September 2007
Winds of Change
Putting renewable energy to work
By Laura Freeman

Aaron Godwin, founder of the Renaissance Group in Kirtland, is an advocate for renewable energy. His company has its hand in almost every alternative energy project happening in Lake County and many others in Northeast Ohio. This is a composite photo of some of the alternative energy resources at Lake Metroparks Farmpark.

It’s not just the tree huggers who are exploring energy alternatives anymore. The rising cost of energy and fuel has just about everyone seeking substitutes for natural gas, oil and nuclear energy.

The United States is dependent on other countries for fuel. If the world continues to consume oil at the current rate, the supply will stop and the economy along with it. What is Lake County doing about it?

Energy rebirth

Kirtland-based Renaissance Group installed exhibits associated with the wind turbine and solar array at Lake Metroparks Farmpark. Renaissance also designed and installed Farmpark’s new interactive photovoltaic tracker that displays real-time power data while allowing visitors to override the automated controls.

Renaissance also set up a wind monitoring system, a large photovoltaic array, battery systems and ship-to-shore communications for the Green Energy Ohio offshore wind project in Lake Erie.

A 2004 Renewable Energy Policy Project (REPP) study showed Ohio ranked second only to California in the potential for new job creation from manufacturing wind turbine components. The REPP report estimates nearly 12,000 new Ohio manufacturing jobs could result.

Renaissance founder AAron Godwin said Northeast Ohio could become a hub of wind-energy advancement.

“We’ve been talking about losing our manufacturing sector and here’s an opportunity to save it,” Godwin said. “Wind alone has been growing 40 percent per year worldwide. We can make money, save money, help the environment and society. It’s not an either/or proposition anymore. Sustainability is profitable.”

Godwin serves on the board of Green Energy Ohio, a nonprofit organization working toward more renewable energy in Ohio. He also serves on the Ohio Wind Working Group and reports to the Cuyahoga County Energy Taskforce.

Wind-proof

A recent study conducted by the American Solar Energy Society, Green Energy Ohio and an economic research firm in Washington, D.C., shows Godwin isn’t just full of hot air.

Ohio was selected for the study because of its manufacturing base and for the potential economic benefits that renewable energy and energy-efficiency (RE/EE) companies could have in the state. The study suggests that the number of U.S. jobs created as a result of rapid growth in the RE/EE field as of 2006 could exceed 450,000.

According to the study, in 2006 the RE/EE industry generated nearly a trillion dollars a year in industry sales, more than $100 billion in industry profits and more than $150 billion in increased tax revenues. It won’t all come from wind at first, Godwin says.

 “The reality is, in the foreseeable future, renewable energy will not be able to supply all the energy needs in the state,” he said. “Considering our tremendous energy use, efficiency and conservation, existing infrastructure, coal, nuclear and natural gas, engineered fuels, biofuels, allwill be part of the mix. No one thing will be our saving grace.”

Wind education

Renaissance is involved in renewable energy projects at several school districts, including Perry Public Schools, where the company is installing a wind turbine.

The initiative is being led by Rosemary Gornik, Ph.D., assistant superintendent. Gornik was looking for a way to provide students with authentic experiences within the curriculum while at the same time reducing energy costs for the school system.

“Our goal is to see what type of energy it can generate and develop a curriculum that integrates science, social studies, economics, mathematics – all the subject matters covered in the context of renewable energy,” Gornik said.

Godwin hopes Lakeland Community College will get into the game. “If we’re going to reach 20 percent renewables by 2020, it’s going to require a lot of people to make it happen,” he said. “They can train tomorrow’s workforce for these high-skilled jobs that are going to be needed.”

Bert Diehl, director for facilities management at Lakeland, said the college is developing a request for proposals from energy saving contractors. It’s all part of a master plan to lower the campus’s energy footprint.

A feasibility assessment showed that Lakeland is an ideal candidate for educational purposes, but not so much as a wind power site as the campus has relatively poor wind quality.

“We evaluated a couple of other options such as photovoltaic fuel cells and waste energy,” Diehl said. “We are considering developing a curriculum to train students in advanced energy.”

Wind-powered health care

Godwin also is working with Lake Hospital Foundation regarding possible wind power for TriPoint Hospital in Concord Township, scheduled to open in Fall 2009.

Gary Robinson, vice president of marketing and business development for Lake Hospital System, said a preliminary study determined the property is a viable site.

“We won’t have the potential to completely run the hospital, but enough for some supplemental power,” Robinson said. “It will definitely be a big help to us financially.”

Sunny Masters, executive director of Lake Hospital Foundation, said the wind energy aspect fits in with the philosophy of the hospital.

 “We’re trying to create an environment that’s stress-free,” Masters said. “We’re using the surrounding environment in the design of the facility. What better way to tie in the hospital’s philosophy of a healing environment than to also use the wind in caring for patients.”

The foundation plans to apply for an Ohio Wind Production and Manufacturing Incentive Program grant from the Ohio Department of Development in 2008.

Masters indicated the foundation would be interested in talking with area companies and other entities exploring wind power to secure some type of group funding.

