State of Ohio Announces Funding Opportunities and Awards

The Ohio Department of Development this week announced the availability of $14 million for development of renewable energy programs.  This is the first set of renewable energy grants in the state to be funded through the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act.  The program is seeking qualifying projects in the areas of solar electric, solar thermal and wind electric technologies.   Awards will range in size from $225,000 to $1 million.  Deadline for applying for the program is September 21, 2009 at 5 p.m.  See full details on the Deploying Renewable Energy: Wind and Solar grant program here  Or see the ODOD release. 

Ohio also received $11 million in federal stimulus dollars to fund clean fuel vehicles.  The funding went to the Ohio Advanced Transportation Partnership which is run by Columbus-based Clean Fuels Ohio.  The funds will help buy and convert 283 vehicles so they can be powered by alternative fuels including natural gas, propane, ethanol, biodiesel, electricity or hybrid technology.  Vehicles to be converted will include taxis, city, school and delivery fleets.  Funding will also cover construction of 15 fueling stations for the vehicles.  For more information, see the story in Business First.

This week Governor Strickland also announced the recipients of $9.6 million in economic development grants through the Ohio Thomas Edison Program.  The Edison program targets specific industry sectors and is intended to enhance the state’s ability to continue to bring world-class goods, services and technologies to market.  Thirteen organizations received these awards including two Central Ohio-based entities BioOhio ($1.2 million) and the Edison Welding Institute ($1.6 million).  Further awards for additional partners, including TechColumbus and PolymerOhio, are expected this fall.   For more on this story see here