Why Not Ohio? Ted Strickland Has Dropped The Ball When It Comes To Solar

[irishbobcat]

Why Not Ohio? Because Ted Strickland Has Dropped The Ball When It Comes To Solar Power

The first two paragraph's of Sunday's Toledo Blade Investigative reports on Ohio's lack of success in luring solar power to the Buckeye state says it all:

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Toledo and its northwest Ohio neighbors have missed out on coveted manufacturing jobs in the solar industry because of a failure by state officials to attract companies with tax incentives or create a viable market for solar panels in Ohio, a Blade investigation shows.
Since 2007, thousands of those jobs have gone to states where companies were enticed by a mixture of tax credits, grants, and additional incentives to make solar products there.

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The Blade also reported that:

A public utilities property tax is still on the books and is a hindrance in luring solar companies to Ohio.

Ohio continues to subsidize coal. Of the $150 million set aside to provide grants and loans that typically range between $50,000 and $2 million for advanced energy projects, $66 million was designated for "clean" coal technology. Per the Ohio Constitution, state funding for coal projects can be in the form of grants, but funding for other alternative energy projects, such as solar, must be in the form of loans.

California has 140 solar manufacturers, and Arizona (37), Florida (26), New York (23), New Jersey (21), Massachusetts (21), Colorado (20), Texas (19), New Mexico (18), Illinois (15), Michigan (15), Pennsylvania (14), and Oregon (11) all exceed Ohio's count.

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Why is Ohio lagging behind? The answer is simple, and it comes from Ted Strickland's own mouth:

"Ohio been a passive state for quite a while, and this is just one of them," Mr. Strickland said. "There was just no real[effort] pursuing alternative-energy companies."

Why no effort, Ted? As the leader of this state, should you not be beating the drum for for solar power plants to come into Ohio? Is it because you are a Dirty Coal Governor under the influence of coal lobbyists like the UMW, Duke Energy, and Dayton Power and Light?

Why not Ohio? In the state of Oregon, solar manufacturers get tax credits of up to 50 percent of construction costs. At least four solar companies have moved or placed manufacturing operations there since 2007 totaling about 2,000 permanent jobs.

Why Not Ohio? Michigan offers alternative energy companies credits from the state's business and payroll taxes and in 2008 enacted an incentive up to 25 percent - or $15 million - of the capital investment made specifically for companies that build photovoltaics facilities.

Why not Ohio? Because Ted Strickland is Governor. This has to change come November!