September 24, 2024 • 36 mins
Are you curious about making smarter, greener choices for your electricity supply? In this episode, we speak with Jennifer McMillin with the Sustainable Ohio Public Energy Council (SOPEC). Jenn is SOPEC's Regional Director for Northeast Ohio and provides tips and insights for choosing a 100% renewable energy supplier for your electricity needs. SOPEC is a leader in community choice aggregation in Ohio, providing competitive rates and substantial savings to residents in member communities, including the City of Cleveland.
In Ohio, we can choose where our electricity comes from and there are many ways to choose renewable energy for your home or business. Green energy suppliers such as SOPEC use Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) to document, authenticate, and track that energy flowing into the power grid comes from a clean, renewable power source. Consumers can then select one of these renewable energy suppliers either on their own or participating in their community's contract with an aggregator like SOPEC or NOPEC. Join us as we break it all down for you so you can make and informed, sustainable energy choices. Investments in renewable energy projects are paying off but we have far to go to further green our grid. Choosing a renewable power supplier through our consumer choice is one way we can all show our support.
Guest:
Jennifer McMillin, Regional Director for Northeast Ohio with the Sustainable Ohio Public Energy Council (SOPEC)
Resources:
About SOPEC
CIty of Cleveland Community Choice Aggregation Program
SOPEC Job Openings
Green-e® Certified renewable energy
SOPEC Solar Assessment Programs
PUCO Apples to Apples
EPA Green Power Communities
Follow us:
https://www.facebook.com/ecospeakscle
https://www.instagram.com/ecospeakscle
Contact us:
hello@ecospeakscle.com
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Diane Bickett (00:04):
You're listening to EcoSpeak CLE, a podcast for
the eco-curious in NortheastOhio.
My name is Diane Bickett and myproducer is Greg Rotuno.
Together we speak with localsustainability leaders and
invite you to connect, learn andlive with our community and
planet in mind.
Hello friends, in this episodewe're talking about how to best
(00:24):
choose a renewable energysupplier for your electricity
needs, and speaking with ustoday is Jen McMillin.
Jen is the Regional Directorfor Northeast Ohio with the
Sustainable Ohio Public EnergyCouncil, also known as SOPEC.
Sopec is an electricityaggregator that supplies its
member communities with 100%renewable power and helps
(00:45):
communities achieve theirsustainability goals.
Here in Ohio, we're fortunate tobe one of the 29 states that
allow consumers to choose theirelectricity supplier, but with
that choice comes questions likehow can I choose a renewable
energy supplier, how long acontract should I commit to?
Should I participate in mycity's contract with SOPEC or
NOPEC or shop on my own?
(01:05):
And where does that renewableenergy come from?
I have so many questions, andyou probably do too, so let's
get those answered.
Welcome, jen.
Thanks, Diane, glad to be here.
Yeah, so I heard a presentationyou gave a few months ago where
you were talking about SOPECand how Cleveland is now a
member of SOPEC and how itsresidents are now benefiting
(01:29):
from low-cost renewable energy.
So your presentation promptedme to check on the electricity
rate I was getting from mysupplier and after comparing my
rate with the many new optionsavailable, I learned that I was
paying more than twice what Ineeded to to source renewable
energy.
I also learned that maybesigning up for that energy
(01:49):
supplier at a grocery storewasn't the best idea.
So live and learn.
So, Jen, we can all be smartconsumers of electricity, and
SOPEC, I believe, is helpinglead the way.
And tell us a little bit aboutyour organization.
Jennifer McMillin (02:05):
Yeah, I'd love to, but I just want to say
first that I think thatexperience that you had is not
even uncommon.
Greg Rotuno (02:13):
Right.
Jennifer McMillin (02:14):
Okay, people, we have busy lives and maybe we
don't pay as much attention aswe should to our utility bills
and even when we look at themthey can be a little hard to
understand and even overwhelming.
Right to know what can you doabout that electricity bill?
So I think maybe people arealmost a little afraid of them
and they just pay the bill everymonth.
So your experience is notuncommon and I'm glad to be able
(02:37):
to talk a little bit aboutwhere the consumer does have a
little bit of ability to shopfor savings.
Yeah, we're accosted at thegrocery store we want to do the
right thing.
Diane Bickett (02:48):
We don't have time to do all the research, so
we sign up and it's a greatintroductory rate, but then that
usually expires after a timewhich is what happened to me?
Yeah, exactly.
Jennifer McMillin (02:59):
So well, let me start by telling you a little
bit about SOPEC.
