‘Tis the season. Christmas lights are up, along with heating bills, electricity bills and gasoline prices. Amid all the holiday merry-making, many Ohio residents with tight budgets are more than a little concerned with energy costs during this time of year. It is, however, a season of hope; and with regard to the future of renewable energy sources, Ohioans do have a lot of reasons to be hopeful.

Last year, Governor Ted Strickland signed Senate Bill 221 that gives Ohio the third most aggressive advanced energy portfolio standard in the nation and mandates that 25 percent of all electricity sold in Ohio come from advanced energy sources by 2025. This builds on a number of other good things Ohio has going for it with regard to renewable energy.

First, Ohio is home to a number of ethanol and biodiesel plants and the production of a bountiful amount of feedstock in the form of corn and soybeans. And along with the state’s strong agricultural sector, there are a number of important industrial components in Ohio to support the Christmas future, and present of renewable energy. Here are some recent highlights of Ohio’s vibrant renewable energy industry.

· On Nov. 30, Governor Ted Strickland announced that 25 Ohio projects will receive more than $13 million in grant awards to Ohio companies for renewable energy development. The grants will be used by public and private entities to install wind electric, solar electric and solar thermal technologies at businesses, schools, parks and other public locations throughout Ohio.

· Ohio is the No. 1 State for Renewable and Advanced Energy Manufacturing. Ohio brings in more new renewable energy facility projects than any other state. The Ohio Third Frontier has invested more than $150 million in energy technology development delivering assistance to Ohio manufacturing companies that sustain Ohio’s global competitive advantages for product development, company growth and attraction, job creation and wealth creation.

·Ohio ranks in the top five in the United States for clean energy, energy efficiency and environmentally friendly production jobs. 

·Ohio is home to a number of national leaders in the renewable energy industry including: First Solar in Perrysburg has the largest manufacturing plant of thin-film solar panels in the country. First Solar is capitalizing on Northwest Ohio’s history of expert glass manufacturing and knowledgeable workforce and is expanding its Ohio manufacturing operations to build a new facility to support increased development activities associated with its advanced thin-film solar module manufacturing technology

R.E. Burger plant in Shadyside, Belmont County is building one of the largest biomass facilities in the country. Units at the Burger plant are being re-powered to generate electricity primarily with biomass. This project, announced in early April, anticipates the plant will be capable of producing up to 312 megawatts of electricity -- enough to power about 190,000 homes, which makes it one of the largest biomass facilities in the country.

Minster Machine in Minster (Auglaize County) is diversifying its equipment manufacturing from the auto, medical and food industries to include energy-related parts manufacturing. The company began as a blacksmith in 1896 and recently the Minster Machine Company has been forging the giant cast-iron hubs that keep the blades attached to the center of a wind turbine.

And, many of Ohio’s best known manufacturers such as American Trim, Avon Bearings, Dovetail Solar and Wind, Lubrizol, Owens-Corning, Parker Hannifin, Sherwin Williams and Timken are now key suppliers to the nation’s advanced energy industry. The traditional manufacturing processes used by these companies transition easily to supply bearings, performance coatings, advanced plastics, composites and other energy-related components that will help create the future of clean energy.

· Ohio has the nation’s largest comprehensive public system for higher education and Ohio universities invest $2 billion annually in research and development. And Ohio’s “green collar” workers are trained in dedicated university and community college programs focused on advanced energy. 

· The Ohio School Facilities Commission is making more than $4 billion available to partner with local districts to build new schools, but those schools must achieve at least the silver level rating in Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, called LEED. Ohio has more LEED registered schools than the next three highest states combined.

If the Fa-la-la-lectric bill has got you down and paying a high heating bill is not on your Christmas wish list, try not to let the energy woes of this year result in a blue Christmas. There is a lot of promise for many greener holidays ahead. 

 Matt Reese writes for Ohio’s Country Journal and lives in Baltimore, Ohio. For questions or comments, please contact him at mkcreese@yahoo.com.