California Reaping the Benefits of Sunshine, Ohio Looks to Wind

This article in the LA Times explains how two companies and the state government will combine economic forces to capture enough solar energy to power 300,000 homes. This capacity will be realized within five years. The two projects combine converting light to electricity by placing photovaltaic cells on commercial building rooftops and building a facility to capture solar thermal energy and producing steam to power turbines. By 2010 California may meet its goal of generating 20% of its electricity from renewable sources.

Ohio currently generates 1% of its electricity from renewable sources according to the PUCO website. While it is common knowledge that Northeast Ohio lacks the sunshine California and Arizona enjoy, we have been known to experience some fairly strong winds and have abundant space for windmills. Space available includes landfills, offshoer areas in Lake Erie and abundant rural areas.

In 2007, Governor Strickland approved a five million dollar grant for two projects in Ohio which will generate 149 mega-watts of power or enough to power 45,000 homes. It is good to see Ohio making an effort to invest in renewable energy sources but I would obviously like to see some of that investment find its way to Northeast Ohio. Perhaps further development can take into consideration some of the advantages this area has to offer.