Our Mission: Power A Clean Future Ohio is building momentum now for a clean, prosperous future by equipping local leaders for equitable, community-driven carbon reductions in Ohio. |
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Smart Columbus and its corporate partners in central Ohio are going big on renewable energy. Yesterday, Cardinal Health, American Electric Power, and Huntington Bank became the first corporations to join in a new initiative from Smart Columbus to buy renewable energy through Smart Columbus Energy LLC. This initiative will complement Columbus’ renewable power aggregation program for residential and small business customers that was passed by voters on Nov. 3. Both programs will launch in 2021 starting the transition of Columbus residents and these corporations to renewable energy over the next year.
"If you combine the two, we're going to end up being one of the most aggressive cities pursuing energy aggregation in the country," Columbus Partnership CEO Alex Fischer said. "I know of almost no cities doing it across the board."
"Companies want predictability and consistency," Fischer said. "I’ve never had a company ask me about coal-fired or nuclear power. Every company we deal with asks about renewable energy.
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Meet Our New PCFO Team Member: Leah Hudnall |
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PCFO is excited to introduce Leah D. Hudnall, the new Director of Racial Justice and Community Inclusion supporting a large coalition of environmental, clean energy, and community-based organizations all across Ohio. In this capacity, she will manage a participatory grantmaking fund that allocates resources to BIPOC-led organizations working at the intersection of racial justice and climate. Additionally, she will work to increase capacity and integrate racial equity into the work of a coalition of advocates working across the environmental sector.
Hudnall holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in communication and culture from Howard University and a Master of Arts in nonprofit administration from John Carroll University. In 2020, she founded The Legacy Perspective, a civic consulting firm that promotes community centered strategies to champion the voices of those who are most dependent on and affected by the decisions of local government, philanthropy, and nonprofit organizations.
Along her professional journey, Hudnall served as Program Officer at the Saint Luke’s Foundation of Cleveland, and as a Fellow at the George Gund Foundation. She began her career at the KeyBank Foundation, and has held roles at the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office and the Center for Arts-Inspired Learning.
PCFO is thrilled to have Leah’s leadership in our collective work to create a clean energy future that is centered on equity, racial justice, access, and opportunity.
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PCFO to host first Peer Connections Conversation with Mayor Whaley |
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On Monday, December 14th at 4:00, Power a Clean Future Ohio will host the first in a series of conversations among local elected officials about clean energy opportunities in Ohio’s cities. Mayor Nan Whaley of Dayton, along with the city's Sustainability Manager Mark Charles, will lead the conversation with colleagues across the state about transitioning Ohio's cities to 100% clean energy – the challenges, opportunities, and solutions. It will be an open discussion on the topic for local elected officials and staff to weigh in, ask questions, and exchange ideas. If you are a local elected official or city staff and you would like to join, please contact Joe Flarida at [email protected] for registration details.
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Interested in getting started? Join today! |
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PCFO is an expansive, diverse coalition engaging with cities and local governments across the state of Ohio to build a clean future for our communities. Power A Clean Future Ohio is empowering local leaders with tools and resources to create carbon reduction plans and implement them in ways that are achievable, measurable, equitable and economical.
Our coalition of expert organizations wants to share our technical expertise and resources with your community. If your community wants to work on plans to reduce emissions, attract business investment, implement equitable clean energy policy, and reduce costs – contact us today to set up a meeting!
If your business or organizations would like to support PCFO, we invite you to join the campaign as a PCFO Partner. Contact us for more details.
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PCFO Partner Spotlight: Paulding Chamber of Commerce
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Tell us about Paulding Chamber of Commerce?
Paulding County is nestled in the heart of northwest Ohio and is now considered the Wind Energy Capitol of Ohio with more than 188 wind turbines and more on the way to provide a projected 500 MW of energy production.
Why is it important for Paulding Chamber of Commerce to be involved in PCFO?
It's not surprising that partnering with Power A Clean Future Ohio is a natural fit for the Paulding Chamber with their support of wind energy and solar power as well. Mikayla Pieper, Executive Director for the Paulding Chamber of Commerce shared that she is proud that the chamber is taking the lead in supporting other economic development organizations to partner with PCFO.
How do you see local action on clean energy benefiting your work?
Pieper sees clearly every day the economic benefits of clean energy development in her county, one of the smallest in population in Ohio. “There’s not been any greater opportunity of economic growth for our county than wind energy, Pieper shares. “We understand and are grateful every day for the millions of dollars in income that wind energy is generating as well as the new jobs it’s creating. All without one penny spent on infrastructure- no additional water, sewer or roads were required in the building of all of our wind farms.”
“Especially now, as we’re focused on supporting our business community with the challenges of Covid-19, it’s reassuring to know that we have steady, recession-proof, pandemic-proof tax revenues being generated by wind and will for decades to come,” Pieper added.
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