Brown: Bill to help Ohio plants go green

By Don Shilling

The Mahoning Valley has 159 manufacturing companies that could benefit from the money, an analysis shows.

VINDICATOR BUSINESS EDITOR

U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, announced a new bill that would create a $30 billion revolving loan fund to help manufacturers retool to become suppliers for alternative energy producers or to make their operations more efficient.

The Avon Lake Democrat said in a conference call with reporters Wednesday that he hopes to have the bill attached to climate change legislation that is being considered by the Senate.

The bill is co-sponsored by Sen. Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, and Brown said it is supported by groups such as the Alliance for American Manufacturing and the United Auto Workers.

Policy Matters Ohio, a non-profit research group, joined Brown in announcing the bill and produced a county-by-county analysis of companies that might benefit from the bill.

The analysis showed that the Mahoning Valley has 159 manufacturing companies that would be able to produce parts for alternative energy producers if they chose. Those companies employ 11,676.

Wendy Patton, senior associate at Policy Matters Ohio, said many of Ohio’s manufacturers may already be providing parts for energy producers, while others are interested.

Brown said obtaining credit to revamp plants and production lines can be difficult. The bill would provide $15 billion a year for two years for such financing.

Brown said the fund would be self-sustaining after that because loan payments would be paid back into the fund. He said the disbursements would be handled by the states according to federal criteria.

The fund would encourage manufacturers to begin supplying those producing energy from wind, solar, geothermal and biomass.

An auto supplier that makes glass for cars, for example, could change operations so it could produce glass for solar panels, Brown said.

Money could also be borrowed from the fund so manufacturers could make their production lines more efficient.

The bill is called the Investments for Manufacturing Progress and Clean Technology (IMPACT) Act of 2009.

shilling@vindy.com