Big Solar Farm — and Hundreds of Jobs — Coming to Appalachian Ohio...

American Electric Power announced plans to build a 500-acre, 50-megawatt solar project on a former strip mine site in Southeastern Ohio yesterday. The solar plant will be built by two Spanish solar companies – Isofoton and Prius Energy S.L. – and the power will be purchased by AEP of Columbus; the partnership allows for the largest solar array east of the Rockies to take shape in Ohio. The project, known as Turning Point Solar, is expected to generate between 600 and 700 jobs in the area, with an estimated 300 of the jobs expected to be permanent manufacturing jobs. Area media were quick to pick up the story, with The Plain Dealer focusing on the legal groundwork that was laid previously to allow for and encourage such a development to take place. John Funk writes “Lawmakers recently eliminated Ohio’s tangible personal property tax and real property tax for advanced and renewable energy project facilities, a crucial tax cut for the development.” (See Friday’s blog post for more details). Funk also explains the powerful role of Ohio’s Renewable Portfolio Standard in driving the market for solar and wind in the state: Under Ohio’s 2008 utility law, the state’s major power companies must by 2025 generate12.5 percent of the power they sell in Ohio with renewable technologies. That law created a demand for solar and wind manufacturers. Experts estimate that Ohio’s utilities or solar developers will have to install solar systems with a total capacity to generate at least 300 megawatts...

Mired in Tight Race, Ohio Gov. Strickland Does Away with Renewable Energy Taxes...

An interesting look at business development opportunities created through support for renewable energy policies –and the possible political edge that comes with it! Originally posted 9/30/10 by Tim Hurst on the Energy Collective: The State of Ohio on Wednesday took a big step toward lowering the barriers to entry for building/installing renewable energy facilities across the state. Governor Ted Strickland issued an Executive Order eliminating the state’s tangible personal tax and real property tax for advanced and renewable energy project facilities. The move comes as Strickland is mired in a tough race against Republican challenger John Kasich. “As Ohio residents and businesses are fighting hard to recover from the crippling Wall Street recession, we must give promising companies every reason to develop and invest in Ohio as quickly as possible,” Strickland said in a news release. “I signed this order to implement these rules and help spur business investment immediately. This tax reform is part of our economic development strategy to strengthen Ohio’s business climate and help create jobs for Ohioans in our growing industries like advanced energy,” said Strickland Elimination of the taxes will apply to projects that begin construction before Jan. 1, 2012; produce energy by 2013, or 2017 for nuclear, clean coal and cogeneration projects; and create jobs in Ohio. During a meeting last week with the Dayton Daily News editorial board, Republican John Kasich indicated he would repeal the state’s renewable energy standard that requires 25 percent of the electricity used in the state to...

Ohio Solar Tour 2010 This Weekend

Reposted from our friends at Rural Rambler: About: Green Energy Ohio welcomes the annual 2010 Ohio Solar Tour! Green Energy Ohio is the Ohio Chapter of the American Solar Energy Society (ASES), and GEO’s 8th Annual Ohio Solar Tour is part of the National Solar Tour managed by ASES. This FREE statewide event on October 2 & 3 provides the unique opportunity for people to select from 243 open houses or 8 organized guided tours in 119 communities. Attendees will have the opportunity to talk with owners living and working with clean energy technologies, including wind (33), solar thermal (49), solar electric (174), passive solar (34), LEED (35), hydroelectric (1), geothermal (33), Energy Star (20), energy efficient features (76), and biomass (11). The economic benefits of investing in clean energy technologies have never been better. Learn how friends and neighbors are combating rising energy costs, slashing utility bills, reaping rich cash incentives and big new tax credits. How to Participate: Visit the Ohio Solar Tour Welcome Page on the GEO website here. Read the detailed information on creating a ‘self-guided tour’ to open house sites or participate in an organized guided tour. Contacts: Northeast/Northwest Ohio: Athan Barkoukis; ; About Kristin TraczKristin Tracz served MACED’s Research and Policy team from 2009-2012 working on clean energy policy, energy efficiency programs and the Appalachian Transition Initiative. She joined MACED after finishing her Master of Environmental Management degree at the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies. She now lives and...

Duke Energy Pulls Out of Coastal Wind Project

As reported by the News Observer on Friday: Duke Energy will pull the plug on its plan to build up to three wind turbines in North Carolina's Pamlico Sound, the company said today, citing high costs.   Duke and UNC-Chapel Hill signed a contract last September to work together in the demonstration project, which would evaluate the potential of wind energy and its environmental impacts on the sound.   Duke said it will now refocus its work on larger-scale wind projects in offshore waters. High initial costs make a larger project more economically viable than a smaller one, Duke said.   It would cost $88 million to install the first turbine in Pamlico Sound, the company said. The second one would run $14 million. The need for shallow-water construction techniques and a growing potential for disturbing underwater vegetation would also complicate the project, Duke said.   "The cost of the project simply exceeds the benefits our customers would receive if we were to continue," said Paul Newton, Duke's senior vice president of strategy for its regulated businesses.   Duke had committed to spending up to $35 million on the project, Newton said. Building all three turbines in the sound, he estimated, would have cost $145 million including decommissioning costs.   North Carolina's most valuable wind resources are off its ocean coast, a UNC study found last year. The study identified potentially suitable sites on more than 2,800 square miles less than 164 feet deep and within 50 miles of...

