Green Energy Ohio (GEO) is a statewide nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting sustainable energy policies, technologies, and practices.
In its 18th year, GEO conducts educational public outreach on all forms of renewable energy. GEO’s clean-energy expertise and experience also provides practical policy advice to private and public decision makers. Unique among nonprofit advocacy groups in linking both economic and environmental perspectives, GEO relies on strong internal technical groups of architects, scientists, engineers, and energy system integrators within the business, education, and government sectors. Backed by solid community-based support, GEO mobilizes resources across Ohio with dozens of diverse partners joining together in groundbreaking renewable energy and energy efficiency projects.
Grow with GEO: 2019 Membership Drive
Our Grow with GEO campaign embodies the messages that we have heard from talking with members and supporters across the state. We want Green Energy Ohio to be an organization where you can grow with us – in Knowledge, Advocacy, Leadership, Partnership, and Community. Our events and activities will be linked to those goals and our success will be measured against them.
Grow in Advocacy: Climate Change
GEO has begun new programming focused on climate change. For the first initiative, we are partnering with other organizations for screenings of the documentary The Human Element in several locations around the state. Directed by Matthew Testa, the film follows renowned environmental photographer James Balog as he explores the impact of wildfires, hurricanes, sea level rise, a struggling coal mining community, and our changing air. With rare compassion and heart, The Human Element highlights Americans who are on the frontlines of climate change, inspiring us to re-evaluate our relationship with the natural world. Check our Events page for future screenings of this documentary.
Grow in Technology: Local Solar Workshops
Join us to explore how state and local policies and programs can attract new solar projects and green jobs. This series of workshops is designed to provide resources for local governmental officials and staff within county, township, city and village jurisdictions and to encourage solar activists to work with their communities to enable solar development.
The first workshop was held at Denison University in August 2018, and the second was hosted by the University of Dayton in March 2019. Presentations and panel discussions with policy, legal, and business experts covered a range of topics, including land use, building codes and zoning considerations community choice aggregation and neighborhood-based solar cooperatives; solar project interconnection standards; best practices for residential rooftop solar in historical districts and homeowners’ associations; energy special improvement districts (eSIDs) and Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing. The agenda also included conversations with the teams responsible for development of the universities’ solar arrays and ended with a guided tour of the installation. The next workshop is being planned for Northeast Ohio.
Grow in Leadership: Annual Green Achievement Awards
“GEO is you.”
It is not the staff, not the Board of Directors, but you – individuals, companies, and communities throughout the state. To honor this concept, Green Energy Ohio hosts an Annual Awards Ceremony and Reception to recognize the achievements of individuals and organizations from around the state. The Green Achievement Award winners are innovators, collaborators, educators, and leaders in their respective fields. Above all, they are advocates for protecting public health and the environment, for generating economic opportunity and prosperity, and for ensuring a clean energy future for the state of Ohio.
This year, we presented awards to Talan Products, Inc. (Business Achievement Award), Kent State University (Academic Achievement Award), Ohio Hospitals Association (Professional Association Achievement Award), and the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction (Government Achievement Award). Find out more about why these distinguished recipients were selected by visiting our 2019 Green Achievement Awards page.
Grow in Knowledge: Annual Green Energy Ohio Tour
GEO has conducted the Annual Green Energy Ohio Tour since 2002 and it has grown into one of the largest demonstrations of installed renewable energy technologies and energy-efficient building practices in Ohio.
This statewide event features open houses and guided tours in each region of the state and features homes, businesses, and public buildings that are using green technologies such as solar, wind, geothermal, green design, energy efficiency, and more. Visitors learn how renewable technologies work, what they cost, and why they make sense in a competitive energy market. The 16th Annual Tour showcased over 80 Tour sites presented featuring 11 different green energy technologies. Find out more about this year’s tour by visiting our 2019 Green Energy Ohio Tour website.
Grow in Community: Meet, Learn & Share
Each year GEO hosts a series of informal regional conversations with our members and supporters. In 2018 we met in eight local craft breweries and discussed a wide range of issues. Participants gave us constructive feedback on past GEO activities and excellent guidance on future initiatives. We were inspired by their confidence in GEO’s ability to play an important and unique role in Ohio’s energy landscape. Find out more about each individual event by visiting the Meet, Learn, and Share page and read the summary of our 2018 events in our report, The End of the Road…and the Start of the Journey. In 2019, we are visiting the five regional minor league ballparks and look forward to the more learning, sharing, and fun!