Business Digest

OHIO

Rebate program getting under way

COLUMBUS

Rebates for the purchase of energy-efficient appliances will become available Friday when the Ohio Department of Development launches the Ohio Energy Efficient Appliance Rebate Program.

The program was made available through stimulus funding from the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Rebates will range from $100 to $250 for the purchase of Energy Star-rated appliances, said the Ohio Consumers’ Counsel. Rebates are expected to be exhausted in a few weeks.

Applications for rebates and a list of qualifying appliances are available at www.OhioApplianceRebate.com.

Wind farms OK’d

COLUMBUS

Regulators have approved the first large-scale wind farms in Ohio.

The Ohio Power Siting Board on Monday approved plans by Hardin Wind Energy LLC to construct up to 200 wind turbines in Hardin County, about 50 miles northwest of Columbus.

Board Chairman Alan Schriber says the wind farm will play an integral role in assuring Ohio meets new alternative-energy standards. Construction is scheduled to begin this summer.

NATION

Ford CEO made $17.9M last year

DEARBORN, Mich.

Ford Motor Co. President and CEO Alan Mulally made $17.9 million last year, about 1 percent more than the year before, as the company struggled through the worst U.S. auto sales market in decades, according to a calculation by The Associated Press based on government filings.

Mulally took a 30 percent pay cut last February, dropping his salary to $1.4 million, and he got no bonus for the second year in a row. But the value of his stock options and stock awards rose by 9 percent to more than $16 million as the market improved and Ford’s shares climbed later in the year.

JetBlue decides to stay in NY

NEW YORK

The two-city tug-of-war over JetBlue Airways is done.

JetBlue Airways is keeping its corporate headquarters in New York City after considering a possible move to Orlando, Fla.

The company said Monday it will move about 1,000 staffers in mid-2012 from two area offices to a new location in Long Island City, in the New York City borough of Queens. The carrier’s main office is currently in neighboring Forest Hills. It also has a small finance department in Darien, Conn.

Google makes move in China

SAN FRANCISCO

Google Inc. will shift its search engine for China off the mainland but won’t shut it down altogether, and it will maintain other operations in the country. It’s an attempt to balance its stance against censorship with its desire to profit from an explosively growing Internet market.

On Monday afternoon, visitors to Google.cn were being redirected to Google’s Chinese-language service based in Hong Kong.

From wire reports