Solar projects await change in state policy

to renewable installations. According to Powering Ohio, a recent report from Synapse Energy Economics in partnership with the Great Lakes Energy Institute at Case Western Reserve University, Ohio has only 171 megawatts of solar installed statewide, while Pennsylvania and Indiana each have nearly double that amount.

Powering Ohio also estimates that the development of 5.2 gigawatts of solar and wind in Ohio would result in more than $7.8 billion of investment and create 5,500 jobs. Economic growth isn’t limited to cities — for a variety of reasons, solar projects are often built in rural areas. These projects not only create local jobs in communities that need them but also contribute to the communities’ tax revenue, providing vital funding to services such as public education and emergency response.

The economic gain goes beyond the solar installations themselves: Large corporations are increasingly setting their own clean energy goals, giving Ohio an important opportunity to attract new business to the state. More than 140 companies have made commitments to achieve 100 percent renewable energy use, including JP Morgan Chase, GM and Nestle. As these companies grow and expand, they often seek to make investments in states and communities that support their renewable energy goals.

Solar projects are also increasingly cost-competitive with conventional power sources. For example, in Michigan, local utility Consumers Energy provided data showing that solar is now a least-cost resource, meaning it not only provides a clean source of electricity, but it does so at a lower cost than traditional forms of electricity, including coal, nuclear and natural gas.

Unfortunately, unstable and overly burdensome energy policies hinder solar energy development in Ohio, making it tough for Ohioans to enjoy the benefits of clean, low-cost solar and for the state to compete for new corporate expansions seeking out renewable energy suppliers.

It is time for Ohio to set the stage for significant renewable growth and thus create jobs, boost local tax revenues and attract new businesses. Establishing stable, transparent energy policies will give project developers the confidence needed to invest in Ohio.

Moreover, the state should create transparent and consistent siting and permitting requirements that protect the environmental integrity of Ohio’s natural resources while embracing the development of large-scale solar.

Finally, streamlining the state’s regulatory approval processes will give utilities the ability to supply Ohioans with sustainable reliable and cost-competitive solar.

First Solar has deep roots in Ohio and, with nearly 20 percent of our global workforce here, we see value in continuing to grow in the state. In fact, First Solar currently has multiple sites under development in Ohio that together comprise several hundred megawatts of new solar capacity. This past June, our team broke ground on a second manufacturing facility that will start production in late 2019. When fully operational, First Solar’s Ohio facilities will manufacture more than 3.6 million panels per year. If installed in Ohio, those panels would be enough to power 190,000 Ohio homes and displace 1.1 million metric tons of carbon pollution every year, equivalent to removing 220,000 cars from the road and saving 977 million gallons of water per year, based on Ohio averages.

This expansion will bring 500 new full-time jobs to the region and further solidify Ohio’s leadership in cleantech manufacturing.

But without policy reform, Ohio will fall further behind its neighboring states, missing the benefits that come hand-in-hand with having large-scale solar projects in your state. As an Ohioborn company, we hope to see Ohio reverse that trend and start leading the way on solar power.