Proposed Program Will Help Green Growth in Ohio

Alternative energy is big news and big business these days, and Ohio is looking to jump on the "greenwagon."

According to an article out today in the Houston Chronicle, Ohio House Speaker Jon Husted proposed the creation of an 11-member Ohio Renewable Energy Authority to oversee use of income taxes used towards growing the renewable energy industry in the state. The proposal will be included in an extensive rewrite of Ohio's energy policy brought before the House next year.

The proposed plan involves no new taxes; the green energy industry would first benefit from taxes paid by public utility companies and would then redirect income taxes paid by employees of Ohio's new renewable companies. A minimum of $10 million a year would be guaranteed after the first 10 years, according to House estimates.
The proposal is an alternative to Governor Ted Strickland's push to require certain amounts of the state's energy to be produced using renewable resources by certain deadlines. Some lawmakers and utility companies feel that the mandates would cause consumers' electricity rates to rise.

Jack Shaner, a spokesman for the Ohio Environmental Council, says the initiative--structured much like former Gov. Bob Taft's Third Frontier high-tech program--can create jobs and address global warming. "From Edison to the Wright Brothers to Kettering, Ohio has a proud tradition of innovation," he said in a statement. "But when it comes to energy, Ohio has acted like a drive-by state, watching other states whiz by on the road to new jobs through green energy."