Leaders from across the state urged the government to set the example for green energy and called for a more efficient use of resources in a roundtable discussion Monday with U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown.
Brown met with a 16-member panel at the Edison Welding Institute on the far west side of Ohio State's campus. Participants of the panel included union and philanthropic leaders. Brown plans to use discussion feedback to draft comprehensive legislation that will focus on green energy in Ohio.
"One of the shifts we need to make is taking individual responsibility for our consumption," said Kim Gibson, special assistant for energy, transportation and regional collaboration at the Ohio Department of Development.
Participants pointed to the government to play a bigger role.
"It is important for the government to set the standard for renewable power," said Dave Milenthal, CEO of the Milenthal Group, a strategic communications and marketing firm. "Government is the biggest industry we have ... if it sets the example, then the rest of the country becomes green."
Brown asked the panel to share their ideas, based on their specific area of expertise, on how to establish a green energy industry in Ohio.
"We really have to figure out ways to institutionalize and engage our higher education institutions," Greg Washington, associate dean for research for the College of Engineering at OSU, said.
Washington said there are 150 researchers engaged in energy research at OSU. The university also has some of the leading technology for clean coal.
"Ohio is positioned well to take advantage of bioenergy and bioproducts that are emerging," said Bobby Moser, vice president for agricultural administration and university outreach and executive dean of the College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. "We're reproducing a lot of waste in Ohio and it can be converted to energy."
Using coal more efficiently and cleanly was a theme throughout the discussion.
"We have to maximize the effectiveness of our resources if we are going to solve the problem," Kate Bartter, associate director of OSU's Institute for Energy and the Environment, said.
Many panelists mentioned the need for incentives to motivate industry, as well as individuals, to participate in green energy programs, which are often more expensive.
"There's a difference in theoretically wanting to do good and actually paying to do good," said Sudheer Pimputkar, chief technical officer of Accent Energy, a company that advertises green power at competitive prices.
Anna Gerber can be reached at gerber.124@osu.edu.
Be the first to comment on this article!