Ohio

Renewable resources have tremendous potential to transform Ohio's energy supply and boost the state's economy. As one of the biggest energy-consuming states in the nation, Ohio -- which relies on coal, mostly imported, to generate almost 90 percent of its electricity -- stands to receive significant economic gains by harnessing its own renewable resources. Ohio sends $1.5 billion out of state each year by importing more than 60 percent of its power-plant fuel.[1] But with its wide open skies and 75,000 farms,[2] Ohio is prime territory for wind, solar power, biogas, and sustainably-sourced bioenergy development. Ohio’s alternative energy portfolio standard, established in 2008, mandates that 12.5 percent of its electricity must come from renewable sources by 2025.

Growing the renewable energy industry can help revive the local manufacturing economy: according to the Renewable Energy Policy Project, Ohio has 2,100 companies -- the fourth-highest number in the nation -- in industries related to the manufacture of components for renewable energy systems. With a national clean-energy building boom, Ohio could see almost 23,000 additional jobs and $3.6 billion dollars of investment in manufacturing components.[3]

The renewables map shows current and future Ohio facilities generating energy from wind, biomass, solar power, and biogas.

Wind Energy

The first offshore wind project in the Great Lakes is expected to begin construction near Cleveland in 2012

Ohio is ripe for wind energy development, especially in the northwestern part of the state: from Sandusky toward Toledo, and along the shores of Lake Erie. The state currently ranks near the bottom of the list in wind-power production, with just 11 megawatts of capacity, but has a much greater potential capacity of more than 54,000 megawatts.[4]

Wind-energy production would benefit Ohio ecologically and bring billions of dollars into the state. A 2007 report from the Environment Ohio Research and Policy Center found that if Ohio could generate 20 percent of its energy production from wind by 2020, the state would create 3,100 permanent full-time jobs, increase cumulative wages by $3.7 billion, and increase the gross state product by $8.2 billion through the end of that year.[5]

Most of Ohio’s existing wind facilities are relatively small in scale. Ohio’s first wind farm, the 7.2 megawatt AMP–Ohio/Green Mountain Energy Wind Farm in Bowling Green, was completed in 2004; power is shared by Bowling Green and the Ohio Municipal Electric Generation Agency Joint Venture 6. At Cleveland’s Great Lakes Science Center, a single turbine with 0.23 megawatts of capacity generates about 7 percent of the center’s electricity needs.[6]

The state has big plans for large facilities, including the first offshore wind project in the Great Lakes. The Lake Eerie Energy Development Corporation is expected begin construction on a 20-megawatt facility in the waters of Lake Erie near Cleveland in 2012. Officials hope the project will jumpstart offshore wind energy development in the region and revive the local manufacturing sector. The project’s initial phase would produce enough energy to power between 5,000 and 6,000 homes.[7]

Several large onshore wind projects are scheduled to come online before 2014, including Horizon’s 99-megawatt Timber Road II wind farm, already under construction near Payne, Ohio. [8] Other projects in the works include Buckeye Wind, Hardin Wind Energy, and Iberdrola’s Blue Creek Wind farm in Champaign, Hardin, and Van Wert and Paulding counties.[9] [10]

Biomass Energy and Cellulosic Ethanol

Credit: Gretz, Warren - NREL Staff Photographer

Ohio could generate 7.5% of its electricity from biomass by 2020

Ohio's potential to make energy from biomass is the 7th highest in the nation. This promising homegrown energy source could generate 7.5 percent of Ohio's electricity needs by 2020, according to Oak Ridge National Laboratory.[11]

Ohio produces about 6.5 million dry tons of biomass each year from urban wood waste, crop residues and forest residues. More than half this biomass comes in the form of corn stover -- the stems, stalks, and other corn remnants left over after harvesting. Western and northwestern Ohio have the greatest biomass resources, particularly in Mercer, Darke, Putnam, Henry, Hancock, Wood and Seneca counties. [12]

A dedicated program could keep almost 750,000 dry tons of biomass (including yard waste, pallets and other wood materials) out of Ohio's landfills each year, at a cost of $20 per dry ton or less. If converted to electricity, this material could generate 14 million kilowatt-hours per year, about 9 percent of the state's electricity consumption.[13]

The best biofuels protect the environment and food supplies while improving the economic welfare of workers and communities. Cellulosic ethanol, which is made from crop waste and non-food crops, is the biofuel of the future. It can produce four to ten times more energy as corn ethanol without swallowing up huge tracts of food-growing farmland or forests.

