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Strickland hails region as solar hub, unlocking aid for investment, jobs
Jul 1st
By CHRISTOPHER D. KIRKPATRICK
BLADE STAFF WRITER
Gov. Ted Strickland christened northwest Ohio on Wednesday as an official hub of solar energy research and innovation, a type of economic-development coming-out party meant to boost investment and create local jobs in alternative energy. Northwest Ohio became the state’s third Ohio Hub of Innovation and Opportunity, behind Cleveland for health care and Dayton for aerospace. Mr. Strickland, a Democrat, announced the designation yesterday at the University of Toledo’s Scott Park campus, home to alternative energy research, a solar energy field, and a windmill. The designation unlocks a $250,000 state grant to help advertise the region as a hub and logical place for alternative energy investment. It also amounts to recognition from the Strickland administration that northwest Ohio universities, colleges, and local governments have been working together effectively to build a new economy.
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Gov. Ted Strickland confers with University of Toledo President Lloyd Jacobs under an Ohio Hubs banner. |
“A hub is more than a point of civic pride, it’s a proclamation from the state,” Mr. Strickland said at the ceremony. Toledo’s growing space in the solar-energy industry has its underpinnings in local history.
Decades ago, natural gas was discovered here and made possible the high-temperature transformation of plentiful sand into valuable glass, supplying the auto industry and several others.
Toledo became known as the Glass City.
Glass is a main ingredient in a solar panel, and the rise of First Solar Inc., an alternative-energy darling on Wall Street, brought photovoltaic fame to Toledo.
Xunlight Corp., a solar company grown in UT labs, also has been growing in the area.
Bowling Green State University and UT also have alternative-energy research programs and incubator and investment programs that work on spinning off research into profitable enterprises.
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Toledo Mayor Mike Bell said during a ceremony at UT’s Scott Campus that the region must look at different industries such as alternative energy for economic development. |
Other areas of the country are trying to become the royalty of solar innovation, and some critics say Ohio lawmakers must be vigilant and provide more incentives to lure investment. In March, a Blade investigation revealed that Toledo and its northwest Ohio neighbors have missed out on coveted manufacturing jobs in the solar industry because of a failure by state officials to attract companies with tax incentives or create a viable market for solar panels in Ohio. Since 2007, thousands of those jobs have gone to states where companies were enticed by a mixture of tax credits, grants, and additional incentives to make solar products there. Although northwest Ohio has gained its share of acclaim in the solar industry through the success of First Solar and University of Toledo spin-offs such as Xunlight, thousands of laid-off factory workers have yet to find work from the gains made here in the research and development of thin-film photovoltaics. That’s because, according to solar industry analysts, consultants, and executives, Ohio is fighting both the perception and reality of noncompetitive tax structures and incentive packages compared with other states. At yesterday’s ceremony, Toledo Mayor Mike Bell, Pete Gerken, president of the Lucas County board of commissioners, and education leaders also spoke about the importance and potential of solar energy to the region. Mr. Bell and Mr. Gerken said residents are waiting and hoping for a new economy to thrive in Lucas County to replace the old manufacturing base that doesn’t deliver the jobs it once did. Mr. Gerken said Toledo is wellpositioned to provide the cutting-edge research, skilled workers, shop space, transportation systems, and friendly policies for innovative manufacturing. “We are the home of the new manufacturing,” he said. “This announcement today only rings that bell louder.” Mr. Bell said residents ask and wonder: “What are we going to do to be able to turn our community around? We have depended on the automobile industry … but we have to be able to look at different directions. It’s so important that people know we have a plan.” Mark Barbash, assistant director of the Ohio Department of Development, said, “We issued a challenge to the communities around the state … in a whole range of areas. And this region has stood up.” The hub designation works hand in hand with UT President Lloyd Jacobs’ blueprint to nurture and boost an already growing solar energy industry in Toledo and the region. UT’s plan is to continue promoting alternative-energy research with an eye toward spinning off home-grown energy companies that create jobs and bring even more investment, students, and researchers. Dr. Jacobs says solar energy should be one of the main economic drivers of the future for Toledo and the region and that all facets of the community must work together to achieve that goal. Success will come with the creation of new businesses and new jobs that graduating students will have waiting for them, he said at yesterday’s ceremony. “The job of the 21st century university is not done when a student graduates,” he said.
Contact Christopher D. Kirkpatrick at:
ckirkpatrick@theblade.com
or 419-724-6134.
Poll: Strickland maintains lead over rival Kasich in gubernatorial race
Jun 30th
Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland continues to lead his Republican challenger, John Kasich, in the race for governor but is still short of a majority, according to a poll from Quinnipiac University. The poll released yesterday showed Mr. Strickland ahead of Mr. Kasich 43 percent to 38 percent, statistically unchanged from 44-38 percent in April, and 43-38 percent in March. Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, said Mr. Strickland leads even as Mr. Kasich begins to become known to voters. About half of voter respondents, 52 percent, said they did not know enough about Mr. Kasich to form an opinion. The number who didn’t know Mr. Kasich in April was 62 percent. “Incumbents generally start a campaign with a name recognition edge and that is certainly the case in the governor’s race. Sometimes as the challenger becomes better known, the race narrows. That has yet to happen in this case,” Mr. Brown said. Both candidates are favored by the overwhelming majority in their own parties. Among independents, Mr. Strickland leads 40 percent to 37 percent.
The institute reported that voters disapprove 54-33 percent of Mr. Strickland’s handling of the economy.
Overall, Mr. Strickland was viewed favorably by 42 percent and unfavorably by 37 percent, with 19 percent not knowing enough to have an opinion. Mr. Kasich was viewed favorably by 28 percent and unfavorably by 19 percent, with 52 percent not knowing enough to have an opinion. “Kasich still has four months until Election Day and Strickland’s other numbers show his potential vulnerability, but at this point, the governor remains ahead despite the anti-incumbency wave sweeping the country,” Mr. Brown said. Also, respondents indicated by 45 to 35 percent that they would like Ohio to pass an immigration law similar to Arizona’s new law. They said 72 percent to 22 percent that immigration reform should move in the direction of stricter enforcement rather than integrating illegal immigrants into American society. An overwhelming majority – 79 percent to 10 percent – believe an economic boycott of Arizona is a bad idea. The Connecticut-based polling institute queried 1,107 registered Ohio voters June 22-27. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.