Why Not Ohio? Clean Energy Industry Support

[Rick Rowlands]

How long until Dennis can remove that foot from his mouth?

[Why?Town]

Why not Ohio? Why do we continue to support Ted Strickland and his administration of no leadership in the area of supporting clean industrial energy? Ted Stricklasnd is a nuke and coal governor, and that fact will never change.

If there's one government initiative that has exceeded expectations, it is Ohio Third Frontier launched by former Republican Gov. Bob Taft and embraced by Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland. Bipartisan public support has been unwavering.

Now, Strickland has called for increasing the amount of money that would be available through Third Frontier to companies starting up in industries such as alternative energy and biomedical research.

The Ohio House and Senate have answered the call.

But, the two chambers have differing versions of the measure that must be adopted Tuesday in order to give Ohio voters a say in the May primary. The House would add $950 million over five years, while the Senate would add $500 million, plus earmark $100 million for highways and other public works projects.

Given the snail's pace with which the state is recovering from the national economic recession, we believe a $950 million commitment is appropriate and timely.

Job creation

The numbers tell the story of the Third Frontier's success: overall economic impact, $6.6 billion; total jobs created, 41,000 — 10,000 direct; tax revenue generated from Third Frontier activities, $107 million. In addition, the program has attracted seven times the amount of follow-on capital invested, and the growth of venture capital activity has been twice the national average in the last five years.

The success in the Mahoning Valley is just as impressive. A couple of examples: Youngstown State University in collaboration with Fireline, Inc., secured $2.1 million for its Center for Advanced Materials Analyses; Refractory Specialties received $400,000 in 2008 under the fuel cell program.

It is clear that the Third Frontier initiative must be expanded to keep Ohio competitive in the global economy.

We urge adoption of the House version, and believe Ohioans will continue to support this important economic development program.

[irishbobcat]

Why Not Ohio? Clean Energy Industry Support

According to a report from the Progeressive States Network:

Building a green economy is one of the largest areas of entrepreneurial energy these days and states are designing a wide range of programs to encourage firms in their states to become leaders.  Since energy savings are an inherent source of potential revenue, the opportunities are large, but the need for technical, regulatory and financial assistance are also clear.  The following are a few of the programs states are promoting in this area, although the Apollo Alliance extensively tracks clean energy programs in the manufacturing sector:

New York:  Green Jobs/Green Homes NY:  The passage of Green Jobs/Green Homes NY produced a job creation program that will foster energy savings and revitalization of distressed areas. The program will create an estimated 14,000 jobs and reduce energy costs for about 1 million homes and businesses across the state.  Using an innovative revolving loan fund, the program will "provide up to $13,000 for residential homes and $26,000 for businesses to retrofit for increased energy efficiency."
Pennsylvania:  Building on the state's industry partnerships discussed above, this program will concentrate on upgrading workforce skills by developing industry-recognized credentials, participating in curriculum development at all levels, and helping workers respond to changing industry needs.  This will involve multiple partnerships, including a 3 Rivers Clean Energy Partnership, which helps train workers for jobs in the clean energy industry and the Electronics Manufacturing Partnership, which helps firms become more environmentally conscious.
Washington:  Lean and Green Assistance Program:  Last year, the Washington Department of Ecology proposed a Lean and Green Assistance Program aimed at improving the environmental performance and provide technical assistance to companies across the state.  From 2007 to 2008, three Lean and Environmental pilot project were undertaken, effectively saving businesses over $1.5 million and reducing pollution by more than 800,000 pounds according to the EPA.
Kansas SB 108 provides for $150 million in bonds to be issued by the state's development finance authority to fund manufacturing projects through long-term loans to eligible wind and solar energy businesses in amounts not exceeding $5 million per project.  Companies' tax withholdings will be placed in a specially-created state economic revitalization fund during the period of the loan to pay off the principal and interest of the loans.
Michigan Manufacturing Diversification Program is a loan program backed by the state to help parts of the auto supply chain retool to join the clean energy supply chain, from helping companies eliminate chemicals from processes that clean steel for manufacturing to funding re-purposed factory conveyor belts for solar panel manufacturers.
Wisconsin:  The Clean Energy Business Loan Program uses $55 million in ARRA State Energy Program to fund low-interest loans to businesses that promote major renewable energy production projects, the manufacture of clean energy products, advanced manufacturing of clean energy components, retooled supply chains, and energy efficiency programs at firms.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Why not Ohio? Why do we continue to support Ted Strickland and his administration of no leadership in the area of supporting clean industrial energy? Ted Stricklasnd is a nuke and coal governor, and that fact will never change.