Home » Ohio

Ohio Is One Step Closer To Get Large Appalachian Solar Farm

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

We talked about this a couple of times last week, but coal country is suffering as more utilities are cutting back on their use of coal. Which makes it more interesting when coal may be replaced by a 400 MW solar farm in Ohio Appalachia – which is right in coal country’s heart.

Inside Climate News has the details:

American Electric Power submitted a plan Thursday evening to work with two developers to build 400 megawatts of solar in Highland County, Ohio. It would more than triple the state’s current solar capacity and be a big step forward for solar energy in a part of the country where renewable energy has been slow to develop.

[wds id=”3″]

What makes this particularly interesting is that American Electric Power (AEP) is one of the staunchest coal-fueled utilities in the country. After all, their primary service area is in the heart of coal country.

But they view this move as the start of a “just transition” from coal to renewable energy, Inside Climate News reports. As jobs are lost in the coal industry, additional renewable energy opportunities will allow those workers to have jobs directly with the plants and the other industries that will crop up surrounding the plants.

“This is something that Appalachia needs,” said Dan Sawmiller, Ohio energy policy director for the Natural Resources Defense Council, told Inside Climate News. “The jobs of this renewable energy economy are going to go somewhere and I think it’s important that they go where they’re needed.”

Other utilities will be watching this proposal closely because it is challenging the regulatory structure in Ohio, which currently separates utilities from their power plants. The rule supposedly keeps markets competitive, and this proposal would challenge that rule.

Solar advocates are hoping that approval of this project will open the market for future solar development for the region.

Hey, Politicians: Clean Energy Jobs – Which Are Booming – Can Be An Electoral Winner If You Play It Right

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

A recent report from Ohio Advanced Energy Economy (OAEE), the Buckeye State branch of Advanced Energy Economy (AEE), got me thinking about politics (not, admittedly, that it’s all that hard to do).

According to OAEE, my home state now has more than 112,000 workers in the clean energy economy – more than are in all vocational training programs combined, and more than are employed in all car dealerships in the state (you have to be an Ohioan, I think, to understand the importance of the latter, but still).

[wds id=”3″]

Ray Fakhoury, legislative affairs director for OAEE, had this to say:

Despite attempts to weaken the advanced energy industry over the past six years, jobs continue to grow — now with over 112,000 workers and 4% more expected this year — making this a significant economic sector for Ohio. But there’s so much more opportunity. Ohio could be a leader in the Midwest if lawmakers embraced an all-of-the-above energy portfolio that captures the economic benefits of advanced energy technologies.

It’s the second part of Fakhoury’s comment I want to focus on for a moment. I wonder if Richard Cordray or Mike DeWine are listening to this news. These are a new breed of worker for Ohio, and they deserve to have attention paid – and I’m convinced that even in this red state, support for improving and expanding jobs would play well. And, well, clean energy jobs are where it is right now.

(I know my Senator, Sherrod Brown, is listening, because Brown has been on the side of workers since he was a wee Representative representing the industrial stronghold of Lorain, Ohio, where my parents hail from and from whence I covered Sherrod as a wee reporter for The Lorain Morning Journal. I’m sure he could recite these statistics off the top of his head if you asked him.)

So I’m making an appeal to my own Ohio politicians to take note of this new voting block and use your office to support the expansion of jobs in this area. Too many towns across this state have been left behind as the new economy has emerged, and clean energy jobs can be had anywhere. Make this a priority, and it will help power you to the statehouse.

This message goes for politicians in other states, too. Advanced energy jobs now account for 3.4 million across the country, according the AEE. That’s a lot of voters, not to mention their families and friends. Clean energy is an electoral victory waiting to happen if only politicians have the guts to stand up to the fossil fuel interests currently corroding our political discourse and focus instead on the energy jobs of the future.

It’s just waiting for someone to take advantage of it – why shouldn’t it be you?

Ohio AEE Launches Advanced Energy Roadmap To Grow Economy, Jobs

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

Ohio Advanced Energy Economy (Ohio AEE), a business coalition that supports a clean energy future in the state, unveiled its five point plan to move the state closer to having a clean-energy-based economy.

