Some local renewable energy advocates say Ohio University should accept a renewable energy deal to fund a solar power plant in Southeastern Ohio — or any plan that diversifies the university’s energy consumption — in part because of a commitment OU President Roderick McDavis signed in 2007.
That was the American College and University President’s Climate Commitment, which states that signees must develop an institutional action plan for becoming climate neutral, including a target date for achieving said neutrality “as soon as possible.”
“I figure with this commitment already on the books, six years have gone by and OU really hasn’t taken any major steps,” said Gary Houser, a longtime advocate of renewable energy in Athens and co-founder of OU’s Ecohouse.
He’s a supporter of the Turning Point Solar project spearheaded by David Wilhelm, an Athens man and former President Bill Clinton’s campaign manager in 1992, who has since transitioned into the private sector.
The project would bring a 50-megawatt solar plant to the western region of Noble County. New Harvest Ventures hopes OU will fund the project after the state blocked funding from American Electric Power.
McDavis is aware of Turning Point’s interest, OU spokeswoman Katie Quaranta said. She added that Vice President for Finance and Administration Stephen Golding alerts him to these kinds of inquiries.
“Also, New Harvest Ventures did not submit an official proposal to Ohio University,” Quaranta said. “The company made a voluntary submission to inform us about this initiative. This is not unique in that the university frequently receives unsolicited information and we have made no determination regarding how or if we will proceed in this case.”
OU is interested in learning more about how to buy solar- and wind-generated energy off the grid, Quaranta said.
“For the moment, we are in an exploratory phase in terms of whether we can viably and cost-effectively blend our energy generation resources with our tri-generation initiative to use natural gas, solar (power) and wind to provide energy to the campus and replace coal,” Quaranta said.
Executive Director of Facilities Mike Gebeke said because the university is in the early stages of building a new electrical power plant slated to open in 2016, other energy options are essentially off the table.
OU was the first four-year public university in Ohio to sign the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment in March 2007, but the university hasn’t submitted a progress report since December 2011 and hasn’t updated it since January 2012.
The current Climate Action Plan calls for a soft goal of 25 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by fall of 2032. The hard goal seeks a 50 percent overall reduction in institutional greenhouse gas emissions by fall of 2050. The final phase of the plan is to reach climate neutrality by fall of 2075.
Adding another wrinkle, a source alerted The Post that FirstEnergy lobbies extensively in Columbus to ensure that many of the solar and renewable projects in Ohio don’t make it off the ground, including Turning Point. The Public Utility Commission of Ohio lists FirstEnergy as participating in the case.
FirstEnergy currently provides power to OU.
PUCO’s decision back in January to pull the cord on the Turning Point Solar plant when AEP company was supposed to fund it might have been impacted by FirstEnergy’s lobbying efforts, alternative energy advocates claim.
The commission decided that AEP shouldn’t be able to fund the solar panel project because the power company would increase prices to its customers.
“The reality is that we have certain industries in Ohio in which lots of money has been invested in the production and distribution of fossil fuels,” Houser said. “I would say those entities would have just as much interest in trying to persuade OU to be buying electricity from them as opposed to solar.”
However, Gebeke vowed that lobbying efforts in Columbus wouldn’t impact choices made by OU.
Houser is fearful that money will end up impacting OU’s decision above all else.
“While what we’re pushing is great for the environment, we don’t have the kind of money the competition has,” Houser said. “I hope it doesn’t come down to who has the most money to represent their cause, because that would be pretty sad.”
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