohio’s
electric power sector must be prepared for the ever-growing influence that will
be exerted by environmental issues, especially global climate change.
Because power plants are built with expected operating lives of 3 0-50 years
and because Ohio’s
vulnerability to climate change policy is heightened by our coal-intense
economy, we must develop coherent, transparent means of giving appropriate
incentives to technologies that are forward-looking.
