01.07.2008 - Energy awareness campaign announced
You knew it all along. When you want something done, you have to do it yourself.
We tried to craft an energy savings strategy that would work statewide – for everyone, in every agency, in every one of Ohio’s 88 counties. But when it comes down to it, the truth about energy is that we each use it differently, we each value it differently, and we each have our unique trade-offs when it comes to reducing energy waste. Garages, residence facilities, campgrounds, data centers, mule barns, kitchens and office buildings are just some of the diverse spaces owned and operated by state agencies. It seems unlikely that there will be just one simple action – or even one best way – that is likely to work for all.
So, without further adieu, the State Energy Strategy Team is proud to kick off – your campaign to reduce energy use in state facilities. Find what works, share with others, whether you’re flying solo or working as part of an agency team, this is your initiative, and this Website will be the place to come for help, for resources and for celebrating progress.
We look forward to sharing your successes, learning from them, and participating in solutions that help us reach the goals of reducing Ohio’s energy use 5% by July 2007 – and 15% by July 2011.
Oh, and if your agency finds that one best way, we hope you’ll post it here.
01.07.2008 - Energy Goals
When Governor Ted Strickland began office, he issued two executive orders; the first set standards for Ethics, and the second set energy goals for state agencies, boards and commissions. The energy goals are clear: reduced use of petroleum by state fleets and reduced use of energy in state facilities.
Executive Order 2007_02s calls for specific activities to reduce petroleum use including setting goals, implementing policies, and adopting technologies, e.g. flex-fueled vehicles and E-85 and biodiesel pumps. Among other requirements, the Order also required state agencies to audit their facilities as the first step towards reducing their energy consumption 5% by July 1 2007, 15% by July 1 2011.
Agencies are measuring and reporting their progress towards achieving these goals quarterly. All agency facilities have records in ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager, the audit tool selected to benchmark and track natural gas, electricity, fuel oil, propane and water usage. The energy awareness campaign has been kicked off. Some agencies have established internal energy teams to help meet the first year’s goals. If you have news to report, ideas to share, or are seeking information, join the effort to be ENERGY SMART.
11.26.07 - Association of Ohio Philanthropic Homes, Housing and Services for the Aging Endorses Governor's Energy Plan
Columbus, Ohio – Governor Ted Strickland announced today that the Association of Ohio Philanthropic Homes, Housing and Services for the Aging has endorsed the governor’s energy plan, Senate Bill 221.
“Electricity, gas and other utilities are vital to providing quality health care and housing for Ohio’s senior and disabled populations,” said John Alfano, President/CEO of AOPHA. “The more these costs can be accurately predicted, the more Ohio’s not-for-profit providers of services for older Ohioans can focus their resources to providing frontline care and housing.”
Founded in 1937, AOPHA is a statewide association representing approximately 280 not-for-profit homes, health-related facilities and community services for the aging. Members are sponsored by religious, fraternal, labor, private and government organizations committed to providing quality services for their residents and for older persons in the community at large.
The following organizations have also endorsed the energy plan:
Ohio Manufacturers’ Association, Ohio AFL-CIO, Ohio Farm Bureau, Ohio Partners for Affordable Energy, Ohio Association of Community Action Agencies, Ohio Association of Second Harvest Food Banks, Ohio Corn Growers, Ohio Soybean Association, Ohio Cattlemen’s Association, Ohio Hospital Association, Auto Alliance, Ohio Energy Group, Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio and the Ohio Alliance for Retired Americans.
11.26.07 - Ohio Alliance for Retired Americans Endorses Governor's Energy Plan
Columbus, Ohio – Ohio Governor Ted Strickland today announced that the Ohio Alliance for Retired Americans endorsed the governor’s energy plan, Senate Bill 221.
Highlighting their support for “the principles that protect consumers from spikes in our bills, establish reliability in energy production and delivery, and create Ohio jobs,” the Ohio Alliance for Retired Americans joined the expanding list of organizations endorsing the energy legislation.
The endorsement letter from the Ohio Alliance for Retired Americans is included below.
The following organizations have also endorsed the energy plan:
Ohio Manufacturing Association, Ohio AFL-CIO, Ohio Farm Bureau, Ohio Partners for Affordable Energy, Ohio Association of Community Action Agencies, Ohio Association of Second Harvest Foodbanks, Ohio Corn Growers, Ohio Soybean Association, Ohio Cattlemen’s Association, Ohio Hospital Association, Auto Alliance, Ohio Energy Group and the Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio.
Ohio Alliance for Retired Americans Endorsement Letter
November 16, 2007
Office of the Governor of Ohio
77 South High Street, 30th Floor
Columbus, Ohio 43215
Greetings,
The Ohio Alliance for Retired Americans endorses the concepts and the practical realities of the energy policy put forth by Governor Ted Strickland and passed in the Substitute Senate Bill 221. We specifically appreciate the moves to re-regulate pricing - protecting consumers from spikes in our bills, the moves to establish reliability in energy production and delivery, and the moves to create Ohio jobs.
The more than 260,000 retired Ohio workers we represent live on fixed incomes that continue to depreciate against basic costs of aging. The Ohio Alliance for Retired Americans wants to see electric utility rates stabilized. The prospect of huge price hikes when the current caps on rates are lifted is impetus enough for retirees to support re-regulation of electric rates.