Ohio AEE says its plans outline market-based policy considerations that would create thousands of jobs and bring billions of investment dollars into the state.

[wds id=”3″]

“Advanced energy supports more than 105,000 jobs in Ohio, but policy uncertainty over the last six years has artificially slowed the growth of this booming industry,” said Ray Fakhoury, legislative affairs director for Ohio Advanced Energy Economy. “Our roadmap sets a new course that takes an all-of-the-above approach to spur advanced energy growth. We urge Ohio’s next governor to embrace policies that harness the economic potential of the advanced energy industry to grow the Ohio economy and create even more high-quality jobs across the state.”

Ohio AEE asked the two gubernatorial candidates, Republican Mike DeWine and Democrat Richard Cordray, to consider the following five policy options:

Stabilize and expand market-based mechanisms to accelerate deployment of innovative, cost-effective renewable energy resources and energy efficiency for all Ohioans. Uncertainty over Ohio’s direction on advanced energy has discouraged investment in the state and hampered the growth of the industry as a whole.

Eliminate barriers that prevent Ohio businesses from accessing low-cost wind energy. The current wind setback standards have acted as a de facto moratorium for the wind industry and Ohio continues to lose out on billions of dollars of investment to neighboring states. Removing this government barrier would allow the market to function, driving access to wind energy resources for corporate customers to invest in clean, affordable renewable power within the state.

Accelerate adoption of electric vehicles, including commercial fleets, and support charging infrastructure deployment in Ohio. Despite growing national demand, the lack of sufficient charging infrastructure and a supportive regulatory structure remain roadblocks to greater adoption of EVs in Ohio.

Remove barriers to investments in technologies and services that reduce energy costs and consumption while increasing customer choices and control. To provide the most value to consumers and the grid, market rules must ensure a competitive market for distributed energy resources (DERs) like wind and solar while aligning the utility business model with consumer interests.

Modernize Ohio’s electricity systems by building upon PUCO’s PowerForward initiative to deliver benefits for consumers and enhance grid reliability. As advanced energy deployment increases, Ohio must be prepared to integrate these new and innovative technologies into the existing system and to take advantage of the benefits they can provide.

Why Trump Shouldn’t Worry for the Coal Workers in Ohio

by Yann Brandt, Managing Editor

According to The Ohio Coal Association, there are 3,000 coal workers in Ohio. Their jobs are in jeopardy in a State that gets 69% of its energy from coal and is the 4^th largest consumer of coal in the Country. So the question is why are their jobs in jeopardy and what is the policy answer to the problem?

In the last policy question of the second Presidential debate, Ken Bone asked, “What steps will your energy policy take to meet our energy needs while at the same time remaining environmentally friendly and minimizing job loss for fossil power plant workers?” This was the only question about energy or climate change of the evening.

Of course Trump blamed Obama’s EPA regulations for killing the coal jobs in Ohio but let’s look at some facts. In reality, coal has lost its market dominance due to the availability of cheap natural gas.

Ohio is thriving in solar however, against the odds put forth by Governor Kasich. With 4,811 solar jobs in 2015, Ohio’s solar industry grew by 15% even after Kasich signed SB 310, the bill to freeze the State’s renewable standard (RPS). The RPS, unless repealed, would bring Ohio up to 22% of renewable power and energy efficiency by 2027.

In 2016, Ohio will once again grow the solar jobs count by 970, a 20% growth rate. This growth would allow a third of coal workers to organically get into the solar workforce and continue to bring energy to the people and utilities of Ohio. Imagine how easily Governor Kasich could create 3,000 jobs in solar for Ohio’s coal workers.

Training for coal workers is more available than ever, programs like IREC’s workforce development training is highlighted in Harvard’s Business Review. Veterans looking to enter the solar workforce also have access to Solar Foundation’s Solar Ready Vets program supported by the Department of Energy. Job openings and training programs for solar continue to increase in availability throughout America.

Mr. Trump should understand what Americans already know and want. More solar on the grid. More solar means more jobs and more choice for consumers.

With 89% of Americans supportive of solar, both sides of the aisle can agree that the solar industry is ready, willing and able to create long term and sustainable careers for Ohio’s 3,000 coal workers.