|
|
|
March 2010 News
|
|
March 2010
March 2, 2010
March 3, 2010
Ohio green with envy
Examiner.com
The report identifies business through out the state that are already contributing to Ohio's clean energy future, everything from home energy raters, ...
Columbia Gas program pays for energy efficiency
Columbus Dispatch
Dan Gearino - Small businesses are being offered a financial incentive by Columbia Gas of Ohio to improve their energy efficiency. Small Business Energy Solutions, introduced this week, allows companies to recover some of the costs of installing a new furnace or insulation and sealing air leaks, among other things. "Since gas commodity costs are the largest part of a gas bill, these energy-efficiency improvements will make a big impact on energy savings now and for years to come," Jack Partridge, Columbia's president, said in a statement. The program began Monday and will continue through 2011, or until the $2.4 million in funding is exhausted, a spokesman said.
March 5, 2010
City moves forward with sustainability guidelines
Suburban News
Worthington - Bret Liebendorfer - Worthington has made the path to go green clearer. At its meeting Monday, March 1, Worthington City Council approved legislation that issues guidelines for sustainability technology -- everything from rain barrels to solar panels. A staff report stated the goal is to encourage "sustainable design and building practices, while preserving the character and integrity of the Architectural Review District." "This (ordinance) does not mandate anything ... it merely creates guidelines to assist property owners," said council member Scott Myers, offering an example of oak rain barrels recommended instead of the plastic ones the applicant originally planned to use. The legislation follows recent interest by some residents in using ecological-friendly activity and the prediction that more applicants will come to the city in the future. While no definitive list was included, the legislation does include recommendations. Inherent efficiency features in buildings should be used first as well as landscaping, it suggests, and storm water can be managed through permeable pavement and rain barrels. Solar panels need to minimize visual impact, and bike racks, the use of recycled materials, and natural light and ventilation are encouraged.
March 6, 2010
Governor tours Sheffield wind turbine company
Chronicle-Telegram
He listened to and questioned ADI Wind President Mike Winiasz about the wind turbine gear box, made of recycled titanium, and its other possible ...
Baldwin-Wallace College in Berea unveils sustainable business practice ...
Sun Star Courier (blog)
And a small wind turbine on campus dramatically portrays the college's support of clean, renewable energy. Krueger said he's found businesses calling him ...
March 7, 2010
March 7-10, 2010 - Toledo Blade Solar Industry Series of Stories
State of Ohio fails to build on northwest Ohio solar success
Toledo Blade
Joe Vardon - 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.
Industry insiders say Ohio incentives fall short
Toledo Blade
Joe Vardon - Lawmakers can offer all of the above and more to persuade solar companies to open manufacturing plants in their states. And, according to dozens of solar-industry insiders, solar companies have been choosing states other than Ohio because they're receiving better incentive packages elsewhere.
Governor Ted Strickland upbeat on solar job growth
Toledo Blade
Joe Vardon - "My interaction [with solar companies] has been rather positive," Mr. Strickland said. "They are looking very, very seriously at major solar panel production investment in Ohio. They could be looking anywhere else, but I can tell you they are looking in Ohio."
Local solar workers see bright future
Toledo Blade
Joe Vardon - Mr. Klear is more representative of a different movement — a trend of blue-collar workers being retrained so they can make and install solar products. He is one of the 200 people who have enrolled in Owens’ photovoltaics installation training program in the last six years.
Toledo Blade
Joe Vardon - Long a successful solar energy research institution, UT must work diligently to avoid falling behind in a crowded solar field.
Pro-solar bills on horizon
Toledo Blade
Joe Vardon - In coming weeks, bills will be up for a vote in both chambers of the Ohio General Assembly to eliminate a tangible personal property tax on solar companies. And in May, voters will decide whether to extend the Ohio Third Frontier program, a bond package that funds high-tech ventures and has contributed about $40 million to northwest Ohio projects since 2003. But will those votes - in the General Assembly and at the polls - be enough to strengthen Ohio's global position in the solar industry in 2010?
March 8, 2010
Worthington school jumps into solar power in a big way
ThisWeek Newspapers
By Candy Brooks
Maybe they should move it four blocks to Morning Street - or at least change its name. After all, Worthington's Evening Street Elementary School is going to be paying a lot of attention to the rising sun. Last week, students, teachers and government officials flipped the switch - their version of cutting a ribbon - on an array of rooftop solar panels that will supply about one-fourth of the school's electricity.
March 9, 2010
March 10, 2010
March 12, 2010
March 14, 2010
Tax issue next hurdle for wind farm
Times Bulletin
Instead of getting local tax relief, green energy firms like Iberdrola could benefit from a change in the law, if such a change can make it through the Ohio ...
March 15, 2010
Renewable energy project hinges on permit, incentives
Defiance Crescent News
Iberdrola Renewables, the parent company of Heartland Wind Energy LLC, has submitted an application to the Ohio Power Sitting Board (OPSB) in connection ...
