Ohio officials look into creating 26,000 alternative-energy

http://www.cantonrep.com/index.php?Category=13&ID=251497&r=0
Ohio officials look into creating alternative-energy jobs Monday, November 7, 2005 THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Ohio could reinforce its struggling manufacturing industry with up to 26,000 jobs by 2010 if the state embraces alternative energy industries, researchers say.
But such a jump start would require economic incentives and clean-energy requirements that state and local officials might decide aren't cost-effective.
Recommendations from some lawmakers and green-energy proponents have made little headway in Ohio, and Lt. Gov. Bruce Johnson said he doesn't plan on ramping up efforts to attract alternative energy businesses to the state. Johnson pointed to the state's push for ethanol use and clean-coal generator development and said progress comes from encouragement of energy exploration, not from regulations that can scare off businesses.
"Most of that is natural attributes, not government policy," he told The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer for a story Sunday.
The Regional Economics Application Laboratory and Environmental Law and Policy Center estimates Ohio could secure 26,000 jobs by luring the technology to the state. The estimate is the most optimistic of recent studies, the newspaper reported.
The Renewable Energy Policy Project said Ohio could get 11,600 manufacturing jobs from wind power and 1,200 positions from solar energy. Manufacturing parts for alternative energy systems - wind turbines and solar panels, for example - provide the biggest potential gains for Ohio's job market, researchers said.
Green-energy firms have started to appear in the state and are looking to expand. First Solar's plant in Perrysburg employs 220 and is set to add 180 jobs by 2007. BioGas Technologies in Norwalk and Technology Management in Cleveland are working to advance biofuel and fuel-cell energy.
Twenty-two states require their utilities to use a certain percentage of alternative energy.
Many people believe that forcing companies to comply with clean-energy regulations could hurt more than help, costing the state jobs as companies look elsewhere, environmental economists have said.
If the state does not demand cleaner energy use, jobs that could come to Ohio may be more likely to go to Europe - where wind technology is much more advanced - said Robert Burns, senior research specialist at the National Regulatory Research Institute at Ohio State University.
Others worry that a shift to different energy sources could hurt industries that rely on fossil fuels.
But they're already being hurt by high energy costs, Burns said, adding that Ohio could minimize the effect on such industries by developing its clean-coal technology. The process is costly but can alleviate coal pollution and cut costs.
Several research groups have issued estimates of how many jobs Ohio stands to gain from developing alternative energy. Here's a look at how they recommend state and federal governments build the sector:
n Wind energy: Ohio could gain 11,168 jobs, mostly in manufacturing, if the nation commits to using 10 percent renewable energy and the state cuts the government's total energy use.
n Biofuels: The state could get 1,800 manufacturing jobs if Ohio establishes loans to finance energy facilities and a fund to provide grant money to ethanol farmers and uses biodiesel in state vehicles when possible.
n Solar energy: Ohio could gain 1,200 jobs in manufacturing, construction and installation if the state enacts solar-friendly tax credits, requires a certain percentage of energy used by the state to be renewable and provides more funding for facilities and equipment. The jobs also would be contingent on the federal government building markets for solar power, supporting long-term projects and increasing research investments.