So you mentioned a couple ofthings, but SOPEC is a regional
council of governments and whatwe do is provide energy services
to member communities, topolitical subdivisions,
nonprofits, faith-basedorganizations and other
(03:19):
communities, public agencieswithin Ohio.
So, as an organization, ourmission is really to provide
simple and reliable publicenergy programs that help our
communities achieve both energyand sustainability goals.
So we try to provide a lot ofsupport on the energy front for
(03:42):
communities, because lots ofcommunities don't have a
dedicated energy manager orsomeone who fully understands
electricity procurement, sowe're able to step in and fill a
really valuable role there.
We currently have 38 membercommunities across Ohio, ranging
in size from very smallvillages and townships to larger
(04:03):
cities, including Cleveland.
Size, from very small villagesand townships to larger cities,
including Cleveland, Dayton andAthens.
And, as you already mentioned,our default product is 100%
renewable electricity for all ofour community choice
aggregation programs.
Diane Bickett (04:18):
Okay, I used to think SOPEC stood for Southeast
Ohio Public Energy Council.
Well, we're doing business now,but you are based in Athens.
Greg Rotuno (04:28):
Yes, yes.
Jennifer McMillin (04:30):
Based in Athens.
We have offices in Athens,Dayton and now Cleveland and
Upper Arlington and Columbus.
So we are statewide.
Diane Bickett (04:43):
You're statewide and you're growing and you're
hiring too.
So we'll get to.
You're statewide and you'regrowing and you're hiring too.
So we'll get to that towardsthe end, very exciting.
So there are two energyelectricity aggregators that I'm
aware of NOPEC and your SOPEC.
My community is a member ofNOPEC but it didn't.
(05:03):
My community isn't signed on tothe 100% renewable option.
There's only four, I believefour cities that have.
So they're moving in thatdirection, but they're not as
far along as you are in terms ofproviding the renewable energy
to communities.
So tell us a little bit abouthow electricity aggregation
(05:24):
works.
How does SOPEC source itsrenewable energy and provide
that to communities and, smallbusinesses?
Jennifer McMillin (05:33):
Yes.
Aggregation is that you'reessentially combining the
purchasing power of lots ofresidents and small businesses
and communities and what we dothen is we bundle all of those
eligible residential and smallbusiness accounts together to
(05:59):
receive a competitive supplyrate so a community can actually
join.
You have to actually join SOPECand become a member.
Again, we're a council ofgovernments, so we're governed
by the members we serve.
And then all the eligibleresidents and small businesses
within illuminating companyterritory here in Cleveland then
(06:24):
are automatically rolled intoour program.
So it's an opt-out program.
So if you're eligible, thatmeans you have not selected your
own supplier and you're not onan income plan like PIP you're
automatically rolled into ourprogram and you can choose to
opt out if you want.
(06:44):
So we serve residents of theinvestor owned utilities.
You have to be in illuminatingcompany territory.
We are not able to servecustomers in a municipal utility
like Cleveland Public Power.
Diane Bickett (07:00):
Okay, so that's a first.
On EcoSpeak CLE, there was afire alarm go off in the
building that we're recording in, so we'll just keep going,
because apparently we're not onfire.
So where were we?
Oh good, oh, my goodness.
Let's define renewable energyfor a minute.
What energy sources aretypically in a renewable energy
(07:21):
portfolio?
Who decides?
Is that a regulated thing?
Jennifer McMillin (07:26):
So renewable energy, I feel like for most
people refers to solar and wind.
It can also refer tohydroelectric, biomass,
geothermal sources.
Okay, it is defined by thestate in that there is.
Ohio has a renewable portfoliostandard that currently mandates
(07:51):
that Ohio's electricdistribution utilities have to
have a minimum percentage ofrenewable content in the
electricity that they supply.
That's only eight and a halfpercent by 2026.
Oh geez, yeah, that number washigher slightly, but House Bill
6, among other things, reducedthat renewable portfolio
(08:12):
standard down to 8.5 percent and, of course, took away some of
the other energy efficiencymeasures that the utilities were
offering.
Diane Bickett (08:23):
How does SOPEC choose its renewable energy
providers?
Jennifer McMillin (08:27):
So SOPEC has an exclusive arrangement with
one supplier and that is AEPEnergy.
So we work with them to supplythe electricity for all of our
communities and members.
So what we do like many largeorganizations who can't
(08:49):
necessarily put solar on alltheir rooftops or land is we
purchase renewable energycertificates.