Sustainability investment

Cuyahoga County and Cleveland have recently appointed sustainability officers. Andrew Waterson, who heads up Cleveland’s office of sustainability, has generated more than a million dollars a year in savings, more than enough to fund his role.

In Lake County, Commissioner Dan Troy said a sustainability office is not on the radar screen. “We’re not ignorant of the fact that we need to be more efficient,” Troy said. “I don’t think a full-time individual or an office is warranted here at this time. We will do whatever we need to make sure the taxpayers get the best shake in terms of utilities.”

Troy said the county uses green building methods when doing renovations and new construction. “The new dog pound has geothermal heating and cooling. Our fleet manager attended an alternative fuel seminar to find out what we can do for fueling county vehicles with ethanol or other alternative fuels,” he said.

Wind business

Cuyahoga County ranks first in Ohio in companies that manufacture products for the RE/EE industry. The Lake County area claims its share of companies as well.

Engineered Endeavors Inc., a Mentor supplier of support structures for the wireless industry, supplies structures to support wind turbines.

With its experience in erecting Verizon Wireless communications structures, this type of work is a natural extension of the company’s services. The company’s first wind tower project was at Lake Farmpark, with five more such jobs in the pipeline.

“It’s an emerging market for us,” said Mike Morel, vice president of engineering. “We’ve been developing knowledge in that area and waiting for the market to grow.”

Wickliffe-based Lubrizol Corp. makes additives for wind turbine gear box oil. The company, along with Parker Hannifin Corp. and the Cleveland Foundation, donated funds to erect the wind turbine at the Great Lakes Science Center in Cleveland.

Dave Cowen, public affairs manager at Lubrizol, said the company also makes oil sensor systems.

“The system monitors the oil’s life,” Cowen said. “It can detect water, thickness and metal contamination and let workers know when preventative maintenance on the gears is needed and whether the oil needs changed.”

Iten Industries, an Ashtabula plastics manufacturer, was selected along with Kenston Schools to participate in a wind study to determine the feasibility of installing wind turbines.

Bill Kane, chief financial officer at Iten, said the company became involved in the study because of CEO Pete Huggins’ interest in alternative energy. Iten has used an energy efficient incineration facility since the mid-1950s. The plant now has a cogeneration facility that replaces electricity by using the heat from natural gas diesel engines.

Anemometers, or wind monitors, were installed on a temporary tower that Green Energy Ohio erected behind Iten’s plant last December as part of the Ohio Anemometer Loan Program. GEO will support communities that participate in securing financial grants and low-cost loan support for megawatt-sized turbines.

“It’s not nearly as strong as the wind in the Bowling Green area, but better than at Kenston,” Kane said. The company plans to collect data through January.

It takes a village

Ed Klco, North Perry Village councilman, has been researching municipal wind power for the village. Council members visited Bowling Green, whose municipal utility has installed four turbines with a total capacity of 7.2 megawatts. One megawatt of wind power produces about enough electricity for 250 to 300 homes.

Bowling Green and eight other communities banded together to pay for erecting the turbines. Local citizens also paid into a green energy fund that helped pay for the $4.8 million turbines.

Though it’s very early in the investigation process, the Renaissance Group found positive results in conducting a wind study for North Perry.

“It looks like it will be even better than what Bowling Green has,” Klco said. This said, it’s early in the process. The village is taking slow and conscious steps.

With so many nurseries in North Perry, wind turbines could give farmers another source of income. Turbines require just a 15-foot diameter circle and the space for an access road.

“It gives them a way of leveraging the asset they already have,” Godwin said.

Windy future

Wind power is creating business opportunities and jobs across the country, often in areas like Lake County that have lost manufacturing jobs. The REPP report shows these same areas, including Ohio, Michigan and Pennsylvania, could benefit the most, garnering 80 percent of the jobs created.

Alternative energy is the theme for the Lake County Development Council’s annual Economic Forum Oct. 17 in Mentor. Richard Stuebi, BP Fellow for Energy and Environmental Advancement at the Cleveland Foundation, will speak at the event.

Stuebi believes Ohio could become a center for wind turbine manufacturing. He says Ohio must mandate that a percentage of Ohio’s electricity come from renewable resources in order to beat Pennsylvania in wind power-related manufacturing or states like Texas and California in wind production. At present, utilities like FirstEnergy get zero percent of their energy from renewable sources.

Stuebi said in the next year wind turbine manufacturing companies might announce new plants to be built in Northeast Ohio.

“We’re extremely optimistic about Northeast Ohio being home to an enormous amount of activity in wind, both on land and in the water,” Stuebi said. “We are in discussion now with several companies.”

He said part of the attraction is Ohio’s strong supply chain.

“Companies tour Ohio and see that everywhere they turn there are companies that make the widgets that go into their product,” he said. “It’s a very competitive game. A lot of states are competing. We have to differentiate ourselves.”

“It’s a boon for local job creation, both for installation and manufacturing,” Stuebi said. “It’s an economic development tool and a diversification away from fossil fuels whose prices are going up. We know what the price of the wind and the sun will be 10 years from now. We are using it is an economic hitch against future price increases.”

Laura Freeman is editor of the Lake County Business Journal.