Many of the customers who have been left without electricity in the numerous power outages of the past few years are the retired workers of Ohio who live in less modernized areas and are subject to electrical infrastructure failures. It is not just an indignity but also an issue of health and safety. Re-regulation would at least give the older Ohio consumer a voice and a chance to see reinvestment in infrastructure maintenance and upgrades.
As workers we lived through many changes and innovations in the means of production and the delivery of goods and services. Retirees expect to see that progress continue and applaud the incentives for new and advance technology generation and the promotion of renewable resources.
The workforce that is available to replace us is in need of good jobs with good wages. This policy and the implementing legislation as it is currently written work to provide our sons, daughters and grandchildren with productive, meaningful, and sustainable work to move the Ohio economy forward.
The Ohio Alliance for Retired Americans is initiating a grass roots education effort to urge the Ohio House of Representatives to pass Sub SB 221 promptly so that appropriate implementing actions may take place prior to the expiration of the rate stabilization plan.
Very Truly Yours,
David Friesner
President
Sally Steagall
Treasurer
Norman Wernet
State Director
10.31.07 - Strickland Statement on Ohio Senate's Unanimous Passage of Energy Bill
Columbus, Ohio – Ohio Governor Ted Strickland today made the following statement on the passage of Senate Bill 221, the governor’s Energy, Jobs and Progress legislation, in the Ohio Senate:
“Today is a major step in this bipartisan effort to ensure that we protect Ohio jobs by ensuring stable and predictable rates while bringing the jobs of the future by encouraging an advanced energy boom in our great state,” Strickland said. “I am deeply thankful to Senate President Bill Harris, Minority Leader Teresa Fedor and all members of the Energy and Public Utilities Committee for their leadership throughout this process. Put simply: the Ohio Senate took my energy proposal and made it even better.”
10.30.07 - Leading Anti-Poverty Organizations Endorse Energy Plan
Columbus, Ohio – Three of Ohio’s leading anti-poverty organizations today announced their support for Governor Ted Strickland’s energy plan.
Ohio Partners for Affordable Energy, Ohio Association of Community Action Agencies and the Ohio Association of Second Harvest Food Banks today joined a growing chorus of supporters, including top business and labor leaders, hospitals, farmers and restaurant owners.
“The bill contains protections for residential customers, particularly the most vulnerable customers, by calling for changes that would stabilize rates,” said David Rinebolt, Executive Director, Ohio Partners for Affordable Energy. “It creates this stability by bringing the rates back under the review of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio and requires that the rates are just and reasonable and in the public interest.”
10.25.07 - Governor’s Statement on the Senate Energy Bill
Columbus, Ohio – Governor Ted Strickland today offered the following comment on the Senate substitute energy regulation bill introduced today:
“Today the Senate Energy and Public Utilities Committee has offered an energy bill that is the result of meaningful bipartisan discussions and a lot of hard work on the part of individual senators and their staff,” Strickland said. “I believe this bill makes sensible improvements to my original bill and retains our core goals of protecting jobs through ensuring stable and predictable electricity prices, bringing the jobs of the future by encouraging advanced energy production and safeguarding our communities by encouraging investment in Ohio's electricity infrastructure. We proposed a good bill and I believe Ohio Senators are making it even better.”
8.30.07 - Governor Strickland Announces $5 Million for Wind Energy Production Projects
Columbus, Ohio – Ohio Governor Ted Strickland today announced grant awards totaling $5 million for the development of utility-scale wind energy projects. Two projects will receive funding for production projects: The Buckeye Wind project developed by EverPower Renewables in Champaign and Logan Counties, and the JW Great Lake’s Wood County Wind Farm in Wood County.
The awards are the result of the first round of the Ohio Wind Production and Manufacturing Incentive Program administered by the Ohio Department of Development, Ohio Energy Office.
“This investment is an important first step as we aim to create thousands of good-paying jobs by focusing on advanced energy production,” Strickland said. “Ohio’s commitment to wind energy will create economic development opportunities for communities across the state.”
“As Governor Strickland stressed yesterday with the unveiling of his energy strategy, Ohio must move beyond the status quo and into a position of global leadership in advanced energy technologies,” said Lt. Governor Lee Fisher, who also serves as Director of the Ohio Department of Development. “The potential for job growth is substantial with a commitment to renewable energy.”
EverPower’s multi-million dollar Buckeye Wind project is rated at a peak capacity of 100 megawatts (MW) and will have sites in Logan and Champaign Counties. The Buckeye Wind Project was approved for a grant of up to $3 million based on the amount of energy produced. The project will generate enough electricity to supply all the electricity needs for approximately 30,000 homes and is expected to be installed and operational by June 30, 2009.
JW Great Lakes’ Wood County Wind Farm is also a multimillion dollar project that is rated at a peak capacity of 49.5 MW. The Wood County project was approved to receive up to $2 million based on the amount of energy produced. The project will generate enough electricity to supply all the electricity needs for approximately 15,000 homes in Wood County and is expected to be installed and operational by June 30, 2009.
The awardees will receive a payment of 1 cent per kilowatt-hour for electricity generated and an additional 0.2 cents per kilowatt-hour will be available to projects that utilize Ohio-manufactured wind turbines. Payments will continue for five years or until the maximum funding award is reached, whichever comes first. It is likely that the wind turbines used for these projects will contain Ohio-made components.