And just to explain what thatmeans a REC is how they're
commonly referred to representsone megawatt hour of electricity
that's generated by a renewablesource and put into the
(09:11):
electricity grid.
So it's a way of trackingrenewable energy from its source
.
And I'm just going to say thatthat's important because
otherwise it's nearly impossibleto track the source of energy.
Once an electron enters thegrid, sure, whether it comes
from a solar panel or a coalplant, once you put it into the
(09:34):
grid it is flowing with the restof the electrons like a drop of
water down a river right.
So RECs are.
It's an important way to beable to track our program and
(09:54):
Green E is a verification andcertification process that
allows the user to know thatthose are verified and
legitimate sources and that weare the only offtaker of that
power.
We really only consider windand solar and very carefully
(10:20):
selected hydroelectric power forour programs.
Diane Bickett (10:25):
Okay, I'm excited that AEP is your supplier
because it's also my newsupplier, because I went on the
PUCO Apples to Apples site andswitched from my high-cost
renewable supplier to AEP, soI'm glad to know that that's
been a verified source ofrenewable energy.
(10:45):
Who does the certification?
Is it a national organizationFor Green E?
Jennifer McMillin (10:52):
Yeah, yeah, I actually can't remember the
name of the organization thatruns Green E.
Yeah, yeah, I actually can'tremember the name of the
organization that runs Green E,but it is, it's it's widely,
widely accepted and in fact,it's what the EPA also leans on
for some of their green powerprograms and verification
systems.
Diane Bickett (11:12):
Green E is similar to like LEED
certification through the USGreen Building Council.
Jennifer McMillin (11:16):
It's kind of a stamp of approval for
renewable energy.
Diane Bickett (11:20):
Okay, so how long have you been at SOPEC?
Jennifer McMillin (11:23):
I started in February of this year.
Oh really, yeah,congratulations.
Thank you.
Diane Bickett (11:28):
Before that I remember you were with the
Sustainability Office withCleveland State right how long
were you doing that?
Jennifer McMillin (11:36):
I was the Director of Sustainability at
Cleveland State for the lastseven and a half years and I've
been, but I've been working inthe higher ed sustainability
sector for probably a total of15 years.
I actually worked at anotheruniversity overseas for about
seven years before that.
Diane Bickett (11:54):
So a lot of time in higher ed, yeah.
So as a sustainability directorfor Cleveland State, I assume
you're involved with energyefficiency issues and things
like that.
What other types of projectswere you implementing there?
Jennifer McMillin (12:09):
Yeah, so being kind of the one person
director of sustainability, Iknow a lot of my peers would
feel the same way.
We're doing a lot of thingsright.
Everything from waste andrecycling and composting
programs Always starts there onplanning and setting standards
(12:33):
and looking at cleaning suppliesand, you know, landscaping and
all sorts of things.
I also was part of the smallteam that actually did the
electricity procurement for theuniversity, so I got really
familiar with the markets aroundgas and electricity and
purchasing electricity for alarge organization.
Diane Bickett (12:54):
Excellent.
Well, thanks for all that work.
I'm sure education was probablya big part of your role too.
Jennifer McMillin (12:59):
I didn't even mention that, did I?
Diane Bickett (13:01):
Never-ending process of educating students
and faculty.
Jennifer McMillin (13:04):
A lot of student and faculty outreach and
education and fun stuff as well.
Engagement activities withstudents living in the residence
halls.
Diane Bickett (13:14):
Is there still a director of sustainability over
there?
Who is that person now?
Jennifer McMillin (13:18):
I don't believe there is anyone at the
moment.
Okay, I'll put the pressure onto fill that role.
Diane Bickett (13:24):
Can we talk about some steps for choosing a
renewable energy supplier?
So I get say I'm sitting in mykitchen and looking at my bill
and I want to become a moreconscious consumer of
electricity.
What tips would you have forany listeners to kind of go
(13:48):
through that process and selecta renewable energy provider?
Jennifer McMillin (13:52):
So if you are not part of an aggregation
program like SOPEC, where youcan sign on and somebody else
has done the homework for youand you're able to just receive
that rate with 100% renewablepower, or you could potentially
be with an aggregator where youhave the option to select 100%
renewable power for yourself,even if that's not the default
(14:15):
product for the whole community.
So keep in mind that that's anoption as well.
How would I know if that's anoption.
Diane Bickett (14:21):
I haven't heard of that.
Jennifer McMillin (14:22):
So, for example, you could go to NOPEC's
website and look at thedifferent product options and
there is a 100% green poweroption that you can select for
your individual household.
