The Buckeye state has vast untapped potential in renewable energy – not only to generate the energy it needs here at home, but also in building the machinery and equipment that will help the rest of America make the transition to a clean-energy future. The state could not only become more self-sufficient, it would also attract investment that will drive economic growth and create jobs.
Ohio sends $1.5 billion out of state[i] to pay for imported coal
- Because the state depends on coal for 86 percent its electricity and more than 60 percent of that coal is imported, the state is heavily reliant on outside sources of energy
- But it does not have to be this way: Ohio’s open skies and more than 76,000 farms[ii] mean it could generate a lot of this energy here at home by tapping into wind, biomass, solar power and anaerobic digestion
Ohio could generate more than 66,000 megawatts from wind – nearly double current peak electricity demand for the entire state
- New wind maps created by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory show Ohio has 66,000 megawatts of wind potential
- That’s nearly double current peak electricity demand for the entire state
- Yet Ohio trails the nation in 27th place in wind-power production, with less than 10 megawatts of capacity.[iii]
Biomass could generate 14 million kilowatt-hours of electricity per year – 9 percent of the state’s electricity needs[iv]
- A dedicated program would also keep almost 750,000 dry tons of this biomass out of Ohio’s landfills each year
- The state produces more than 7 million dry tons of biomass each year from urban wood waste, crop residues and forest residues, including more than 3.4 million dry tons of usable crop residue[v]
- Ohio has the 7th highest biomass potential in the nation, according to Oak Ridge National Laboratory[vi]
Ohio could get more than 20 percent of its electricity from solar
- The state’s existing, unshaded, south-facing roofs could support enough solar arrays to produce more than 27,000 megawatts of solar power, according to a 2005 study by Navigant consulting
- Every square meter of Ohio soaks up an average of three to four kilowatt-hours of solar energy every day[vii]
- With storage and grid enhancements, this could meet 20 percent of the state’s electricity needs
Ohio could generate more than 165 million kilowatt-hours of electricity each year from biogas – enough to power about 13,800 homes[viii]
- Ohio’s more than 76,000 farms[ix] mean it could capture more than 41,000 tons of methane annually from livestock manure[x]
The Ohio Business Council for a Clean Economy supports the transition to a low-carbon clean economy. Our goal is to strengthen the business voice in support of policy to get us there. The council acts as a coordinating entity, providing businesses and individual business leaders with opportunities to play a larger role in climate and energy debates.
The Ohio Business Council for a Clean Economy is jointly coordinated by Ohio Advanced Energy and Melamed Communications and funded by the Energy Foundation. There are no fees or binding terms to become a member of the Ohio Business Council for a Clean Economy.
[i] US Department of Energy, Form FERC-423 Database: Monthly Cost and Quality of Fuels for Electric Plants Dat, 2005. http://www.eia.doe.gov
[ii] USDA, http://www.ers.usda.gov/StateFacts/OH.HTM
[iii] http://www.awea.org/projects/Projects.aspx?s=Ohio
[iv] Oak Ridge report cited in http://www.environmentohio.org/uploads/gb/x4/gbx43nPG9twnaU4Erqof5A/Energizing_Ohios_Economy.pdf
[v] http://www.puc.state.oh.us/emplibrary/files/media/biomass/bioenergyresourceassessment.pdf
[vi] http://www.puc.state.oh.us/emplibrary/files/media/biomass/bioenergyresourceassessment.pdf
[vii] http://www.greenenergyohio.org/page.cfm?pageid=75
[viii] http://www.epa.gov/cleanenergy/energy-resources/calculator.html
[ix] USDA, http://www.ers.usda.gov/StateFacts/OH.HTM
[x] NREL