From the Cleveland Plain Dealer forum:
Cleaner, cheaper energy boosts Ohio's economy thanks to renewable energy and efficiency standards: Peter Accorti
By Guest Columnist/cleveland.com
on September 30, 2013 at 9:41 AM, updated September 30, 2013 at 9:42 AM
Wind turbines that are part of the Blue Creek Wind Farm in Van Wert County in Northwest Ohio rise above a cornfield. Karen Schiely, Akron Beacon Journal
Five years ago, Ohio lawmakers enacted a comprehensive energy plan that included a commitment to expand renewable energy and energy efficiency. The law set a goal to diversify our energy sources to 12.5 percent renewable energy by 2025 and to provide homeowners, small businesses and others with options to meet their energy needs by using less electricity. Two years ago, Gov. John Kasich strengthened the law by providing more clean-energy options for manufacturers. What have been the results? Quite simply, more money in peoples’ pockets, innovation, job creation and local economic development here in Northeast Ohio.
As renewable energy becomes more available, it offsets the higher price of coal and natural gas in the system. That is because renewables are essentially free once the original capital investment is made. There’s no fuel cost at all. Additionally, with increased energy efficiency on the part of consumers, less electricity is consumed and the overall cost of electricity is reduced as well. Recent reports by The Ohio State University, the Ohio Manufacturers Association and the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio prove that Ohio’s renewables and energy efficiency law is saving Ohioans money.
This April, along with 15 other Northeast Ohio manufacturers, Talan Products signed a letter to State Sens. Bill Seitz and Keith Faber, State Rep. William Batchelder and Kasich. The letter urged caution as Seitz and the Ohio Senate Public Utilities Committee began a review of Ohio’s forward-thinking renewable and electric-efficiency standards. These policies are saving energy, cutting costs and supporting both old and new industries and Ohio jobs. The companies signing the letter employ over 1,200 Ohio rate and taxpayers. We signed because our companies need a stable policy so we can plan our companies’ investments in plant and equipment. Ohio’s renewable and energy efficiency law is working to improve our environment and create jobs.
Ohio’s clean energy laws have also helped drive innovation and jobs across Ohio. Ohio Advanced Energy Economy reports that the state is home to over 400 companies that employ over 25,000 people. Additionally the energy efficiency industry employs almost 10,000 Ohioans. Ohio’s clean-energy standard, and those in other states as well, has helped create new market opportunities for the state’s rich manufacturing base. Our company, Talan Products, has invested in new equipment and hired new employees to provide components for the solar industry. We are also partnering with other manufacturers in the region to increase our capability to provide turnkey products and not just components. We are active in WIRE-Net, a manufacturing advocacy group that has helped Ohio identify hundreds of Ohio firms that supply a growing clean energy industry -- serving the wind, solar and natural gas sector. Ohio has been one state that has made the connection between energy policy and jobs.
Renewable-energy and energy-efficiency projects have also promoted local economic development. The state’s largest wind farm in Van Wert County in Northwest Ohio has created 500 local construction jobs, engaged over 30 Ohio companies and generates more tax revenue for the county than the next 11 businesses combined. And it’s the same for energy efficiency. According to the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, for about every $1 million invested in energy efficiency, 20 permanent jobs are created. The money saved from reduced energy costs is reinvested into the company and community.
Unfortunately, the Ohio legislature is planning to consider a proposal that drastically weakens Ohio’s renewable and energy-efficiency laws. These provisions include outsourcing jobs to other states by eliminating the law’s requirement that half of our renewable energy be produced in Ohio, capping the amount of energy-efficiency savings and eliminating energy-efficiency choices for customers in the Cleveland area and across the state. The “in-state” production requirement was designed to create Ohio jobs, and it is working. Eliminating the in-state production requirement will hamper clean-energy development and job creation in Ohio. Capping savings also makes no sense. For every dollar invested in energy efficiency, Ohioans have saved three dollars.
It’s hard to be against energy efficiency and clean energy. And it’s hard to see why our state elected officials want to gut these standards. Let’s hope over the next couple of months, they choose to side with facts and not special interests. Common sense must prevail.
Peter Accorti is president of Talan Products in Cleveland and is a board member and former chairman of WIRE-Net's board of directors.