Diane Bickett (14:36):
Okay, I didn't know that.
Jennifer McMillin (14:38):
Yes, yes, and then the other thing that you
can do, as you have mentioned,is go to the PUCO's website,
which is the Public UtilitiesCommission of Ohio.
They have a very useful site,which is the Energy Choice
website, commonly referred to asApples to Apples, and what you
(15:00):
can do is you can filter for100% renewable energy options
with your specific utility, sowhatever region of Ohio you are
in, and then you can see whatthe options are.
And then I do have a couple ofpieces of advice for what people
should think about if they'regoing to go select their own
(15:21):
independent supplier.
So I think, number one, peopleare probably going to sort it by
price, right?
What is the price per kilowatthour that you'd be paying for
that renewable power?
And then the other things youwould need to look at are
whether that rate is fixed for acertain period of time or
whether it's a variable rate,and how long that rate is good
(15:45):
for.
Okay, right, Probably mymistake at the grocery store,
right?
Diane Bickett (15:49):
Yeah.
Jennifer McMillin (15:49):
Well, so put it on your calendar right.
If you know you signed up for a12-month contract, put a note
on your calendar to gore-evaluate your options 10 or
11 months into that contract.
You should also then be lookingfor whether or not it auto.
Does it have an auto renewalprocess and if so, what happens
to the price then?
(16:09):
Maybe it goes up.
Is there an introductory rate?
Is the first month's ratereally appealing and then it's
going to go up on you?
You should look to see whetheror not there's a service fee
every month.
That happens occasionally.
And is there a termination feewhere, let's say, six months
(16:30):
into your 12-month contract youfind a much better deal and you
want to leave?
Is there a termination fee toend that contract?
Diane Bickett (16:39):
I see you go to Apples To Apples and everyone's
familiar with that there'sdozens and dozens of energy
suppliers.
It's just.
The list goes on and on.
Keep scrolling down.
How do I know that those but Ilove that they're showing the
companies that do offerrenewable energy how do I know
that they're either GreenEcertified or reputable?
Jennifer McMillin (17:03):
Yeah.
So I mean honestly, I think thebest you can do is do your own
due diligence right.
So their website will be listedthere.
So I've gone and had a look atseveral of them and they give
you varying levels of detailright.
They will usually tell youwhether or not the wrecks
they're purchasing are maybe100% wind, and many of those
(17:27):
come from Texas.
You might get that level ofdetail.
If you don't, I think callingthe supplier and asking them,
you know, is useful informationand shows them that consumers
want transparency as well.
That's a great tip.
Diane Bickett (17:42):
Okay, I think it's important to look at our
bills.
So in our, you know, everyelectric bill had like with the
illuminating company you cancalculate your cost based upon,
because they'll show you 12months worth of kilowatt usage.
So you can just multiply thatout.
It'll also show, I think, who Ithink.
(18:06):
If you go to the illuminatingcompany website, they'll have
something called the price tocompare number.
So that's the number you wouldneed.
So look at your bill first.
Use that price to comparenumber, which might be different
than what's on the apples toapples site.
Jennifer McMillin (18:22):
Correct.
Yeah, the price to compare onyour bill is the number that you
want to use as your point ofcomparison for that fee.
You're going to see on applesto apples.
Diane Bickett (18:35):
Okay, so that would be like the illuminating
company's charge for their power.
Jennifer McMillin (18:41):
Okay, if you were to receive your power
directly from the illuminatingcompany utility, from the
illuminating company utility,that price to compare is the
price you would pay.
Okay, so when you're lookingfor a new supplier you want to
just compare those two rates perkilowatt hour.
(19:03):
And I think it might be helpfulif I explain just a little bit
about the other things that arehappening on the utility bill so
you know where you have theability to make a selection.
So there are really utilitybills, have a lot happening and
a lot of different charges, butyou can really simply break it
(19:24):
down into two different types ofcharges.
So on an illuminating companybill it's sort of on the right
hand column and on the lowerside there is a box that will
say charges from theilluminating company and that is
the part of your bill that youhave absolutely no control over,
because that is what theutility, the fees that the
(19:47):
utility charges to maintain thelines and the wires, the
infrastructure and the equipmentthat actually brings the
electricity to your home.
Diane Bickett (19:56):
Yeah, I think it's called the distribution
charge.
Yes, exactly.
Jennifer McMillin (20:00):
The box below that is going to be called
charges from insert the name ofyour electricity generation
supplier.
