A provision added yesterday to the proposed landmark Climate Security Act would establish a "green energy" center at the University of Toledo.
A spokesman for Sen. Sherrod Brown (D., Ohio) said the provision sought by the senator has been written into the bill, which is now being debated in the Senate.
The global warming bill would cap greenhouse gas emissions from U.S. power plants and factories and allow the government to sell pollution credits.
The proposed Great Lakes Center for Green Technology Manufacturing would help develop and commercialize renewable energy manufacturing processes, materials, and infrastructure, Senator Brown said in a statement.
"I've held more than 100 roundtables around our state and it is clear that green manufacturing means job creation for Ohio," he said. "We know we can be the Silicon Valley of green energy production, and now the University of Toledo will play an even greater role in the cutting edge research and development of renewable energy sources."
A staffer for Senator Brown said the project would have funding attached, but the amount was not yet decided.The amendment was added by the sponsors -- Sens. Barbara Boxer (D., Calif.), Joe Lieberman (I., Conn.) and John Warner (R., Va.).
U.S. Sen. George Voinovich (R., Ohio) has criticized the bill, also known as Lieberman-Warner, saying it would set up a costly bureaucracy and drive up the cost of coal-based energy without first making alternatives available.
President Bush has vowed to veto the bill if it gets to his desk, called it a huge spending bill fueled by tax increases.
The proposed UT center is in keeping with a proposal that Toledo Mayor Carty Finkbeiner has been championing for more than a year.
Mr. Finkbeiner has urged Gov. Ted Strickland to establish an Ohio Center for Renewable Energy and Sustainable Development at UT.
In a statement issued through his office, Mr. Finkbeiner thanked Senator Brown for his "recognition of the developing energy sector here in Northwest Ohio.
"We are already recognized as the solar manufacturing center of the U.S., and are hard at work developing wind, water, ethanol and biodiesel clusters," he added.
Governor Strickland has not acted on the mayor's proposal, but has frequently praised UT's advances in solar panel research.
"The governor strongly supports Senator Brown's efforts to establish a green manufacturing technology center at UT,'' said Strickland spokesman Keith Dailey.
Frank Calzonetti, vice president for research development at UT, said he discussed the proposal with one of Senator Brown's staffers last week.
"It's very consistent with what we're doing with the university," Mr. Calzonetti said, citing the newly opened Alternative Energy Incubation Center near Dorr Street and Westwood Avenue.
Contact Tom Troy at:
tomtroy@theblade.com
or 419-724-6058.
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