Wind Production and Manufacturing applications underwent a thorough internal and external review process with assistance from the Lawrence Berkeley Livermore Laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy.
Funding for the Ohio Wind Production and Manufacturing Incentive was authorized by House Bill 251, introduced by Representative Joseph Uecker (R- House District 66), passed in early 2007. The Ohio Department of Development administers the production incentive through the Advanced Energy Fund. Originally called the Energy Efficiency Revolving Loan Fund, it was established in 1999 by the Ohio General Assembly during electric restructuring. The Ohio Department of Development also supports wind development in Ohio by maintaining an on-line, high-resolution interactive wind map and by participating actively in the Ohio Wind Working Group. More information is available at www.ohiowind.org.
8.29.07 - Governor Strickland Proposes Energy, Jobs and Progress Plan
Columbus, Ohio – Ohio Governor Ted Strickland today announced his Energy, Jobs and Progress plan that will ensure predictability of affordable energy prices and serve as a catalyst to enhance energy industries in Ohio, bringing new jobs while protecting existing jobs.
The Energy, Jobs and Progress plan will achieve three objectives:
* Ensure affordable and stable energy prices to protect Ohio consumers and existing Ohio jobs
* Attract energy jobs of the future through an Ohio advanced energy portfolio standard
* Safeguard Ohio families by empowering consumers and modernizing Ohio’s energy infrastructure.
Strickland’s plan will ensure affordable and stable energy prices to protect Ohio consumers and existing Ohio jobs by taking a middle-ground approach to electricity regulation. The plan includes a market-based pricing option contingent upon the development of an efficient, open and competitive market. The plan also allows utilities to choose an electricity security plan, which would give the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio responsibility for approving rates that are based on the cost of doing business.
The plan's advanced energy portfolio standard will bring the energy jobs of the future to the state, creating new opportunities for thousands of Ohioans. It requires that at least 25 percent of the electricity sold in Ohio must be generated from advanced energy technology by 2025, and no less than half of that advanced energy must be created in Ohio.
The Energy, Jobs and Progress plan will also safeguard Ohio families by empowering consumers to demand greater efficiency, transparency and service from their utility companies. This can be accomplished by encouraging investment and modernization of Ohio’s energy infrastructure, which is not only a benefit for consumers but also protects and secures the state’s economy.
Strickland’s complete remarks:
Energy, Jobs and Progress for Ohio
Every generation learns an old lesson and thinks it’s new.
Back in the 1880s, a vast supply of natural gas was found in northwest Ohio.
In fact, in Findlay it was said that the region had the largest reserve of natural gas in the world.
There was so much that it was given away free. Locals bragged that natural gas was as “free as the air.”
There was so much that lesser wells went uncapped – or were simply burned off.
The local chamber of commerce took out newspaper ads across the country touting “Free Fuel! Free Sites!” for any manufacturer willing to relocate.
Every home and every company in town used natural gas for heat, for lighting, and to run machinery.
With abundant energy fueling prosperity and ease, the population of Findlay quadrupled in less than a decade.
It was, in the words of a historian, “a wild, mad, exciting, exhilarating, spectacular” time.
Given their resources and how quickly the area had grown, town leaders saw no reason to doubt that they lived in what was destined to become the manufacturing center of the world.
There were naysayers. Geologists regularly warned that the gas supply was limited. But their warnings were ignored by some and dismissed by others.
By the turn of the century, however, area residents and companies had only memories of free fuel. In fact, my friends, they had only memories of the endless supply of natural gas.
Today in Ohio, we could assume that the energy we rely upon now will always be sufficient – and quietly wait for the day of crisis when that is no longer the case.
Or we can admit to an undeniable truth – that our energy sources must be broadened and modernized, that we must adopt more efficient practices, that our regulation policies must be made sensible and fair – and achieve a secure energy future for Ohio.
I know that energy isn’t the first thought for most people when they wake up in the morning.
But energy shapes economies, energy shapes communities, energy shapes lives.
And that’s particularly true in Ohio.
We are blessed to be among the nation’s leading manufacturing states and to be home to one of America’s largest concentrations of Fortune 500 companies.
But the consequence of all that is done here and all that is made here is the vast quantity of energy that is consumed here.
In fact, Ohio is 5th among the states in overall energy consumption. Our economy spends more than 30 billion dollars on energy every year, and electricity is the single biggest component of our energy use.
In 1999, Ohio moved toward deregulating electricity under the belief that competitive market forces would develop and hold prices down. But it is widely acknowledged that a competitive electricity market has not emerged in Ohio. When you offer consumers a product with no choice of who they buy from, you don’t have a market, you have a monopoly. And prices don’t go down, they rise ever higher.
Indeed, ever since 1999 there has been recognition of this fact, as well as the need to keep electric rates predictable and stable, because to this day the PUCO has retained the cushion of rate stabilization. And it is that cushion that has kept rates paid by consumers and companies from rapidly escalating.
But rate stabilization is set to expire at the end of next year.
Many of Ohio’s largest employers have expressed the concern that deregulation without rate stabilization will mean skyrocketing electricity prices and an unprecedented drain on Ohio’s economy.