Insert the name of yourelectricity generation supplier
and that is actually for theelectrons that are delivered to
your home, the actualelectricity that flows through
those wires so that it turns thelights on, and that is the rate
(20:24):
that we have some ability tochoose right.
In an energy choice state wherewe have a deregulated
electricity market, consumershave the ability to select a
supplier.
So it's that supply rate thatyou are able to go and shop for
a competitive price.
And that's also the part of thebill that community choice
(20:48):
aggregation programs caninfluence that supply rate
Excellent.
Diane Bickett (20:53):
Let's talk about Cleveland.
So Cleveland is the oneNortheast Ohio community that
SOPEC is serving now.
When did Cleveland become amember of SOPEC and how did that
come about?
Jennifer McMillin (21:04):
So Cleveland joined SOPEC last summer.
They put out an RFP a requestfor proposals to get an
electricity aggregation provider, and we were successful in our
(21:24):
submission to that proposal.
So Cleveland residents startedreceiving power through the
SOPEC aggregation program inAugust of 2023.
Okay, and I'll just say aCleveland resident will know
that they're on the SOPECaggregation program Just by
looking at their bill.
(21:45):
They're going to see two things.
They're going to see AEP Energylisted as the supplier.
They're going to see two thingsthey're going to see AEP Energy
listed as the supplier and thenfor the rate, they're going to
see 6.762 cents as the ratethey're paying, though that'll
be listed in dollars on the bill, so it'll actually say 0.06762
(22:05):
on the bill.
Diane Bickett (22:06):
Yeah, that's where it gets a little confusing
too.
Jennifer McMillin (22:07):
6.72 on the bill, which has been a great
rate because the price tocompare over the last year has
been it has varied from 9, 10,11 cents, so the 6.762 that
we're offering has been a verycompetitive rate for Cleveland
residents.
Diane Bickett (22:24):
That's great.
And if they're members ofCleveland public power, not
members of but if they'regetting their power from CPP,
they're not part of that program.
Correct.
Jennifer McMillin (22:35):
They're not eligible for community choice
aggregation as part of amunicipal utility.
Diane Bickett (22:39):
Okay, what else do you want Cleveland residents
to know about the program withSOPEC?
Jennifer McMillin (22:45):
Well, I think the most exciting thing that
they should know is when wecalculated the savings for
Cleveland residents over thefirst year of the aggregation
program.
The SOPEC program was able tosave Cleveland residents and
small businesses over $13million.
Greg Rotuno (23:04):
Really.
Jennifer McMillin (23:04):
Wow In electricity supply charges.
When you compare that to theillumin, eliminating company's
price, to compare, $13 millionin savings.
Diane Bickett (23:12):
Wow, that's amazing.
Well, check your bills, people,because it matters, it matters,
it does, yeah, especially when Iwent from 12 cents a kilowatt
hour down to less than six.
Yeah, yeah, so yeah, that's alot.
It's like double Okay.
In fairness to NOPAC theywanted me to mention because I
(23:36):
talked to Deepa yesterday.
She wanted me to mention thatthey have four communities in
Northeast Ohio that are on their100% renewable plan, and that's
Lakewood, cleveland Heights,south Euclid and Sheffield
Village.
Hopefully there'll be moregoing forward.
And she also wanted me tomention that Cleveland is also a
(23:56):
NOPEC member for their naturalgas supplier, correct?
So they're both NOPEC and SOPEC.
So just to confuse you all alittle bit more.
And NOPEC has like 240 citiesacross Northeast Ohio.
What would be the futureoutlook, you think, for our grid
and in terms of the amount ofrenewable energy that's coming
(24:21):
into it?
Jennifer McMillin (24:24):
Hmm.
So I guess I'll start by saying, you know, natural gas
currently fuels the largestshare, you know is the largest
part of Ohio's total electricitygeneration, so fracking and all
that.
Yeah, so I actually went to lookup the figures.
So we had it, so I had it infront of me.
(24:45):
So in 2022, that was the mostrecent figures I could find
Natural gas was about 51% ofOhio's power source, coal was
37%, nuclear was 12% andrenewables 4%.
And then just to dig into thatrenewables a little bit further,
(25:08):
what I found was wind power isthe majority of that about
three-fifths of our state'srenewable generation, and then
most of the rest was solar.
Diane Bickett (25:18):
So that's where we're at currently.
That's generation in Ohio.
That's why, when AEP gets itswind, it's coming from Texas.
Jennifer McMillin (25:27):
Much of it much of the wind wrecks come
from Texas.
