Alternative energy has everyone’s attention. I know it has mine. I’m reminded of the importance of alternative energy every time I have to buy gas for my car, pay the electric and gas bills, and watch the prices of everything else I buy that is dependent on energy — like food — go through the ceiling.

We are not alone in our concerns. The increasing price of energy is a worldwide phenomenon. When we add to this our concerns about climate change, greenhouse gases and global warming, we know that we have to do something different. On a personal level, we can’t afford the higher prices at the pump, the meter and the store. On a global level, we can’t ignore the potential long-term damaging effects our current energy use is having on our planet and population. We know we have to change, not just here in Toledo and Ohio, but nationally and internationally.

We all have been told at one time or another, “When life gives you a batch of ‘lemons,’ make lemonade.” I think that is where we are now: Together with rising prices, our sources and uses of energy have become ‘lemons.’ We just have to figure out how to make “lemonade.”

If there is any place where this is possible, I believe it is Toledo,  using our potential in alternative energy.

Toledo has a head start in the alternative-energy industry, thanks to pioneers like Harold McMaster and others. We also have the great ground-breaking research of our scientists at the University of Toledo and their entrepreneurial colleagues in the community. Alternative and renewable energy research and development at UT is not a “flash in the pan,” nor are we a “Johnny-come-lately” to this new world. Our scientists were working on capturing the power of the sun’s rays back when very few were interested. But now, we are among the leaders nationally in alternative/renewable energy R & D.

To our credit, this important research did not stay in the laboratory nor stop with a few publications in scientific journals. This research has been coming out of the labs, producing patents, creating new start-up companies and attracting investment to our city and region. The progress we see in solar power technology development is now producing new jobs, and more are on the horizon. We also have significant assets and great opportunities in wind, biomass and geothermal technologies.

Now, the most important question we must answer is, “How do we sustain this leadership role in an industry that is rapidly becoming one of the most competitive in the world?” Universities and cities ­— even nations — are branding themselves as the “Silicon Valley of Solar.” I’ve visited cities, states and countries that have developed strategic plans to make alternative energy, solar power and renewable fuels their ticket to the future and the new economy.

The competition is growing, becoming smarter and more aggressive in this high-stakes campaign to be a leader in alternative energy.

We can win this competition over the long term if we develop and implement a bold but realistic strategy. In other words, we can make lemonade as well as anyone — and better than most — if we have the right recipe. But to develop an effective strategy, we will need the best minds and best ideas focused squarely on this goal. We cannot assume that just because we are in a leadership role today that we will be able to maintain this role in the years ahead.

I believe the elements of a strategic plan for alternative energy — a recipe if you will — would possibly include the following:

• Grow our alternative energy talent pool. We must find the resources to add to our alternative energy scientific team every year. UT has two new scientists with expertise in renewable energy joining the faculty this year. This is a great start to what must be a continuing process at UT and in the business community.

• Develop degree programs in alternative energy. Alternative energy will be one of the major global industries in the next 10 years. The industry will require talented, well-educated and knowledgeable people to fill the new energy-related jobs that will be created in the future. What better place to prepare this future work force than the University of Toledo and our partner institutions in Northwest Ohio?

• Make a long-term institutional commitment to alternative energy. A long-term commitment will help sustain us during the difficult times that we know we will encounter. Developing a “shared commitment” across the campus and deep in the community will enable us to stay the course.

• Brand Toledo as an “Alternative Energy City.” Consider billboards on all the major highways around Toledo that would proclaim our leadership in alternative energy. All our tourist information and advertising could proclaim Toledo’s commitment to and leadership in alternative-energy. Advertising Toledo’s alternative energy strengths in international publications would convey the message worldwide. We have to let the nation and the world know that Toledo is a leader in alternative energy.

• Form partnerships with major alternative-energy firms. Consider the potential of our region’s universities if they were to join with one or more major corporations engaged in alternative energy research and development to accelerate discoveries, incubation, demonstration and commercialization of new or improved energy forms and technologies.

• Practice what we preach. Work with the Home Builders Association and the major architecture, engineering and construction firms in Toledo and the region to promote “green” development. Invest in and re-engineer existing institutional energy systems to achieve maximum energy conservation.

• Bring back COSI with an alternative-energy theme. Like many, I hope to see COSI reopen some day. When it does, why not give it an alternative energy theme that illustrates the science and technology behind energy systems so we can begin preparing young people to help lead us in the future? Every child in Toledo could take pride in their city as a leader in something they care about.

During the next 10 years, there will be three or four cities across the country that will emerge as leaders in alternative and renewable energy innovation.

The rewards for those cities will be substantial and will be measured by increased investment in energy research and development, new companies, new high-paying jobs, “green construction” and a reputation that will be attractive to young professionals and families that want to live in a progressive, conservation-conscious city where the quality of life is excellent. Toledo can be one of these cities.

In this era when we are beginning to experience first-hand global energy shortages and find that our energy policies and practices have left us with a batch of lemons, we are also discovering that we have all the ingredients and a recipe to make great lemonade.

We have the ingredients and recipe to establish Toledo — home of the University of Toledo — as one of the leading “Alternative Energy Capitals” in the country, indeed, in the world.

Dan Johnson is president emeritus and university professor of public policy and economic development at UT. He may be contacted at dan.johnson@utoledo.edu.

This entry was posted on Friday, May 2nd, 2008 at 12:00 am and is filed under TFP Version 1.
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