Senators might have derailed Gov Strickland's plan for wind farms and...renewable energy

[Kolesar]

Regulation of electricity rates will end in Ohio at the end of 2008. Last summer, Governor Strickland proposed a "hybrid" reregulation plan to protect all consumers of electricity. Utility First Energy responded by hiring every lobbyist they could get and proceeded to insert amendments that hobbled Strickland's plan.

The utilities are getting about everything they could ask for.

This long article in the Plain Dealer explains it at length. At E/E, I placed some key excerpts that would be of concern to environmentalists and consumer advocates.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=115x121002

http://blog.cleveland.com/business/2007/11/the_bottom_line_on_electricity.html

[cmd]

1. Not happy to read that

The R's can tie up everything because they have the majority. The power goliaths with continue to get their way. They don't care about anything but profit.

I'll be seeing the Governor this weekend. Any messages?

[Kolesar]

2. Polls show that there are a substantial number of Republicans who are in favor of renewable energy

Tell him that polls show that there are a substantial number of Republicans who are in favor of renewable electricity (wind & solar power).

Tell the Governor that nobody is happy to write a check to the power company

The Governor (and his advisor Mark Shanahan) has been out front and leading a modest proposal to advance renewable energy and rate protection for consumers. He should dig in. We've got his back.

Ohio voters support renewable energy, poll finds

Saturday, October 13, 2007 - John Funk Plain Dealer Reporter

An overwhelming majority of Ohio voters of all political stripes strongly favors requiring the state's utilities to generate electricity with wind turbines and other renewable technologies, even it were to cost more.

"Eight in 10 Ohioans support setting a renewable energy standard," Erin Bowser, director of Environment Ohio, told a Senate Committee on Energy and Public Utilities this week.

She said a survey conducted for the environmental advocacy group also shows that about three-quarters of the 600 registered Ohio voters polled in mid- September agreed that building new coal-fired or nuclear power plants "ought to be a last resort."

The Senate committee is continuing hearings on Gov. Ted Strickland's comprehensive electric restructuring bill. The proposal includes a provision to require the state's utilities to generate 12½ percent of their power with wind turbines, solar panels and other renewable technologies by 2020. Environment Ohio wants the lawmakers to set a 20 percent standard.

...

Other findings include:

The support for renewable energy cut across political lines. For example, 71 percent of Republicans and 76 percent of Democrats said they would support a renewable standard.

Support for the standard was just as high in rural areas, 80 percent; small towns, 81 percent, as in large cities, 84 percent.

By a nine-to-one margin, those surveyed said their legislator's support of a renewable energy standard would be a positive in their vote decision.

More than 90 percent said they would be willing to pay more for green energy, with more than a third saying they would be willing to pay an extra $10 per month.

www.cleveland.com October 13, 2007

A spokesman for the Ohio Consumers' Counsel was on the radio yesterday morning and remarked that the Senators probably did not know what they were voting for. I don't have the vote tally, but I expect that First Energy and their plague of lobbyists influenced a few Democratic Senators.

We activists should call our representatives (in the Ohio House) and tell them that we want the renewable energy portfolio to be "restored" to the governor's original plan. We want the original price plan also.

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3. Will speak to my rep. this weekend as well

I have to help feed these guys. I doubt that will make as much difference as a call from AEP.

[cmd]

4. Mean, vindictive, stupid republicans -they have no shame

http://www.cleveland.com/business/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/business-4/119520567679350.xml&coll=2


Akron - While politicians debated whether Ohio should embrace wind-generated power, the nation's No. 2 wind turbine manufacturer spent most of this week in the state looking for parts makers.
.
(snip)
"If we can find suppliers we can partner with, we'll do it," Todd Windeknecht, Clipper' s strategic commodity leader, told a crowd of about 80 at the Martin University Center on the UA campus. "We are looking for long-term agreements, at least five years."

