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OhioGreenStrategies.com Blog
The law firm of Bricker & Eckler LLP formed the Green Strategies
Group in 2007 to serve their clients’ diverse and evolving needs relating to
climate change, sustainability, green design and construction, sustainable real
estate development, the implementation of clean and renewable energy
technologies, energy generation and efficiency opportunities, and the national
and regional emission credit trading markets. Since the Green Strategies Group’s
creation, group members have regularly published Green Strategies
Bulletins, which provide clients, friends, and interested members of
industry and the broader business community with the most important current
developments in these evolving areas of policy, regulation, industry and
society. As the amount of information and opportunities relating to Green
Strategies issues continues to expand exponentially, it was determined that a blog
would be an effective tool to provide readers with the most current information
about developing Green Strategies issues and opportunities in Ohio and
nationally. The Ohio Green Strategies Blog will complement ongoing
efforts to keep readers informed by providing short summaries, links, and other
resources that allows readers quickly learn what’s new as well as access
additional information to learn more.
Ohio Incentives for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency
Ohio - Job Stimulus
Ohio - American Recovery and Reinvestment
Act
DSIRE – Ohio Incentives for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency
Ohio Industry Information and Data
Under Ohio’s AEPS, Renewable Energy Technologies include:
Below, OAE provides a basic outline of the state of some of these industries in
Ohio as well as national industry data and other informational links and
resources.
Solar:
The solar energy industry in Ohio is on the verge of expansion. Provisions of
Senate Bill 221 carved out benchmarked increases in solar power generation
between 2009 and 2025 eventually requiring at least one-half percent of all of
Ohio’s electricity to be generated from solar. Another provision within Senate
Bill 221 takes the first step towards melding renewable energy and public
education by requiring the Ohio Schools Facilities Commission to adopt rules
prescribing standards for solar ready equipment for all school buildings being
constructed in Ohio. Ohio is also home to some of the finest solar technology
research and development institutions in the nation, including the University
of Toledo.
More information on the solar energy industry in Ohio and nationally can be
found below:
Fact Sheets:
Ohio Department of
Development’s Solar Resources Page
Solar Electric Power Association
Solar Energy Industries Association
United States
Department of Energy, EERE Overview of the Solar Industry
Wind:
Wind energy is quickly becoming one of the fastest growing renewable energy
industries in the United States, nearly quadrupling in revenues over the past
six years. It has also been touted as the most important renewable energy
industry to develop in the near term implementation of Ohio’s AEPS benchmarks.
A recent study by the Ohio Department of Development, along with the Office of
Energy Efficiency, shows northern Ohio to have excellent potential for the
development and implementation of wind energy projects. A number of wind
development projects are already under way in rural northern Ohio, and the City
of Cleveland and other interested stakeholders are also actively pursuing
developing wind projects along its coast line and in Lake Erie.
More information on the wind energy industry in Ohio and nationally can be
found below:
Ohio Wind Working Group
Ohio Department of Development
American Wind Energy Association
National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Biomass energy:
Ohio has diverse and substantial biomass energy resources that can be utilized
to generate electricity. Ohio’s primary biomass “feedstock” includes food
product waste residues, crops and agricultural waste residues, wood and logging
residues (sawdust, bark, and edgings), organic solid wastes, and certain types
of industrial wastes. These “biofuels” can be efficiently transformed to
generate electricity. Coordinated efforts between government agencies and
interested parties to develop biomass energy projects are already underway
throughout Ohio.
More information on the biomass energy industry in Ohio and nationally can be
found below:
The Public
Utilities Commission of Ohio
Ohio Department of
Development
National Renewable Energy Laboratory
U.S. Department of Energy
Fuel Cells:
Fuel cell technology offers a fresh new market of renewable energy as it is
quickly making a name for itself in places like Ohio. Fuel cell technology is
unlike a lot of other renewable energy sectors as it can be developed for use
in a variety of different mediums, such as cars, electronics, or buildings.
Already internationally recognized for its fuel cell development industry, Ohio
has established a coordinated partnership of government, industry, and
universities to give the state an edge in this new and advanced technology.
Between 2003 and 2006 alone, over $51 million in grants were awarded through
the Fuel Cell Initiative which helped advance fuel cell technologies and
attract new investors to Ohio’s fuel cell industry. Through government support,
on both a state and federal level, it is clear that Ohio is among the leaders
in this exciting and expanding market of renewable energy.
More information on the fuel cell industry in Ohio and nationally can be found
below:
Ohio Fuel Cell Coalition
Fuel Cell Information Resource
National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Distributed Generation:
Distributed generation is an alternative renewable energy technique that uses
small-scale power sources located at or nearby the sources it serves. These
types of renewable power sources can also combine with solar, wind, biomass,
solid waste methane or fuel cell energy to attain more efficient energy
production and use. The efficiency derives from the ability to recycle energy
allowing, for example, waste heat from the production of electricity to fuel
another, nearby, energy source. Ohio’s AEPS legislation allows ample
opportunity to invest and acquire distributed generation through government
programs that help subsidize these energy projects. Federal and state funding
makes it clear that distributed generation should proliferate as Ohio pursues
new and economical energy sources to enhance the state’s strong manufacturing
industry and new renewable energy market.
More information on the distributed generation in Ohio and nationally can be
found below:
Ohio Department of Development
Midwest Combined Heat and Power
Center
Research Institute for Sustainable Energy
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