The potential of using switchgrass to produce cellulosic ethanol is being actively explored in Ohio. Switchgrass is native to central Ohio's prairie lands,[14] and Ohio State University soil scientists have been working for several years to examine its impacts on the surrounding soil -- especially carbon sequestration -- and the number of tons of biomass per acre that switchgrass can yield in Ohio.[15] Researchers are also investigating the biofuel potential of giant miscanthus, a perennial grass native to Asia, in southern Ohio.[16]

Solar Energy

Credit: PSEG

Ohio ranks second nationally in solar panel production

Ohio gets a decent amount of sunlight, a daily average of three to four kilowatt-hours of solar energy per square meter.[17] The benefits of Ohio sunshine transcend electricity generation: the state’s manufacturing base has attracted the solar industry to set up shop -- and create jobs -- in Ohio.

Building on its history as a glass-making center, Toledo is now making a name for itself as solar manufacturing hub, proving that green energy can boost Ohio's economy. Phoenix-based First Solar employs more than 1,000 people at its recently expanded plant in Perrysburg, outside Toledo.[18] Xunlight, a company started by former University of Toledo researchers, employs about 200 people at its Toledo plant.[19] All told, solar-system manufacturing created thousands of jobs in greater Toledo over the last several years,[20] and that number is growing as you read. Solar is helping jump-start local economies throughout Ohio, including Circleville, outside Columbus, where DuPont is retrofitting factories to build parts for solar panels, and Cincinnati, where RBI Solar makes solar racking structures.[21] At the beginning of 2011, Ohio ranked second nationally in solar panel production.[22]

Ohio utilities must generate .5 percent of their electricity from solar power by 2025, according the state’s renewable energy standard. In solar capacity terms, that’s roughly 300 to 400 megawatts of power. To date, Ohio’s largest solar installation is the 12-megawatt PSEG Wyandot Solar Farm, which began operations in 2010.[23] American Municipal Power of Columbus has announced plans to add 300 megawatts of solar capacity across several states in the coming decades.[24] Turning Point Solar plans to build the largest solar photovoltaic plant east of the Mississippi near Cumberland, Ohio. The 50-megawatt plant, located on the site of a former strip mine, is scheduled to begin operations in 2012 and will sell its energy to American Electric Power.[25]

Biogas Energy

Ohio is home to more than 75,000 farms, about half of which have livestock.[26] Ohio farmers could potentially capture nearly 50,000 tons of methane annually from livestock manure[27] -- enough to generate more than 165 million kilowatt-hours of electricity, which could power about 13,800 homes a year.[28] Farms in western and north-central Ohio, particularly in Mercer, Darke and Wayne counties, have the greatest potential to convert manure into biogas.[29]

Currently, just four dairy farms and one poultry operation in Ohio use biodigesters, producing more than 19,000 megawatt hours of electricity annually.[30]

In the city of Akron, Quasar Energy Group’s biodigester converts 5,000 tons of sludge from a sewage treatment plant into about 335 kilowatt-hours of electricity per hour, saving the city thousands of dollars each month on electric bills.[31] The company launched another digester facility in Columbus in 2010, which converts sewage sludge and food waste into biogas. The digester is producing 1 megawatt of energy per hour.[32]

Renewable Energy Meets Wildland and Wildlife Conservation

Certain sensitive lands -- such as parks, monuments and wildlife conservation areas -- and ecologically sensitive marine areas are not appropriate for energy development. In some of these places, energy development is prohibited or limited by law or policy, and in others it would be highly controversial. NRDC does not endorse locating energy facilities or transmission lines in such areas. Siting decisions must always be made extremely carefully, with impacts mitigated and operations conducted in an environmentally responsible manner.