March 14, 2010
Newark selling natural gas made from converted methane
ThisWeek Newspapers
Newark - Gail Martineau - The city of Newark is trying to be green while saving some green. Kathleen Barch, public-service director, said the city is trapping the methane gas produced at the wastewater treatment plant and is converting it into usable natural gas. For the past year, the city has participated in a pilot program through Newark-based The Energy Cooperative to utilize some of the biogas that is a byproduct of the wastewater digestion process. The city intends to sell some of that biogas gas to other entities. Newark currently operates a treatment plant that is large enough to process 8-million gallons of wastewater per day. It produces about 100-million cubic feet per day of methane biogas.
March 16, 2010
Ohio Should Take the Lead in the Clean Energy Revolution
Today's Energy Solutions
As I participated in the United Nations climate summit, I could not help but wonder whether Ohio will go “all in” on the clean-energy job revolution. ...
Iberdrola confirms interest in Hancock Co.
Urbana Daily Citizen
The company does not have any wind turbine farms in Ohio, Copleman said, but does have 38 wind turbine farms in 16 states across the United States, ...
March 18, 2010
Winds of change? City considers federal funding for wind turbine
The-News-Leader
The funding is being distributed by the Northeast Ohio Public Energy Council, a nonprofit energy purchasing consortium the city belongs to, as part of $12
March 19, 2010
Seneca good turbine site, expert says
Tiffin Advertiser Tribune
... wind turbines that used to be mainly auto manufacturers," he said. "Ohio is second only to California in the number of companies making wind turbine parts."
March 22, 2010
Clean Energy Mission Targets Ohio
Public News Service
COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Buckeye State is this week's destination for a clean energy mission traveling the country in a bio-Diesel-fueled bus. ...
March 23, 2010
Wind farm researches ways to cut bat deaths
Columbus Dispatch
By Doug Caruso The whirling turbine blades at a wind farm planned in Champaign County would almost certainly kill endangered Indiana bats. ...
RenewableEnergyWorld.com
The Ohio Power Siting Board (OPSB) this week approved the construction of three wind projects, which represent 483 megawatts (MW) of capacity. At completion, the plants would vault Ohio into the mix for leading wind states and bring Ohio closer to its RPS target of 25% renewables by 2025.
The Marion Star
John Jarvis
Approval of one of Ohio's first large-scale wind farms promises to give Hardin County a welcome economic boost, a local development official said. "Isn't that great?" said John Hohn, vice president of economic development for the Hardin County Chamber and Business Alliance. Hohn said the alliance is "very excited about the OK given on Monday by the Ohio Power Siting Board "... because this gives opportunities to us in a, let's say 'down,' economy." The board approved plans by Hardin Wind Energy LLC to construct up to 200 wind turbines with a generation capacity of about 300 megawatts in Hardin County. Board chairman Alan Schriber said the wind farm will have an integral role in making sure Ohio meets new alternative energy standards.
Bill proposes creating clean energy clearinghouse at Ohio University. State Representative Debbie Phillips (D-Athens) introduced to the State Senate her ...
March 25, 2010
|
Turbine options under review
Springfield News Sun
... step to address a decision made by the Ohio Power Siting Board this week to allow construction of 52 wind turbines in the eastern part of the county. ...
March 26, 2010
Ohio OKs plans for large-scale wind farms
The Newark Advocate
AP • March 25, 2010 The Ohio Power Siting Board on Monday approved plans by Hardin Wind Energy LLC to construct up to 200 wind turbines in Hardin County, ...
ODOT may get funding for NW Ohio highway projects
Toledo Free Press
Dysard said DOT District 2 will complete its first solar installation on I-280 and its first wind turbine on state Route 2 in Ottawa County this year.
March 27, 2010
Renewable energy called economic tool
Sun Star Courier (blog)
Wind turbine installer Phil Porter, president of Avon-based Clyde Industrial said, “Ohio is way behind everybody else when it comes to wind. ...
Milton school building will be gold standard of green
Dayton Daily News
Located on 17 acres, the two-story school will boast a 120-foot wind turbine, a solar thermal system, rainwater harvester, other “advanced energy efficiency ...
The Plain Dealer
Cleveland -- By John Funk - Wind turbines could rise from Lake Erie as early as 2012, a development group says. The Lake Erie Energy Development Corp., a fledgling non-profit known as LEEDCo, announced Monday that it was seeking developers to build four to eight turbines in the lake at an estimated cost of $100 million. The turbines would have a combined capacity of only 20 megawatts but are seen as the first step toward putting hundreds of wind turbines in the lake.
Ohio Pushes Wind Power on Lake Erie
WKSU/AP
Cleveland - Kevin Niedermier - Ohio officials are pushing plans to get Lake Erie, the shallowest of the Great Lakes, at the forefront of offshore wind power development. Gov. Ted Strickland and U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown joined industry and education leaders Monday in Cleveland and outlined tax-cut and regulatory measures to jump-start wind projects. Strickland says a tax cut now before state lawmakers would make Ohio competitive in developing wind power. Brown is backing legislation to expand federal tax incentives for offshore wind development.
