National renewable energy investments could spark 22,000 new Ohio jobs
Posted October 25, 2005 in Press Releases
Ohio ranks fourth among states in potential jobs from solar, wind, and other investments
Ohio ranks fourth among states in potential new component parts manufacturing positions and fifth among states in potential new investment if the U.S. were to make a large national commitment to renewable energy. These are among the findings of a new brief by Policy Matters Ohio, using data from a longer report by the Renewable Energy Policy Project.
Generating Energy, Generating Jobs, embargoed for Tuesday October 25th, examines component part investments that would generate 74,000 megawatts of renewable energy from wind, solar, biomass and geothermal sources, enough to power about 53 million homes. This amount was derived from recommendations by the renewable energy industry.
Because of Ohio s strong manufacturing infrastructure and workforce, about $3.64 billion of the $71.8 billion that would be needed nationwide could be expected to be spent in Ohio, more than all but four other states. More than 22,000 of the nationwide 380,000 new component parts manufacturing positions would likely be in Ohio, exceeding all but three other states. With the right policy reforms, Ohio stands to benefit disproportionately from this investment, said George Sterzinger, Executive Director of the Renewable Energy Policy Project.
Ohio has more than 2,000 of the 36,000 U.S. firms producing component parts similar to parts needed in renewable energy equipment, according to the 1997 Economic Census. These firms would be poised to slightly modify current capacity to manufacture parts for the new equipment. Other job gains in construction and installation are likely, but this study focuses on the component manufacturing job gains. Of these, Ohio could capture:
- More than 13,000 jobs from wind investment, exceeding all states but California;
- Nearly 6,000 jobs from solar investment, more than all but five other states;
- More than 1,800 jobs from geothermal investments, second only to California; and
- More than 1,800 jobs from biomass, among the top nine states (several stand to gain between 1,800 and 1,900).
Job and investment gains from this national commitment could be spread throughout the state of Ohio 85 of the state s 88 counties have a firm that could enter this market. Large Ohio counties stand to benefit most, with job creation projections of more than 2,500 jobs in Cuyahoga County; more than 1,000 jobs each in Lorain, Hamilton and Summit Counties; and more than 500 jobs each in Miami, Lucas, Franklin, Montgomery, Wood, Stark, Sandusky, Lake and Mahoning Counties.
"Most people know that increased use of renewable energy would reduce dependence on foreign fuel and improve the environment, said Amy Hanauer, Executive Director of Policy Matters Ohio. It could also keep money in the domestic economy and produce jobs in Ohio."
The paper, produced as a joint project between Policy Matters Ohio and the Apollo Alliance, concludes with recommendations to capture component manufacturing jobs domestically, increase demand for renewable energy, encourage production of renewables, and improve technology in that industry.
Policy Matters Ohio is a nonprofit, nonpartisan policy research institute, on the web at www.policymattersohio.org.
The Apollo Alliance is a national campaign to make our country energy independent within a decade, on the web at www.apolloalliance.org.
The Renewable Energy Policy Project, which produced the data used in this report, supports the advancement of renewable energy technology through policy research and is on the web at www.repp.org.