Final approval needed to move forward on Icebreaker Wind Project

Click the photo for the full report about the Icebreaker Wind project, provided by LEEDCo. 

"In 2009, the Lake Erie Energy Development Corporation (LEEDCo), a nonprofit public-private partnership, was founded with a vision to make Ohio’s leadership potential into a reality by building a sustainable off-shore wind energy industry in the Great Lakes. Since then, LEEDCo has worked to develop Icebreaker Windpower, Inc., a 6-turbine demonstration wind farm off the Lake Erie coast.

The Icebreaker Wind project is the first of its kind: The first offshore wind facility in the Great Lakes, the first freshwater wind farm in North America, and only the second offshore wind project in the entire US.[2]

Studies conducted by government agencies and research institutions and exhaustive regulatory reviews have shown that the projected economic advantages and minimal environmental impact surpass expectations. In addition to improving Ohio’s air quality, Icebreaker Wind would address our growing vulnerability to climate change and advance Ohio’s position in the clean energy economy. This includes over 500 new jobs, an estimated 253 million in economic impact for the region over the life of the project and an introduction into the multi-billion-dollar offshore wind industry. [2] LEEDCo has also made it an objective to seek out companies within Ohio’s existing manufacturing base to become a part of this new offshore wind energy supply chain.[3] Simply put, with Icebreaker Wind, Ohio would be a national competitor in this rapidly growing market.

For these reasons and more, Icebreaker Wind is publicly supported by a diverse range of groups, including elected officials and local governments, labor and trade unions, universities and business networks, and foundations and nonprofit organizations. Green Energy Ohio has been a strong supporter of LEEDCo and Icebreaker Wind for many years and has provided letters of support in several public and government forums."

-- Green Energy Ohio  

read more

Stanford engineers develop state-by-state plan to convert U.S. to 100% clean, renewable energy by 2050

"The study is published in the online edition of Energy and Environmental Sciences. An interactive map summarizing the plans for each state is available at www.thesolutionsproject.org.

Jacobson and his colleagues started by taking a close look at the current energy demands of each state, and how those demands would change under business-as-usual conditions by the year 2050. To create a full picture of energy use in each state, they examined energy usage in four sectors: residential, commercial, industrial and transportation.

For each sector, they then analyzed the current amount and source of the fuel consumed – coal, oil, gas, nuclear, renewables – and calculated the fuel demands if all fuel usage were replaced with electricity. This is a significantly challenging step – it assumes that all the cars on the road become electric, and that homes and industry convert to fully electrified heating and cooling systems. But Jacobson said that their calculations were based on integrating existing technology, and the energy savings would be significant."

-- Mark Z. Jacobson and colleagues, Stanford News

read more

see the full report

Ohio Supreme Court agrees to weigh in on House Bill 6 referendum lawsuit

COLUMBUS — "If Ohioans Against Corporate Bailouts is given additional time, another question is whether they should get less than 38 days because their initial proposed ballot summary -- a succinct explanation of the proposal provided to potential petition signers -- was rejected by Attorney General Dave Yost. Yost approved revised ballot summary language a couple weeks later.

The Supreme Court wasn’t required to accept Sargus’ request. But on Tuesday, the court – without comment – agreed to hear it. Ohioans Against Corporate Bailouts will now have 40 days to file a brief arguing its case, after which the court will schedule oral arguments from each side and issue its opinion.

It’s unclear what the court’s opinion will be. Three justices – Pat DeWine, Pat Fischer, and Judith French – have recused themselves from the case, meaning three state appeals court judges will be temporarily seated in their place."

— Jeremy Pelzer, cleveland.com

read more