Diane Bickett (25:31):
Okay.
Jennifer McMillin (25:31):
Yeah, yeah.
So, um, there are wrecks arenot a perfect solutionables
(25:52):
built out in Ohio both for thebenefit of our you know, our own
residents and air quality rightfor our residents.
And you know I'm hoping thatstate policies move into a
little bit more favorabledirection to be able to make
that an easier process.
Diane Bickett (26:13):
Yeah, we all hope that state policies move in
that direction.
I mean, I think we're seeing alot of commitment on the part of
Cleveland and other cities andmaybe that helps with kind of
moving that political needle.
I learned that Cleveland ispart of the Green Power Partner
with EPA.
Can you talk about what that is?
Jennifer McMillin (26:34):
Yes, so Cleveland is an EPA Green Power
Partner community.
I believe they joined in 2014.
And what that means is that aminimum of 5% of the community's
total annual electricity usemust come from renewable sources
(26:57):
.
Okay, organizations 5%, 5% Okay, yeah, organizations can join
another EPA Green Power PartnerProgram.
So it's a pretty big initiative.
Cleveland has been.
Cleveland was already a memberwhen they joined us, but I just
have to share a really fun SOPECfact, and that is there are 19
(27:19):
EPA Green Power Partnercommunities across Ohio, and
each and every one of them areSOPEC members.
So those are all of ourcommunities, ranging from the
small villages to the city ofCleveland.
And here's the other fun thingAcross the US, for all of the
EPA Green Power Partnercommunities, 18% of them are in
(27:43):
Ohio.
Diane Bickett (27:44):
Really, yeah, wow , yeah, that's amazing.
Jennifer McMillin (27:47):
Yeah, slightly unexpected but such a
great statistic and we're reallyproud of the you know, of our
role in bringing thosecommunities you know into being
eligible for that Green PowerPartnership.
Yeah as you should be, sosupport our members on their
(28:10):
journey towards sustainability.
So I guess a couple ofinteresting things are.
We support the City of AthensCommunity Solar Program, so that
started in June of 2020.
And the funds from that go tofund solar projects for public
buildings in the City of Athensgo to fund solar projects for
(28:31):
public buildings in the city ofAthens.
We recently worked to supportthe city of Dayton's application
to Bloomberg Philanthropies andDayton was selected as one of
25 US cities as part of thatprogram to implement
sustainability initiativeslocally.
(28:51):
Program to implementsustainability initiatives
locally Excellent.
And then we have a communitygrants program where we support
things like solar installations,battery storage and EV charging
in our communities.
Diane Bickett (29:03):
Okay, so you really are growing and as.
I mentioned earlier, you arehiring.
Yeah, what jobs do you haveavailable, can I?
Jennifer McMillin (29:11):
tell you just a couple more cool things.
Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean tocut you off, no, you're fine,
but I wanted to just brag aminute about our grants team,
because we have been extremelysuccessful over the last year on
the federal grants front, andso we have either directly
(29:32):
received or supported otherorganizations to receive over
$24 million in grants in thelast year, and so just a couple
of examples of that funding is.
So we received from the USDA,we've got a RETA grant and
(29:54):
there's the REAP program, andthrough that program we are able
to provide free solarassessments to agricultural
producers across the state ofOhio, which shows them what
their opportunity is and whatsome of the available financing
might look like.
But now we're able to take thata step further and also provide
(30:17):
them with the grant writingservices to be able to go and
apply for the funding streams orrebates and tax credits that
might be available to them.
So that's one of ourinitiatives.
Of our initiatives, and thereally big one that we are very
excited about is we have nowreceived two rounds of funding
(30:37):
through the Charging and FuelingInfrastructure Grant, or CFI,
which is through the USDepartment of Transportation.
So we got a $12.5 million grantin the first round and then in
actually it's round 1B, we justreceived another $4 million, and
so with that $16 plus millionwe're going to be able to deploy
electric vehicle chargingstations across Southern Ohio
(31:01):
and in many of our membercommunities.
Diane Bickett (31:04):
Very nice.
How many charging stations doyou think you'll be able to
employ or deploy with?
Jennifer McMillin (31:09):
that I feel like the number is 250-ish.
Wow, okay, I'd have to doublecheck, but it's a big number.
Greg Rotuno (31:17):
Excellent.
Jennifer McMillin (31:20):
And then you asked me about jobs.
Diane Bickett (31:22):
I did.
But I want to go back to thefarm solar program because I
think there's some controversyor people will.
