Business View Civil & Municipal | Volme 3, Issue 2

16 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 3, ISSUE 2 located in Hartford Township is currently pending at the Siting Board. These two projects under development in Licking County will generate more than $4 million dollars per year in local tax revenue and bring hundreds of jobs during construction. An economic impact report prepared by Ohio University details the $18B investment and 55,000 construction jobs the solar industry is bringing to Ohio, but projects like these are also key to attracting large employers like Intel to the state as they seek to locate new facilities in areas with abundant renewable sources of electricity. Ohio has an existing transmission infrastructure that can support companies like Intel and the expanding solar industry, a key investment attraction tool. In fact, the same semiconductor advancements in chip manufacturing that have helped companies like Intel bring about the digital age have also enabled improvements in the solar industry – another semiconductor- based technology. Thanks to technology advancements and cost improvements, utility scale solar is now one of the most cost-effective forms of generating power and has the added benefit of doing this with zero emissions. “Ohio’s future prosperity lies in thoughtful economic development and the solar industry looks forward to continuing to contribute to the economic growth of Ohio and to helping provide clean renewable energy to companies like Intel,” said Jake Kuss, USSEC’s Assistant Director. “Our state is extremely well positioned to capitalize on the growth sectors of today’s economy thanks to a robust well-trained labor force, geography and access to least-cost energy in the form of solar power paired with complementary resources. “Ohio has a growing economic development cycle which includes Ohio farmers, Ohio solar panels, Ohio solar projects and now these large buyers of electricity like Intel. This cycle continues Ohio’s history of energy production and ensures that the benefits of this development remain with Ohioians,” he added. www.ohiosolarcoalition.com Ohio’s future prosperity lies in thoughtful economic development and the solar industry looks forward to continuing to contribute to the economic growth of Ohio and to helping provide clean renewable energy to companies like Intel