Quite frankly, their fears are not without foundation.
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, customers in states with deregulated electricity paid 30 percent more last year than customers in regulated states.
When their version of rate stabilization ended this year in Illinois, electricity bills immediately jumped as much as 55 percent.
When rate stabilization ended last summer in Maryland, electric bills soared by 72 percent.
Headlines across the country tell the story of small businesses literally shutting their doors because their electric bills more than doubled.
And that job loss is coupled with personal hardship. USA Today recently detailed what happened to an East St. Louis, Illinois family whose electric bill quadrupled when the state’s rate caps expired. The wife had to take her engagement ring off her finger and return it. Her husband had to take extra shifts at his warehouse job. And still they may not be able to pay their electric bills.
Equally troubling, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has documented the potential for manipulation in a totally deregulated market.
All of you recall the shameful example of Enron’s efforts to exploit the deregulated electricity market in California. By intentionally limiting available power, then watching prices soar as demand spiked, companies including Enron are believed to have bilked 9 billion dollars from California consumers over the course of just a few months. Infamously, two Enron energy traders were caught on tape bragging about how they were bankrupting the grandmothers of California with outrageous electricity bills.
We must heed these lessons.
Let me say I do not see us going back to a fully regulated system, but I do see us moving forward with a carefully crafted system that ensures price stability, and an adequate and reliable supply of electricity.
Our energy policy is not simply a matter of what we stand to lose. It is a matter of what we stand to gain – jobs. Energy can be a catalyst for new jobs, bringing forth a new day, a new economy, a new Ohio.
An economic analysis by the Apollo Alliance found that an expanded use of renewable energy would provide Ohio more than 20,000 new manufacturing jobs building the products necessary to harvest the energy of the wind, sun, water and other renewable resources.
And that represents only a fraction of the potential jobs to be gained in the research and operation of not only renewable but other advanced energy options.
Advanced energy offers the promise of high paying jobs – jobs that would take advantage of Ohio’s strengths in manufacturing, our location, and our workforce.
And all the while we will help power our economy with cleaner fuels and take control of our energy destiny.
We now face a choice. We can embrace unchecked monopolies presented under the guise of a deregulated marketplace, a false marketplace that would stifle our economy, and leave to chance the development of innovation.
Or we can embrace a carefully crafted hybrid approach that recognizes how we generate, distribute, and price electricity affects every one of us every day, and acknowledges that maintaining an adequate supply of electricity is a fundamental responsibility of our state government.
Today, I am offering my vision of an electricity market that will provide reliable, affordable, and sustainable power essential to Ohio’s future.
First, we must protect Ohio jobs. And in order to do that, there must be a sensible balance between regulation and competition. We must develop a market that serves the needs of Ohio, not a system that offers utilities both the benefits of deregulation and the protections of regulation.
We should give utilities the option of pursuing either a competitive market pricing plan or an electricity security plan.
If an efficient and competitive market emerges, with service territories open to competitors on a reasonable basis, then utilities should be allowed to charge market rates.
However, until such an efficient, open, and competitive market exists, rates should be set under an electricity security plan. Rates will be determined in part by the cost of generating and delivering electricity. Rate decisions will also be determined by considering the long term sustainability of energy by allowing utilities to recoup costs of environmental innovations and new power plants. And while utilities are certainly entitled to fair returns, electricity rates will also factor in the significant investment Ohio ratepayers have already made in the capital assets of those utilities.
Second, we must implement an advanced energy portfolio standard in order to create thousands of new Ohio jobs.
Next generation energy technologies, including renewable energy, fuel cells, clean coal, advanced nuclear, and cogeneration offer the promise of a secure energy future and a prosperous economic future.
Under my plan, by 2025, a minimum of 25 percent of the electricity sold in Ohio must be generated from advanced energy technology. No less than half of that energy will come from renewable sources, including biomass, wind, solar, anaerobic digesters, geothermal, and hydro power. And no less than half of that advanced energy must be created in Ohio.
Third, the electricity market must feature accountability and transparency. Quite simply, customers should be able to understand what they pay for and what they get.
The true cost of generating electricity rises at times of peak demand and falls when demand declines. It may cost a utility 10, or 20, or even more times as much to provide electricity for the same load of laundry washed at 4 p.m. on a weekday instead of a few hours later.
Yet that reality is all but absent from a consumer’s experience because they have no way of measuring how their energy use relates to demand or cost. Our approach will result in the PUCO speeding up consumers’ access to advanced meters that will show them not just how much, but when they are using electricity, and when they could use less expensive power.
It is also time to give the PUCO a fair accounting of the deals utilities offer to certain customers in the course of the commission’s proceedings. If a side deal offering a special rate for electricity is in effect which influences outcomes, I will propose requiring those transactions be disclosed to the PUCO. While this proprietary information will remain only in the PUCO’s hands, it will provide the commission comprehensive information on all the rates charged to ensure that its deliberations result in a fair and just decision.
My plan requires utilities to work with the PUCO to establish meaningful, plain language performance targets for meeting consumers’ needs, and it establishes financial consequences if those targets are unmet.
Fourth, consumers deserve equal footing with utilities. Electricity is vital in the lives of every Ohioan and every Ohio company. Therefore, the needs and preferences of our utilities cannot be the PUCO’s sole concern.
