Hello friends,
Earlier this week was the 55th celebration of Earth Day. Ohio, as always, is at the center of everything. When the Cuyahoga river caught fire in 1969, the year before the first Earth day, it grabbed national headlines and inspired broad outrage. Mayor Carl Stokes, the first Black mayor of Cleveland and one of the first Black mayors of a major American city, made controlling pollution central to both his 1965 and 1967 campaigns. While both Carl and his brother Louis Stokes, a U.S. Representative, were instrumental in the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency and the passage of the Clean Water Act, Mayor Stokes had reservations about the first Earth Day.
Mayor Stokes was quoted at the time saying "It is a lot easier to get Shaker Heights and Lakewood, and even the President of the United States, concerned about pollution than about hunger."
Combining care for our environment with economic justice why our cooperative is committed to a Just Transition! A Just Transition framework takes a holistic approach knowing that a livable planet is only possible when every human has what they need for a dignified life. Solar energy can reduce air and water pollution and when it is owned by the community, the economic benefits of this new infrastructure can flow back into our neighborhoods.
Read more about our region's role in the first Earth Day from this excellent Signal article!
Below we have information about HB 15 and the state of community solar in Ohio and a lot of exciting events - Our Annual Meeting, an East Cleveland Solar Round Table, and more!
Let's Make Community (Solar) Energy Happen in Ohio!
Thanks in no small part to the outpouring of proponent testimony from member-owners like you and I, HB 15, the omnibus energy bill, and SB 2, the senate version, passed their respective chambers at the end of March. This is the closest community solar has come to being law in Ohio! Community Solar would be a game-changer for our cooperative and for Ohio, allowing our cooperative to build more arrays in more place and for member-owners to save money on their bills each month.
Another highlight of these bills are the repeal of HB 6 OVEC (Ohio Valley Electric Corporation) cost recovery riders. HB 6 was at the center of the largest bribery scandal in Ohio history and these riders (or fees) that all of us pay each month go to subsidize two 1950s era coal plants. We are glad to see these subsidies for outdated and polluting energy be repealed and only wish they'd never become law in the first place!
Important to note that the HB 15 refers to community solar as community energy, and unlike last session's HB 197, allows for sources of energy other than solar. This includes other renewables like wind and battery storage but also natural gas generation. HB 15 is a big bill and there are other provisions that are concerning. I think the positives in this bill outweigh the negatives. Community (solar) energy represents a real leverage point for us to build the economic and political power necessary to change our energy system!
The next step is for the Ohio Senate and House to reconcile the two bills and pass a final bill that will head to the governor to become law. This could happen as soon as Wednesday 4/30.
Let's make our voices heard!
Our friends at Solar United Neighbors believe now is the time to push our elected representatives to pass an energy omnibus bill that includes community energy.
Our coalition partners have identified key elected officials in the senate and house that we should reach out to and apply pressure to! When you call them, make sure to keep our message positive, benefits focused message when talking about community energy! And make sure to call it "community energy" when you call!
Below are priority legislators, reach out to them in addition to your own representatives!
You can also use SUN's Outreach Form!
Senate - (Directory linked here)
Senator McColley
Senator Reineke
Senator Chavez
Senator DeMora
Senator Lang
Senator Antonio
Senator Smith
Senator Blessing
Senator Mark Romanchuk
House - (Directory linked here)
Rep Klopfenstein
Rep Holmes
Rep Huffman
Rep Ray (community solar champion!)
Rep Hoops (community solar champion!)
Rep Russo
Helpful Resources
East Cleveland Solar Round Table
In addition to the fight for community energy in Ohio, we're excited to partner with Solar United Neighbors for the third East Cleveland Solar Round Table. Solar and renewable energy is under attack! It's important we learn how we can fight back and make sure it's not just a transition, but a just transition.
We'll be hosted by Living Truth Center on Saturday 5/10 from 1-3pm. RSVP here!
Annual Member-Owner Meeting 🎉
Saturday May 31st is our cooperative's Annual Member-Owner Meeting. In addition to the delightful snacks and stimulating conversation you can expect at any CSC meeting, this meeting is the place where our cooperative makes important collective decisions. Last year, we passed new bylaws and articles of incorporation. This year, we will be filling two new board seats!
We will be sending out a separate email with the information board nomination form. In the meantime, make sure to RSVP for the Annual Member-Owner Meeting here.
Member-owners at the 2024 Annual Meeting
Shout out to our friends at Lakeside Bible Church for hosting us this year!
Solar School
We are so excited to launch solar school in Mid-June. If you have any interest in learning more about what it takes to build community-owned solar in a collaborative learning environment - RSVP here. We are still finalizing the details and will keep you all updated as we finalize a date, time and location!
Ohio Co-op Solidarity Tour
Across Ohio, co-ops have been working hard to create an economy that works for all. From combating food apartheid, to building resident-controlled permanently-affordable housing, to turning food scraps into high-quality soil – all while creating empowering jobs that build self-reliance in our communities – there’s so much to learn from people across the state who are working to build a better world through co-ops!
On June 5th to 7th, our friends at Cleveland Owns are hopping on the party bus to build connections across these ecosystems through the Ohio Co-op Solidarity Tour. The tour starts in Cleveland and then heads to Columbus, Dayton, and Cincinnati, where it'll end with a stop at Co-op Fest, the annual gathering of the groups supported by Co-op Cincy.
This project is being organized by the Ohio Worker-ownership Network (OWN), which is celebrating its five year anniversary this year! OWN is made up of Co-op Cincy, Co-op Columbus, Co-op Dayton, Cleveland Owns, Evergreen, the Ohio Employee Ownership Center, and the CFAES Center for Cooperatives at Ohio State. Join for any or all of this three day tour – it’s going to be a hoot!
RSVP at clevelandowns.coop
Solidarity,– Craig, your Energy Democracy Organizer |
