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.”