Indeed, organizations representing consumer groups should enjoy equal standing in consideration of regulations and rate negotiations.
Fifth, we must update and modernize Ohio’s electric infrastructure. Our responsibility for a secure energy future requires not only the generation of power but its reliable delivery. Quite frankly, our power plants, transmission lines, and distribution networks are showing their age.
Under my proposal, utilities in the electricity security option must submit a long-term, infrastructure modernization plan. Utilities must also integrate all their infrastructure resources, not just the most profitable segments of the business, into their planning.
To make it easier for utilities to maintain their infrastructure in the short term, under certain conditions single issue rate cases will be permitted. That is, rather than having to make a case based on the entirety of their service delivery system, a utility can propose a rate change for a limited geographic area or to achieve a limited purpose that is central to maintaining their system.
Sixth, energy efficiency must be a central element of our electricity system. Efficiency is simply our cheapest, cleanest, and most readily available energy resource.
Under my plan, by 2025, utilities must meet at least 25 percent of the growth in electricity demand by achieving power saving efficiencies. And, efficiency steps should provide no less than 10 percent of the total peak demand of electricity.
Further, in recognition of the fact that a megawatt saved is as valuable as a megawatt generated, the PUCO may treat efficiency as a production cost.
Right now our utilities have an unhealthy incentive to simply sell more power to generate more revenue, rather than fully meeting the needs of the Ohio market with as little electricity as possible. Therefore, if other measures fail to provide efficiency, the PUCO should be authorized to allow utilities to profit from increasing efficiency to the point where electricity sales actually fall.
Seventh, our electricity plan must address the threat of global warming.
While acknowledging that standards must be flexible enough to account for differences in the type of energy used and the technology available when a power plant was built, we should begin carbon control planning for each site. As a first step, under my plan each power plant in Ohio will make a full annual report of its greenhouse gas emissions.
Coal has been, is, and will be an integral part of Ohio’s economy. By using clean coal technology, we can take steps to reduce the carbon impact of coal. Carbon sequestration offers us that opportunity. By injecting carbon dioxide deep into the Earth instead of sending it into the atmosphere, we can significantly reduce the effect of coal on our climate. Under my plan, we will pursue pilot and demonstration projects to fully measure the potential benefits of carbon sequestration.
Finally, to help advance these worthy goals, my plan calls on the Ohio Air Quality Development Authority to accomplish several critical functions.
The Authority will procure electricity for state facilities through pool purchasing, provide lower cost financing for new power generation projects, coordinate state supported energy research and development funds, and support the energy efficiency efforts of utilities.
Acting on behalf of Ohio’s economy and Ohio consumers, the Authority will also be empowered, but not required, to make reduced-cost power available to key industrial sectors, lead Ohio’s deployment of renewable energy installations, and provide incentives to utilities making early use of next generation energy technology.
Let me say, this is not a plan for the utilities. It’s not a plan for the manufacturers. It’s a plan for Ohio. It’s a plan to protect existing jobs and to attract new jobs.
We need to realize that competing and colliding self interests will not advance a more sensible and secure energy policy. But our collective interest in the health of our economy, the health of our environment, and the health of our future will move us forward.
Cynics might say that our best days are behind us. But they are wrong. Energy can be the key to our economic renaissance.
A secure energy future will protect Ohio jobs. A secure energy future will create jobs for those who will help us harvest renewable and next generation energy. A secure energy future means that Ohio will attract jobs from states with higher electricity rates.
My friends, in Ohio we’ve long been at the forefront of energy advances.
Before this state was even two decades old, we were a manufacturing giant because Ohio mills successfully created power from running water.
Before this state was a century old, Ohioan Charles Brush was one of the very first to harness the power of electricity.
As a youngster, Charles Brush lived on a farm and went on to graduate from a Cleveland public high school. He began his path-breaking work with the modest tools available to him.
His early experiments on developing an electric generator depended for power on horses walking on a treadmill. But his work progressed until he had developed a machine that was the basis of commercial electric power generation.
Charles Brush also worked with electric lighting. His innovations led to the first electric streetlights in the world. They were installed in his hometown of Cleveland in 1879. A crowd of more than a thousand gathered in the center of the city to see them turned on for the first time.
Within two years, Brush’s Ohio-made lights were illuminating the streets of major cities across the country including New York, Boston, and San Francisco.
And it was in his back yard in Cleveland that a few years later Charles Brush built the first automatic, electricity-generating windmill in the world.
That windmill is the predecessor of the kind of alternative energy source we must make better use of today. Because we’re on the cusp of a new generation of energy technology, and we must stake our claim.
Ohio can lead the way in the generation of energy, in the manufacturing of hardware necessary to create that energy, and in a sensible plan to provide energy to our people and our companies.
This is a good day for Ohio. Because as a writer once put it, “When you have energy, you have hope.”
5.1.07 - Strickland Announces Energy Principles
Columbus, OH – Ohio Governor Ted Strickland today delivered the following remarks to the Toledo Regional Chamber of Commerce on Ohio’s energy policy:
Toledo Regional Chamber of Commerce Legislative Briefing
May 1, 2007
It is a pleasure to be here with you today to share some thoughts on Ohio’s economy and on the future of energy in Ohio.