Certain politicians will say,well, we're going to give up all
our farmland and put solarfarms in.
I mean, is that I mean?
Can you speak to that?
Jennifer McMillin (31:41):
Yeah, so it is a controversial issue in Ohio
in many rural communities,which you will have seen by
watching the news, and I thinkthere's valid arguments on both
sides.
I actually grew up on a smallfarm in Minnesota.
I actually grew up on a smallfarm in Minnesota, and so I
(32:05):
actually see the side of thefarmer and the land owner
wanting the ability to diversifytheir income, which is pretty
valuable for a small farmer.
So I think that solar canreally play a role in rural
(32:27):
communities and I think there'ssome really interesting work
happening on agrovoltaics right,where maybe it's not one or the
other, so there's reallyinteresting research happening
looking at the interactionbetween a solar array and some
in between the rows or shadecrops, right.
(32:48):
So perhaps they're not mutuallyexclusive.
Diane Bickett (32:52):
So, yeah, I think there's a lot of opportunity
there.
Thank you for explaining that.
Okay, back to the jobopportunities Go.
Jennifer McMillin (32:59):
Yeah, so we are very excited to be growing
pretty rapidly.
We have the positions we haveavailable that I would love to
see some applications come infor are an associate in-house
general counsel position.
We are looking for an EVproject manager and technical
expert to help us support thebig grant that I just mentioned,
(33:22):
and we are looking for aSouthwest Ohio regional director
.
So it's just similar to my role,but in the Southwest part of
the state.
And then we've got two upcomingpositions that we're not
actively recruiting for rightnow, but we're going to be
looking for two more grantsspecialists to join us in the
pretty near future?
Diane Bickett (33:43):
Excellent, excellent, well.
So what's your website wherepeople can access those job
postings?
Jennifer McMillin (33:51):
sopec-ohiogov Okay, dash O-H, actually.
Okay, that'll be in the shownotes.
Diane Bickett (33:56):
Okay, well, let's wind up with our tip time.
I think you know not.
Do you have any tips for folkswho want to go solar, putting
rooftop solar on their homes?
We've done an episode on thatearly on, but anything new?
Jennifer McMillin (34:15):
Yeah, good question because we've talked
about how do you select arenewable energy supplier for
your home.
But if you want to take thenext step and actually go solar
on your rooftop, I always pointpeople to the Solar United
Neighbors Cooperative Programfor solar because that allows
you to have somebody do anassessment to look and see if
(34:36):
solar is even right for yourhome and then it's like
aggregation for solar purchasingright Because you're coming
together in a cooperative withother members of the co-op to
get that kind of bulk purchasingeconomy of scale with your
solar panels.
Yeah, so it should make it moreaffordable for an individual.
Diane Bickett (34:59):
Yeah, and it was for me back in 2017.
We joined the Cuyahoga CountySolar Co-op and they worked
hand-in-hand with United SolarOhio.
Jennifer McMillin (35:08):
I always have trouble with that Solar United
Neighbors?
Yeah, what do I have trouble?
Diane Bickett (35:14):
Thank you for that, okay.
Well, I have a quickannouncement too.
Our next Eco Meet CLE is goingto be held on November 19th at
Great Lakes Brewing Company.
It's our, not annual.
We've done them three times ayear for three years now
(35:36):
networking event and beerdrinking event.
So please join us, and thankyou to SOPEC for being a very
loyal sponsor of our events aswell.
Greg Rotuno (35:47):
You're welcome, all right.
Diane Bickett (35:49):
Well, thank you for joining us.
I learned a lot today.
Jennifer McMillin (35:51):
Good Thanks, diane.
Take care.
We hope you've enjoyed thisepisode of EcoSpeak CLE.
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(36:11):
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Stay tuned for more importantand inspiring stories to come.
You're listening to EcoSpeak CLE, a podcast for
the eco-curious in NortheastOhio.
My name is Diane Bickett and myproducer is Greg Rotuno.
Together we speak with localsustainability leaders and
invite you to connect, learn andlive with our community and
planet in mind.
Hello friends, in this episodewe're talking about how to best
(00:24):
choose a renewable energysupplier for your electricity
needs, and speaking with ustoday is Jen McMillin.
Jen is the Regional Directorfor Northeast Ohio with the
Sustainable Ohio Public EnergyCouncil, also known as SOPEC.
Sopec is an electricityaggregator that supplies its
member communities with 100%renewable power and helps
(00:45):
communities achieve theirsustainability goals.