The Plain Dealer
Karen Farkas - Centers to offer ethanol, charging stations, electrical links - Two new Ohio Turnpike service plazas, expected to be powered with renewable energy, will open in 2011. The high-tech rest stops will include electricity-equipped parking areas where resting truckers can turn off their engines and plug in to stay warm or keep cool. The Ohio Turnpike Commission awarded contracts last week totaling about $31 million to build the service plazas in Williams County, 20 miles from the Indiana border. The eastbound and westbound plazas were demolished in 2006, but money wasn’t available for new construction, said Executive Director George Distel. The new Indian Meadow and Tiffin River service plazas will look similar to ones that opened in 2005 between Toledo and Sandusky. Each new plaza will include a fuel station, restaurants and a gift shop. They also will include 24-hour convenience stores. The service plazas will be built in conjunction with the state’s Advanced Energy Gateway Initiative to identify ways that Ohio-based solar power or wind-turbine technology can provide electricity, Distel said. The commission will soon seek proposals for renewable-energy projects, he said. The plazas will have ethanol fueling stations, as well as stations for recharging electric vehicles. Truckers taking a break will be able to save fuel and reduce diesel emissions by running heaters or air conditioners off an electrical hookup. They also will be able to connect to cable and the Internet, Distel said.
March 30, 2010
Ohio plugs wind power on Lake Erie
BusinessWeek
Under Ohio's alternative energy plan, 25 percent of electricity sold in the state must be generated from alternative energy sources by 2025. ...
Clearing Renewables Roadblocks in Columbus
RenewableEnergyWorld.com
Thus, for almost two years, Ohio has had two major dynamics that would support significant wind energy development: the nation's fourth largest energy ...
Wind turbines approved: What's next?
Springfield News Sun
By Matt Sanctis
The Ohio Power Siting Board decided last week to approve a proposal from Buckeye Wind ...
Constellation Energy installs solar system at University of Toledo
Baltimore Business Journal
It also includes a 132-foot wind turbine. The project is part of about 25 megawatts of solar projects Baltimore's Constellation Energy Group Inc. (NYSE: ...
Governor behind waste-to-power conversion
Wooster Daily Record
Wooster -- Gov. Ted Strickland liked what he saw Monday when he toured Quasar Energy Group's digester plant and lab on the campus of the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center.
Quasar President Mel Kurtz and vice president of engineering Clemens Halene led Strickland on a tour. The company, which is the first business to locate in OARDC's BioHio Research Park, converts biomass into energy. Its 500,000-gallon, anaerobic digester is in the commissioning stage and is expected to go online April 8.
"This is one of few times when I've seen an activity where there doesn't seem to be downside to the activity," Strickland said after visiting the digester operations and exploring the laboratory. The reason he does not think there is a downside is because solid waste material that normally would go into landfills will be used to create energy, and one of the byproducts is fertilizer.
Strickland also said because of the payout, in terms of electricity, the investment could be recouped in a relatively reasonable period of time, and there also is the potential of 10,000 jobs in Ohio.
The technology is something the state should continue to support and promote, Strickland said.
Ohio, through the Third Frontier program, has lent its support to the project to the tune of a $500,000 grant for the construction of the anaerobic digestion facility. Additionally, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has awarded Quasar a $500,000 grant to assist with the $3 million venture.
Tony Logan, the Ohio director for the USDA, told Strickland this was a great opportunity in which to collaborate with the state.
Because waste is converted to power and fertilizer is produced in the process, Halene said, "it is not the silver bullet, but it is not bad."
Ohio first lady Frances Strickland has visited Quasar twice, and Strickland said she convinced him of the project. He also spoke with Bobby Moser of Ohio State University about it. This was his first opportunity to see it for himself, he said.
During the visit, Kurtz said the waste generated in Ohio could support 7,000 digesters.
Germany, where the technology has been in use for more than 15 years, has about 4,000 digesters, Halene said.
By comparison, there are only 250 in the United States, Kurtz said. Germany has about 80 million people living in an area about the size of Montana, he added.
"We've got some catching up to do," Strickland said.
Earlier in the day, the governor was with Sen. Sherrod Brown and others in Cleveland to discuss efforts to get wind deployed in Lake Erie.
"We use a lot of energy in Ohio and America, and I would love for us to work toward energy independence," Strickland said. However, the state cannot do that without working on all sources of energy, he adding, noting he is a supporter of solar, wind, clean coal and nuclear power.
David Benfield, associate director of OARDC, said it was a privilege to have the governor visit and also to have him as a supporter of the Third Frontier project and OARDC. His visit also helps bring more attention to what is going on at the research center, Benfield said.
"It takes someone to make something happen, and the governor coming here makes this important," Kurtz said, adding the technology being implemented by Quasar can really make a difference in Ohio. "It's always an honor when the governor comes to your town," Mayor Bob Breneman said. "We're happy to have him here."
Breneman said he did not pitch any projects to Strickland, rather he wanted to welcome him back to the city.
|
|
|
|