Everyone in this room knows that the challenges of Ohio’s economy have been well documented. But signs of progress and renewal are sprouting.
Recently Ohio was awarded the Governor’s Cup from Site Selection Magazine in recognition of Ohio leading the nation in new business facilities.
And Foreign Direct Investment Magazine just named Toledo one of its “Cities of the Future” based on its attractiveness for future business opportunities. In fact, the publication named Toledo the #1 “business friendly” large city in North America.
As you know, I asked my Lt. Governor Lee Fisher to serve as Director of the Department of Development, because my administration understands that development is not only a priority, it is a necessity.
Lee and his staff have already worked to assist in the expansion of several Toledo-area companies.
Rieter Automotive North America is a Lucas County company that makes fiber padding, carpet, and insulating materials for automobiles. We recently announced that a combination of tax credits and a Rapid Outreach Grant will assist Rieter in an expansion of their facilities and result in creating and retaining hundreds of jobs in Lucas County.
More than 3 million dollars of Third Frontier funds were just designated for northwest Ohio in the Entrepreneurial Signature Program. This program supports innovation and commercialization of new technology. The funds will benefit a range of businesses and the University of Toledo.
To be sure, our state’s resources are limited. And we cannot do everything we want to do.
In the first year of my proposed state budget, general revenue spending will actually shrink, and over the two year span of the budget total spending will increase a modest 2.2 percent annually.
That’s lower than any budget in the last 42 years.
Holding to that line will allow us to live within our means and invest in what matters.
And as we invest in our economic future, my administration will listen to business leaders who know first hand what it takes to create jobs. What I’ve heard across the state – and from some in this room right now – is that one of the biggest obstacles to growth is finding qualified workers.
My administration is committed to increasing access to job training and higher education because Ohio should have the most educated workforce possible.
That’s why I’ve proposed a Higher Education Compact, which offers a significant increase in the basic instructional subsidy for our public colleges and universities if they agree to hold down tuition costs, including no tuition increase at all next year. And we will expand and improve our job training programs by simply utilizing dollars available from federal programs that the state has previously ignored.
We recognize that business is a partner in the future prosperity of Ohio. And that’s why we’ve launched Advantage Ohio, an across-the-board review of current regulations. We will eliminate those that are unnecessary, redundant and contradictory. We will make it easier to do business in Ohio while still protecting the health and safety of our people.
Now you all know that change is happening in our state, in our economy, and all around us.
But for far too long, too much of government has been simply continuing next year what has been done the year before – without regard to what could be done, or should be done. And if we keep that up, we’re done for.
The approach I take to issues is to make a common-sense assessment of what Ohio needs and where Ohio’s opportunities lie.
And I believe that as we embrace transformational changes in our economy, changes in what we make and how we make it, that one of the great opportunities we have in Ohio is to reshape the future of energy.
Energy is at the core of Ohio’s economic and environmental health: energy built our past, energy sustains our present, and energy holds the promise of an even brighter future.
Ohio is 3rd among the 50 states in manufacturing. We are the 4th largest producer of durable goods. We have the 5th most Fortune 500 Companies. And we are fortunate to have such strong output. But the consequence of all that is made here is the vast quantity of energy that is consumed here.
Indeed, Ohio is 5th in overall energy consumption. And our economy spends more than 30 billion dollars on energy every year.
Though a constant in our lives, energy evolves. Transportation in Ohio was once dependant on a grain-fed horse, then a gas-fueled car, and now we’re on the cusp of cutting edge alternatives including fuel cells and biofuels.
In fact, right now we face both opportunity and challenge. Our use and production of fossil fuel-based energy has made Ohio one of the largest emitters of air pollutants and greenhouse gases in the nation. And we are heavily dependent on energy sources from some of the most unstable parts of the world. In other words, our economy’s health rests on energy whose security we question and whose price we cannot control.
But Ohio has the resources to meet this energy challenge. Our great universities can develop the next generation of technology to produce energy more cleanly and to use it more efficiently. Our factories can make the component parts of those new technologies to be used here and around the globe. Our natural resources, ranging from the vast coal reserves found in the hills of Appalachian Ohio to the abundant wind and sunshine that bless our state, can provide more diverse energy supplies. Our students can learn the math, science and engineering skills to use that energy to power a new, vibrant Ohio economy.
Last week, I attended the inaugural meeting of the University Clean Energy Alliance of Ohio. Chancellor Eric Fingerhut and I witnessed 15 public and private colleges and universities, including the University of Toledo and Bowling Green, sign a historic agreement to work together to take on research and development challenges in the energy field.
And today I am calling for all stakeholders to join with me to create an Ohio Energy Compact – an agreement among producers and consumers, the regulated and the regulators – to define the best energy choices for Ohio and to transform our state’s entire approach to energy.
Like any great challenge, we will take it on in steps.
If, as I believe, energy can be the basis of Ohio’s economic turnaround, electricity will be a dominant force. How we decide to generate, distribute, and price electricity can be the foundation on which new industries, new jobs, and a safer, cleaner, healthier environment can be built. The right choices can make us leaders on our nation’s road to energy independence and economic vitality.
In 1999, Ohio lawmakers created a plan to restructure our electric utility industry. Supporters made some assumptions at the time: they believed Ohio could deregulate electric generation because a competitive market would emerge; many believed that electric rates would go down; they believed electricity was just like other industries that had been deregulated.
