Small Ohio distillers catch a break with new rule
It used to be that if a local restaurant wanted to buy a barrel of Watershed Distillery's bourbon, the liquor had to be bottled, trucked to a state warehouse, trucked again to a liquor store and trucked a third time to the restaurant. No more. A recent rule change will allow Ohio's micro-distillers, like Watershed, Middle West and Mill Street, to sell their wares directly to wholesale accounts, such as liquor stores and some restaurants.
solutions that protect the environment and grow the economy,” said Jamie Dimon, Chase’s CEO, in a statement.
“This global investment leverages the firm’s resources and our people’s expertise to make our operations more energy efficient and provide clients with the resources they need to develop more sustainable products and services.”
Chase, Columbus’ largest private employer, said the array of solar panels at the McCoy Center will have up to 20 megawatts of capacity, enough to power the equivalent of 3,280 homes and generate about two-thirds of the electricity needed to run the building.
Other solar arrays also are planned in the state by other parties and are waiting regulators’ approval. One would generate about the same number of megawatts as the McCoy project, two would generate 125 and the fourth 150.
The McCoy Center is Chase’s largest building in the world and houses 10,000 workers. At 2 million square feet, the building has the same square footage as the Empire State Building.
The project is the latest of what has been several recent announcements by companies to develop renewable resources to offset their power needs.
Ikea’s new store at Polaris has solar panels, and Amazon is developing two wind farms to help power its operations in the state.
“This is exciting to see a blue-chip Ohio employer keeping a commitment to renewables. It validates the economics of renewables,” said Terrence O’Donnell, a Columbus attorney whose clients include energy companies. “It’s part of a national trend of individual companies and corporate purchasers buying renewables in large numbers. It’s not just utilities.”
Chase plans work on the array soon, said Jeff Lyttle, a Chase spokesman.
“Work will begin as early as the fall. We will be moving quickly,” he said.
The work is separate from plans announced last fall to spend $200 million to remodel the 21-year-old building.
Chase has 5,500 properties in 60 countries covering 75 million square feet.
To achieve its goal of being completely dependent on renewable energy by 2020, the bank said it will install renewable energy technology across buildings and branch offices, sign agreements with renewable energy projects and reduce energy consumption.
The bank said it will development onsite solar generation for up to 1,400 retail and 40 commercial buildings globally and install fuel-cell technology at some sites.
Also, the bank said, it will buy power generated from new renewable energy projects in select markets to offset the bank’s traditional power consumption by 40 percent.
It is also taking steps to reduce consumption of electricity, gas and water in its buildings.