NY Times Features “Wind vs. Coal” Article

Sunday’s New York Times featured this story: “A Battle in Mining Country Pits Coal Against Wind.” We are happy to see national media attention paid to these issues and welcome your thoughts and feedback about what stories like this mean for the larger Transition dialogue. Written by Tom Zeller, Jr: LORELEI SCARBRO’S husband, Kenneth, an underground coal miner for more than 30 years, is buried in a small family cemetery near her property here at the base of Coal River Mountain. The headstone is engraved with two roosters facing off, their feathers ruffled. Kenneth, who loved cockfighting, died in 1999, and, Ms. Scarbro says, he would have hated seeing the tops of mountains lopped off with explosives and heavy machinery by mining companies searching for coal. Critics say the practice, known as “mountaintop removal mining,” is as devastating to the local environment as it is economically efficient for coal companies, one of which is poised to begin carving up Coal River Mountain. And that has Ms. Scarbro and other residents of western Raleigh County in a face-off of their own. Their goal is to save the mountain, and they intend to do so with a wind farm. At least one study has shown that a wind project could be a feasible alternative to coal mining here, although the coal industry’s control over the land and the uncertain and often tenuous financial prospects of wind generation appear to make it unlikely to be pursued. That, residents say, would be a...

USDA Grants for Renewable Energy Systems Feasibility Studies

From National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition: On Friday, August 6, USDA announced that $3 million in FY2010 funding is available for grants to conduct feasibility studies for renewable energy systems for agriculture producers and rural small businesses. The grants are part of the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP). Grant applications must be submitted to your state Rural Development office by 4:30 pm on October 5, 2010. The grant applications must be from the agricultural producer or rural small business that is the prospective owner of the renewable energy system, not from the entity conducting the feasibility study who is not the owner. The maximum funding for a single grant is $750,000. In the application selection process, grants of smaller amounts for small agricultural producers and small rural businesses will be given a higher priority. More information on the required application contents and process for applying is provided in the Federal Register notice available here. About Kristin TraczKristin Tracz served MACED’s Research and Policy team from 2009-2012 working on clean energy policy, energy efficiency programs and the Appalachian Transition Initiative. She joined MACED after finishing her Master of Environmental Management degree at the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies. She now lives and works in Washington,...

The South Has Renewable Energy Too!

In attempt to counter the increasingly common myth that renewable energy is not practical in the Southern United States, researchers at the Georgia Tech School of Public Policy recently released a paper entitled “Renewable Energy in the South: A Policy Brief”. The paper’s abstract reveals the technical approach researchers took, and highlights the conclusion: “Cost-effective customer-owned renewables could also contribute significantly to electricity generation by 2030 in the South, under supportive policies” (emphasis mine). Some groups are pushing a last minute Renewable Electricity Standard – which would set federally-mandated minimum targets for utilities of electricity from renewable electricity sources – through a floor amendment (since it was not included in the original bill) in the Senate. Many of these groups are especially targeting lawmakers in the South, who believe that their states do not have sufficient renewable capacity and thus would be hurt by requirements to increase renewable generation capacity. Papers like the Georgia Tech brief, as well as other information and graphs (see David Roberts’ article “The South has Renewable Energy Too” here), are seeking to correct that misconception showing the significant potential for renewable energy – especially sustainably harvested biomass, wind and hydroelectric power—throughout the Southern states. Groups closer to the ground here in Kentucky are also working on raising awareness about the potential for renewable and efficiency technologies and pass these required supportive policies here in the region. The Kentucky Sustainable Energy Alliance (KySEA) “works to promote clean, sustainable and affordable energy solutions for Kentucky. Our...

Survey Says…Kentucky DOES Have Viable Wind Potential!

Last week, the Kentucky Renewable Energy Consortium (KREC) and the Kentucky Department for Energy Development and Independence hosted a webinar to explore the potential for useable wind power in Kentucky (see post for details). The overwhelming consensus of the speakers was YES, Kentucky does have it what it takes to harvest wind energy…provided the policy supports are put in place to do so. New research, conducted by Kentucky Mesonet and others, shows that at higher elevations (80 meters, 100 meters) Kentucky does have the wind resources worthy of investing in wind energy. Previous research conducted at 50 meters did not paint as rosy a picture. In fact, all states bordering Kentucky are currently making use of wind energy – showing that it is really possible, and if we get our policies right profitable, to put wind in the Bluegrass. There are significant job-creation benefits to promoting a strong wind industry in the state. Webinar presenter Peggy Beltrone, the County Commissioner of Cascade County, Montana, cited a 25 x ’25 analysis that predicts $1.93 billion increase in farm income (from renting space for turbines), $11 billion in increased economic activity and 91,000 new jobs in Kentucky by 2025. Jeff Reinkenmeyer, Senior Developer for Iberdrola Renewables, fielded a question about what Kentucky can do to encourage companies to come into the state and develop projects. Jeff answered from Iberdrola’s perspective as the world’s largest owner and operator of renewable energy systems – as well as a company interested in exploring opportunities...