But electricity, it turns out, is different. It is of such profound importance to our way of life that electricity deregulation has had a more than checkered past and maintains an uncertain future.
Competitive markets simply have not developed. And lower electric rates were probably not a realistic expectation.
In fact, in other states deregulation has brought with it significant increases in utility rates. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, customers in states with deregulated electricity paid 30 percent more last year than customers in regulated states.
However, we cannot go back to the “good old days” – of cost-of-service regulation – we cannot put the Genie back in the bottle. So how do we move forward? One approach to the unfolding regulation situation we face is to opt for a band-aid solution that buys time and avoids, at least for a while, the worst of the rate increases in the hope that in a couple of years the electricity market will have changed and we can revisit the problem.
I do not believe we have the luxury of that approach. The future of energy will not wait for us to make a decision. Waiting would jeopardize our economy, constrain our capacity to generate energy, threaten our environment, reduce our ability to improve efficiency, and limit our capacity to lead the nation in the production of advanced energy technology.
So I stand ready to work with the legislature, with industry, with the utilities, and with advocates, to shape the future of the electricity market in Ohio.
With so much at stake, it is vital that we are clear about our goals and how we can work together to reach them. I believe the principles I will outline today, like the electricity grid itself, are the essential infrastructure of this debate, required to keep us connected and working at capacity.
The next steps must be viewed as a joint investment in Ohio’s future. I believe that if utilities, environmental advocates, customers of all sizes, regulators, business leaders and political leaders can put aside self interest and work for the common good, Ohio can be the leader on our nation’s road to energy independence and economic vitality.
In our new Energy Compact:
We must make transparency and accountability the foundation of the Compact. We can restore lost faith in both government and public utilities by designing clear, “common sense” plans and being responsible for accomplishing them. This also provides a sound basis for public and private sharing of the investments required to achieve those goals.
We must give customers equal footing with utilities. The complexity of these issues creates an imbalance of knowledge and expertise that can create the appearance of a disproportionate influence of utilities in electric power decision-making. In an era of expensive energy, there is increased tension between the historical social responsibility of what we call public utilities and the driver of private sector return on investment. We must work together constantly to make sure the public understands the issues and the consequences of our plans.
We must make energy efficiency a central element in addressing electric regulation. Let us prioritize our cheapest, cleanest, and most readily available energy resource - energy efficiency - by giving customers the tools they need to exercise greater responsibility for their individual energy footprints. For instance, there exists today real-time metering technologies that enable even residential customers to see actual prices and adjust their electric usage accordingly. I think that’s smart energy in action.
We must stimulate renewable energy consumption in order to attract advanced energy investment. Ohio already has the industrial base, technical resources, and skilled labor necessary to lead the way in renewable energy. It’s time to send a clear signal that Ohio is the right place for renewable energy technology investment.
We must modernize Ohio’s electric infrastructure. We should broaden the debate to include our energy delivery system, not just our generation capacity. It’s time to invest to modernize our electric infrastructure, the aging fleet of plants that generate our power, the transmission system that is doing more than it was ever meant to do, and the deteriorating distribution networks. It is our responsibility to see that the infrastructure exists to meet the needs of the 21st Century economy in Ohio.
We must take into account environmental issues, especially global warming. The choices we make in electricity regulation will impact our environment. And, environmental policies, especially rules on greenhouse gas emissions, will have dramatic effects on Ohio’s economy. Our approach to electricity regulation will integrate environmental considerations, not as an afterthought, but as a guiding concern.
I’d like to say to my friends in the legislature, and to everyone who has an interest in this issue: I believe it is time to think boldly. It is time to think past us versus them, because all of Ohio depends on a sound policy and secure access to electricity. It’s time to think past stability versus change, because change is happening right now. It’s time to think past economy versus the environment, because a forward-thinking policy benefits both.
We can start by adopting a principled, well-considered approach to electricity regulation.
I thank you for the opportunity to visit with you today, and I look forward to a vigorous debate on this issue.
3.29.07 - Governor Strickland Announces New Investment in Energy Economy
Columbus, OH – As part of the governor’s energy strategy to create jobs by supporting clean coal and next-generation energy production, Ohio Governor Ted Strickland today announced the selection of a Tuscarawas County site for a $2.3 million project to measure Ohio’s capacity for deep well storage of carbon dioxide emissions.
This method, known as carbon dioxide sequestration, is the first step towards making clean coal technologies a reality in Ohio. Deep wells will allow carbon emitted in the clean coal production process to be stored beneath the earth's surface so that it doesn't contribute to global warming.
“Ohio has one of the most energy intensive economies in the country,” Strickland said. “This project explores cutting edge technology to decrease those carbon emissions and protect Ohio’s current manufacturing and energy industries while attracting new ones. I am proud Ohio is making this investment to plan for the future.”
The deep well test site, approximately 2 miles northeast of Port Washington in Salem Township, was selected by a team of scientists with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) and Battelle. The deep well will gather critical geological data on the region’s ability to store or “sequester” carbon dioxide emissions far underground. If this deep well confirms favorable conditions for carbon dioxide sequestration, it could lead to future industrial development in the region.
