Between 1999 and November 2009, Ohio lost 418,000 manufacturing jobs. And for a long time, well before the recession, Ohio’s unemployment rate was higher than the nation’s. At 9.4 percent, it still is, but improvement is on the way. And green energy investment is one reason.
Ohio is one of the many states-targeted by Republicans for whom anything green is a red flag-that has a renewable energy standard, thus making Ohio, leader in green energy. Three years ago, Ohio mandated that, by 2025, 12.5 percent of electricity sold in the state must come from renewable energy sources like wind and solar. Another 12.5 percent must come from alternatives, such as nuclear power, natural gas and so-called “clean coal.” That’s going to be an uphill climb since currently Ohio only has 10 megawatts of installed wind-power operations and a little more than that in solar power. A single coal-fired plant typically has a rated capacity 600 megawatts or more.