JOHNSON ANNOUNCES GRANTS FOR CLEAN ENERGY
Grants promote clean-burning distributed energy technologies

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 11, 2006

Columbus, OH -- Lieutenant Governor Bruce Johnson today announced the Ohio Department of Development will award $350,000 in grants to help deploy commercial and industrial projects that implement clean-burning modular generation technologies. Interested entities can apply for the grants through ODOD’s Office of Energy Efficiency beginning January 31.

“The Ohio Department of Development is pleased to be able to offer incentives for distributed generation technologies that will add to Ohio’s options for generating clean, reliable energy,” said Lieutenant Governor Bruce Johnson, who also serves as Director of ODOD.

There are many benefits to clean-burning modular generation technologies, including power quality, reliability, and power at the point of use. Because distributed energy projects are relatively small in scale and placed near the end-user, they can be quickly constructed, and add electricity generation capacity without the expense of increasing transmission capacity. Examples of clean-burning technologies include combined heat & power (CHP), natural gas-fired microturbines and generators powered by biomass resources like landfill gas and food processing wastes. Five clean-burning projects have received ODOD assistance since 2003.

Industry, businesses and institutions are eligible for the grants, which are made available through ODOD’s Energy Loan Fund. The Energy Loan Fund is maintained through a monthly fee paid by customers of AEP, Cinergy, Dayton Power and Light and First Energy. As such, only projects in those electric utility service areas are eligible.

The grants will be awarded on a first-come-first served basis. Application forms, program guidelines, and minimum requirements are found online at www.odod.state.oh.us/cdd/oee/elfgrant.htm.