The state budgeted approximately $2.3 million from general revenue and clean coal research funds for drilling, testing, data analysis, and reporting on the project.
Developing ways to manage these emissions in an environmentally responsible way will position Ohio to attract and retain the kinds of high-tech industries targeted in the Turnaround Ohio initiative. ODNR, Battelle, a non-profit research organization based in Columbus, and the Ohio Air Quality Development Authority are pioneering carbon dioxide sequestration research in Ohio.
“This is a great example of how economic development and the wise use of our resources can be compatible goals,” said Sean D. Logan, director of ODNR. “Projects like this enable us to use our natural assets to create the greatest benefit for the most people for the longest possible time.”
Current studies show that Ohio is well situated for deep well projects because of natural rock layers that might safely store and seal quantities of carbon dioxide once the gas is captured and injected in the ground.
This test, called the Ohio Stratigraphic Borehole (Ohio Strat Test), will require geologists to drill to a depth of 8,600 feet to look for porous rock layers that would hold carbon dioxide in much the same way oil and gas deposits remain trapped for millions of years underground.
Once the well is drilled, scientists will take specific physical measurements of the rock layers, especially their porosity, permeability, chemistry and ability to accept injected fluid.
“The Tuscarawas County project will expand our knowledge of Ohio’s deep underground geology and fill in some gaps that currently exist,” said Phil Jagucki, field project manager for Battelle.
Planning for site access is already underway. Drilling is scheduled to begin between April and July, with testing conducted for several months after that. The entire project, including analysis of the data that is gathered, is scheduled for completion by the end of 2008.
The project will have little impact on local residents during the drilling and testing. There are no residences within a quarter-mile radius of the site. There will be a temporary increase in truck traffic along state Route 36, while the drilling rig and related equipment are transported.
All data will be available to the public on the ODNR website and via reports to be published by the Division of Geological Survey. Representatives from the ODNR Division of Mineral Resources Management and the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency will join the project in order to plan future regulation of carbon dioxide sequestration. A number of experts from the local oil and gas industry will serve as consultants.
01.17.2007: Strickland establishes Energy Advisor
Columbus, Ohio – Ohio Governor Ted Strickland today signed Executive Order 2007-02 establishing an energy advisor to the governor to coordinate the state’s efforts to create jobs through becoming a leader in the production of next-generation energy.
“One of the core principles of my Turnaround Ohio plan is to invest in Ohio's strengths,” Strickland said. “Clearly, energy production is one of those strengths. I am convinced that we can create thousands of good-paying jobs by encouraging next-generation energy production in Ohio including ethanol, clean coal, wind and solar.”
The governor’s energy advisor will coordinate the administration’s energy policy. Each executive agency will designate a deputy director-level or higher liaison to work directly with the energy advisor to coordinate their agency’s energy policy. In addition, the energy advisor will sit on the Third Frontier Commission as the governor’s science and technology advisor.
“The energy advisor will work directly with the agencies to secure maximum efficiency, coordination and consistency across state government,” Strickland said. “This advisor will keep energy a state priority while creating a better environment and boosting economic development in energy and manufacturing sectors.”
Strickland today designated Mark Shanahan, executive director of the Ohio Air Quality Development Authority, as the governor's energy advisor.
In addition to naming an energy advisor, the executive order establishes measurable goals and deadlines for Ohio state government's energy consumption. The order instructs state agencies to immediately implement energy savings policies that recently became law instead of waiting until April 13, 2007.
The Ohio Department of Administrative Services must work with the energy advisor to establish a tool for state agencies, boards and commissions to measure their energy consumption, which must include means of calculating each organization’s “carbon footprint.” This process must be in place by March 16, 2007.
Each state agency, board and commission must also complete an energy audit of all of its facilities by June 2007. Upon completion of the energy audit these organizations must perform an overall reduction of 5 percent in building energy use for its facilities within the first year of the next biennium and 15 percent by the end of four fiscal years.
The executive order also instructs ODAS to reduce the state’s consumption of petroleum by increasing the number of state vehicles that use alternative fuel sources and prepare plans to establish E85 and biodiesel fuel pumps. E85 is fuel made up of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline, and biodiesel is diesel fuel made from vegetable oil or animal fats. ODAS must develop and implement a plan to raise biodiesel fuel consumption to at least 25 percent of the state’s diesel purchases by no later than January 1, 2008.
“By using the purchasing power of the state and transforming our energy infrastructure to use biofuels from sources here in Ohio, we will decrease our dependency on foreign sources for oil and help our agricultural industry in the process,” Strickland said.
Lastly, the executive order launches the Governor’s Higher Education Energy Challenge, and creates an award and recognition program to encourage energy efficiency innovation at Ohio’s colleges and universities. The energy advisor will establish a competition for teams of students, faculty, administrators and staff to develop energy savings initiatives on their campuses.
“We must engage Ohio’s future leaders to face the energy challenges of today so they can create the energy possibilities of the future,” Strickland said. “Alternative fuels and energy innovation are the future of Ohio jobs, and this executive order lays the foundation to ensure Ohio is ready.”
01.17.2007: Governor issues Executive Order 2007-02S: Coordinating Ohio Energy Policy and State Energy Utilization
A PDF version of Executive Order 2007-02 can be found by clicking here.