For more information on the intersection between clean energy development and wildland and wildlife conservation in the American West, including locations of parks, wildlife refuges and other conservation areas, see this Google Earth-based feature.

Toolkit

Economic Incentives for Renewable Energy Projects in Ohio

In 2010, Ohio established the Energy Gateway Fund, a private equity-style investment fund seeded with public dollars. Specifically, the State of Ohio has allocated $40 million to two investment managers, Enertech Capital and Arsenal Venture Partners, to invest in local "advanced energy projects and companies." These investments must be "Ohio-based" and must be in "commercially viable projects" "ready or near commercialization" in areas that include, but are not limited to, renewable energy, efficiency and fuel cells.

The Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency lists federal, state and local government incentives for renewable energy projects in Ohio.

The Ohio Energy Resources Division provides a number of incentives and financial opportunities for businesses, communities, and consumers to deploy energy efficient and renewable energy technologies. The state’s Department of Development also administers incentive programs to encourage businesses to locate and grow in Ohio.

The nonprofit organization Green Energy Ohio also has a resource page on state incentives for renewable energy resources.

The current Farm Bill offers a number of incentives for renewable energy. The Environmental Law and Policy Center maintains a helpful website called Farm Energy that outlines the current incentives and monitors the development of new ones.

In 2006, Cincinnati approved a property-tax abatement for green buildings certified by LEED, the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.[33] Individuals and businesses can receive full exemption from property taxes for fifteen years on new constructions, or ten years on green renovations or retrofits. Businesses must agree to pay the local Board of Education 25 percent of their abated property tax.

Wind Energy

Funded by the U.S. Department of Energy and the Ohio Department of Development, Green Energy Ohio's Anemometer Loan Program provides assistance to nonprofit organizations, landowners, farmers, small businesses and municipalities that are attracted to wind power but need advice and capital assistance. Successful applicants can borrow equipment for studies, site inspections, installations and other exploratory work over a twelve-month period.

The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio offers net metering to customers who generate their own electricity. If you install a wind-energy system on your property and connect it to the local electric grid, net metering allows you to send any excess power to the surrounding community -- causing your meter to run backward and your bill to shrink accordingly.

Biomass Energy and Cellulosic Ethanol

Ohio has a number of incentives for the use of alternative fuels, the purchase of an alternative-fuel vehicle, and the construction or purchase of an alternative-fuel refueling station or equipment. See the Alternative Fuels and Advanced Vehicles Data Center at the U.S. Department of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.

Solar Energy

The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio offers net metering to customers who generate their own electricity. If you install a solar-energy system on your property and connect it to the local electric grid, net metering allows you to send any excess power to the surrounding community -- causing your meter to run backward and your bill to shrink accordingly.

A state easement provision allows property owners to create easements to maintain their access to sunlight.[34]

Every year since 2005, Green Energy Ohio has organized a Solar Tour of solar-powered and solar-heated homes in the state. You can even take a virtual tour, via Google Maps, of more than 200 clean-energy sites throughout the state.

In 2007, the Wall Street Journal highlighted Toledo's efforts to update its economy from glass manufacturing to solar-power equipment ("Toledo Finds the Energy to Reinvent Itself"), and Newsweek featured Toledo in a story on clean-tech jobs ("The Power of the Sun").

Biogas Energy

The EPA's AgSTAR program has a comprehensive handbook on developing biogas technology. The site includes FarmWare, a free decision-making software package that can help you assess the feasability of biogas on your farm.

The National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service lists Ohio-based companies that provide equipment and design services for anaerobic digesters.

The AgMRC (Agricultural Marketing Resources Center) has a rich list of links and resources on biodigestion.

The Northwest CHP (Combined Heat and Power) Application Center has a fact sheet that helps you ask all the right questions about installing a biodigester on your farm.