(snip)
The industry is facing critical shortages in gears, bearings, towers and turbine blades, he said. Clipper on its own already has contracts with about a dozen Ohio firms. Windeknecht and two colleagues spent most of Thursday afternoon in one-on-one interviews with interested parts makers.

(snip)
Gov. Ted Strickland's electricity reform bill includes a provision that the state's utilities, by 2025, generate at least 25 percent of the power they sell here from renewable and other advanced technologies - a strategy he hopes will land an assembly plant in the state and generate thousands of new jobs, not only in turbine assembly but in the supply chain.

Utilities oppose or only marginally support the governor's bill. After six weeks of hearings, the Senate amended the bill in a way that wind advocates argue means wind farms will not be built here.

The Ohio House leadership expects to spend the entire winter considering the bill.

[Kolesar]

5. The "renewable energy portfolio standards" in several states are creating a boom

And Ohio, the prime manufacturing state, can surely take advantage of the business.

It would make sense to build the turbine blades where the market is. The winds are best in places like Texas and Ohio. But Ohio casting, machining, and electronics companies can build the other components.

I am angry that First Energy has managed to grind the Ohio REPS down to a sham program with no benchmarks and no reporting for 18 years.

[cmd]

6. I got my minute with the Governor

First let me say that the Governor's speech was wonderful. He reminded us all that Ohio is a pretty great place and that we have a lot of remarkable history. By the time he was through his list of
achievements, I was really proud to be a Buckeye. He then went on to lay out the problems we face in education, health care and jobs. We are all too familiar with those problems.

I didn't think I was going to be able to talk with him because of the crowd and the set up of the room; so I grabbed the next best person, Sen. Jason Wilson, and asked him what I could do to help move
Ohio toward renewable energy. He gave me a quick p.c. answer about recycling, Energy Star appliances and light bulbs. I told him I didn't want to talk about that, I wanted to talk about why the senate
gutted the energy bill. Now Jason is from coal country. It's not in his interest to look into alternative energy. He pooh, pooh wind saying we couldn't generate enough power to make it economically feasible;
and defended the senate vote. I wasn't satisfied, so I laid out the story about the wind turbine company that visited Akron this week looking for a manufacturing site; and asked how we could ignore
wind when we needed the jobs that company could provide. The governor passed by at that moment, Jason jumped up and said I wanted to talk to him for a minute.

I started over asking the Governor what I could do to help bring renewable energy to Ohio. He gave me a quick, logical answer. It's in the house now. I needed to speak to my legislator and see if the house
will add benchmarks for the energy companies. He knew exactly what I was talking about, thanked me and moved on to his third county of the day.

I then started looking for Allan Sayre, my rep. He skipped out early. I should see him at a meeting tonight. If not, I'll call him.

Now, back to Jason. I bumped into him a couple more times. He really liked the cheese ball I took and went back for seconds and possible thirds. Maybe I make a difference with cream cheese, pineapple,
pecans, seasoned salt and chopped up French's onion rings.

[Kolesar]

7. Wow. Good work.

So the point now is to lobby the members of the Ohio House of Representatives.

All your work on campaigns and fundraisers yielded you access, and that's golden. Thanks for your help.

[cmd]

8. Access is good.

and yes, our only path right now is through the House. Good luck.

[geiger]

11. good story;assertive encounters like these DO make a difference

[ohio2007]

9. There is a German company wanting to make its US HQ in Cleveland for the purpose of using lake Erie

as viable operational wind farm site. They need certain guarantees to pull it off but in the long run, bet your bottom tax dollar they will be turned away if they are dnied tax abatement.

Being an evil big corporation and all.

Story won't break for a few more weeks if the deals are made otherwise,
we won't ever hear about this green project at all.

[Kolesar]

10. That companies' decision depends on whether Ohio institutes a Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard

Because they are selling photovoltaic (solar electricity) panels.

Call your reps and tell them you want the REPS restored to the electricity bill .