GEO Sub SB 221 Testimony on April 11, 2008

William A. Spratley
Executive Director, Green Energy Ohio
Testimony on Sub. S.B. 221
Before the Ohio House Public Utilities Committee

Mr. Chairman, Members of the Committee, as Executive Director of Green Energy Ohio (GEO), I am here to support of the renewable energy portfolio (RPS) provisions providing enforceable benchmarks and a solar carve-out that are now part of Substitute Senate Bill 221.

One week from now, Earth Week will begin in Ohio around Earth Day. This year, unlike any other, a green energy revolution is in the Ohio air. It is a revolution begun by grass-roots Ohioans and now reaching a declaration of green energy independence by your enactment of these RPS provisions. Ohio's early green energy adopters are solar homeowners, municipal utilities and farmers employing solar, wind and biomass power along with commercial businesses, industrial plants, public buildings, parks, zoos, not to mention Ohio's university and business research centers and entrepreneurial developers. Now thousands of new green collar jobs from existing and new Ohio manufacturing and distribution businesses are within our grasp with the clean energy market incentives in Sub. S.B. 221.

Green Energy Ohio thanks this Committee and Speaker Husted[1] for detailing a robust and effective Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) as part of the Advanced Energy Portfolio Standard (AEPS)[2] proposed by Governor Ted Strickland.[3] Together, the leadership of our Governor and General Assembly are providing the political will that Ohioans deserve to carry today's green energy revolution into the 21^st Century - the new Solar Century.

As I testified before this Committee on February 27, 2008 in support of similar provisions in House Bill 487, enactment of this law as part of Sub. S.B. 221 is the breakthrough step Ohio needs to move the clean energy market forward for all our citizens.

I asked this Committee to test H.B. 487's ramp-up benchmarks with the reality of the Ohio energy marketplace by hearing from the clean energy industry on the technical issues of developing Ohio clean energy over the proposed timeframes. And you have done so.

Since I testified in late February the magnetic effect of just considering an RPS has attracted clean energy industry and spurred activity to Ohio. For example:

Three major wind energy developers informed Governor Strickland that new wind projects can bring $2.7 billion to Ohio's economy.[4]

A new solar manufacturing plant was announced - Willard & Kelsey Solar Group LLC - at Perrysburg joining other Northwest Ohio solar firms: First Solar, Solar Fields and Xunlight Corp.[5] We also learned that for the second straight year the First Solar plant produced more solar panels than any of the other over 30 solar panel plants in the U.S.

Governor Strickland visited Ohio's new 101 kW solar electric array atop the Toledo Museum of Art - now Ohio's largest solar rooftop with more larger-scale systems being planned.[6]

As Earth Week proceeds, GEO invites all Members of the Ohio General Assembly to join our 2^nd Annual Ohio Renewable Energy Showcase at the Capitol Theatre in the Riffe Center on April 24 to hear from 15 clean energy experts from across Ohio and the nation. This is a great opportunity to learn about the economic and environmental benefits of green energy for Ohio as the Showcase Agenda indicates at: www.greenenergyohio.org/page.cfm?pageID=1700.

Thank you again for your efforts to fashion incentives for green energy jobs across Ohio. Now we must mainstream clean energy across Ohio from early-adopters into a new and vibrant marketplace. We invite you to join us on this journey, as fellow green energy revolutionaries, at the Renewable Energy Showcase and beyond![7]

[1] Ohio House Speaker Jon Husted, Alternative Energy Package, Focus on Renewable Benchmarks and Investments in Advanced Energy Economy, February 21, 2008.

www.greenenergyohio.org/page.cfm?pageID=1628

[2] Green Energy Ohio Policy Recommendations, adopted by GEO Board of Directors, August 23, 2006, include under Electric Power Generation: "We recommend both national and state energy policies be adopted to stimulate development of renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, fuel cell, biomass, hydro and other clean technologies. This initiative should stimulate the development of a renewable portfolio standard (RPS) and/or alternative energy portfolio standard (AEPS), providing some of Ohio's energy needs with renewable resources of energy." www.greenenergyohio.org/page.cfm?pageID=956

[3] Ohio Governor Strickland Proposes Energy, Jobs and Progress Plan, August 29, 2007. http://governor.ohio.gov/News/August2007/tabid/338/Default.aspx

[4] Amidst Ohio RES Debate, Wind Developers Show Support with $2.7B in Project Proposals, American Wind Energy Weekly News, March 21, 2008: Addressing the concerns about lack of turbine availability for the 2009-2014 period, three companies - Iberdrola Renewables, Invenergy Wind, LLC and Horizon Wind Energy - each sent letters to the governor this week proposing a cumulative $2.7 billion in new projects in Ohio during those near-term years and requesting the support of the governor for early-year benchmarks. The letters indicated that the developers already had full or partial contracts for turbines for 2009 and 2010 and that the substantive question was not whether turbines would be available for those years in general but rather whether Ohio would create a robust market to make it a more attractive investment climate than other states.
http://www.greenenergyohio.org/page.cfm?pageID=1697

[5] Large-Scale Production of Solar Panels Planned, Toledo Blade, March 22, 2008: Willard & Kelsey Solar Group LLC expects to produce 1 to 1.5 million panels a year starting in July, in a former television component plant in Perrysburg, according to documents filed with the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency.Company officials have told Perrysburg officials they expect to have payroll of $12 million to $13 million annually.
www.greenenergyohio.org/page.cfm?pageID=1698

[6] Art Museum Turns Sunny Side Up: Strickland Visits to Examine Installation of Solar Panels, Toledo Blade, March 25, 2008: The Toledo Museum of Art, which already gets solar power the old-fashioned way through windows in its roof, will soon get some of its power in a technologically advanced way from solar panels on its roof.The 1,450 [First Solar] solar panels that are taking over a portion of the museum's roof will generate 101 kilowatts of peak power on a sunny day, or about one-fifth of the museum's needs, art museum Director Don Bacigalupi said. www.greenenergyohio.org/page.cfm?pageID=1699