Here in Ohio, we're fortunate tobe one of the 29 states that
allow consumers to choose theirelectricity supplier, but with
that choice comes questions likehow can I choose a renewable
energy supplier, how long acontract should I commit to?
Should I participate in mycity's contract with SOPEC or
NOPEC or shop on my own?
(01:05):
And where does that renewableenergy come from?
I have so many questions, andyou probably do too, so let's
get those answered.
Welcome, jen.
Thanks, Diane, glad to be here.
Yeah, so I heard a presentationyou gave a few months ago where
you were talking about SOPECand how Cleveland is now a
member of SOPEC and how itsresidents are now benefiting
(01:29):
from low-cost renewable energy.
So your presentation promptedme to check on the electricity
rate I was getting from mysupplier and after comparing my
rate with the many new optionsavailable, I learned that I was
paying more than twice what Ineeded to to source renewable
energy.
I also learned that maybesigning up for that energy
(01:49):
supplier at a grocery storewasn't the best idea.
So live and learn.
So, Jen, we can all be smartconsumers of electricity, and
SOPEC, I believe, is helpinglead the way.
And tell us a little bit aboutyour organization.
Jennifer McMillin (02:05):
Yeah, I'd love to, but I just want to say
first that I think thatexperience that you had is not
even uncommon.
Greg Rotuno (02:13):
Right.
Jennifer McMillin (02:14):
Okay, people, we have busy lives and maybe we
don't pay as much attention aswe should to our utility bills
and even when we look at themthey can be a little hard to
understand and even overwhelming.
Right to know what can you doabout that electricity bill?
So I think maybe people arealmost a little afraid of them
and they just pay the bill everymonth.
So your experience is notuncommon and I'm glad to be able
(02:37):
to talk a little bit aboutwhere the consumer does have a
little bit of ability to shopfor savings.
Yeah, we're accosted at thegrocery store we want to do the
right thing.
Diane Bickett (02:48):
We don't have time to do all the research, so
we sign up and it's a greatintroductory rate, but then that
usually expires after a timewhich is what happened to me?
Yeah, exactly.
Jennifer McMillin (02:59):
So well, let me start by telling you a little
bit about SOPEC.
So you mentioned a couple ofthings, but SOPEC is a regional
council of governments and whatwe do is provide energy services
to member communities, topolitical subdivisions,
nonprofits, faith-basedorganizations and other
(03:19):
communities, public agencieswithin Ohio.
So, as an organization, ourmission is really to provide
simple and reliable publicenergy programs that help our
communities achieve both energyand sustainability goals.
So we try to provide a lot ofsupport on the energy front for
(03:42):
communities, because lots ofcommunities don't have a
dedicated energy manager orsomeone who fully understands
electricity procurement, sowe're able to step in and fill a
really valuable role there.
We currently have 38 membercommunities across Ohio, ranging
in size from very smallvillages and townships to larger
(04:03):
cities, including Cleveland.
Size, from very small villagesand townships to larger cities,
including Cleveland, Dayton andAthens.
And, as you already mentioned,our default product is 100%
renewable electricity for all ofour community choice
aggregation programs.
Diane Bickett (04:18):
Okay, I used to think SOPEC stood for Southeast
Ohio Public Energy Council.
Well, we're doing business now,but you are based in Athens.
Greg Rotuno (04:28):
Yes, yes.
Jennifer McMillin (04:30):
Based in Athens.
We have offices in Athens,Dayton and now Cleveland and
Upper Arlington and Columbus.
So we are statewide.
Diane Bickett (04:43):
You're statewide and you're growing and you're
hiring too.
So we'll get to.
You're statewide and you'regrowing and you're hiring too.
So we'll get to that towardsthe end, very exciting.
So there are two energyelectricity aggregators that I'm
aware of NOPEC and your SOPEC.
My community is a member ofNOPEC but it didn't.
(05:03):
My community isn't signed on tothe 100% renewable option.
There's only four, I believefour cities that have.
So they're moving in thatdirection, but they're not as
far along as you are in terms ofproviding the renewable energy
to communities.
So tell us a little bit abouthow electricity aggregation
(05:24):
works.
How does SOPEC source itsrenewable energy and provide
that to communities and, smallbusinesses?
Jennifer McMillin (05:33):
Yes.
Aggregation is that you'reessentially combining the
purchasing power of lots ofresidents and small businesses
and communities and what we dothen is we bundle all of those
eligible residential and smallbusiness accounts together to
(05:59):
receive a competitive supplyrate so a community can actually
join.
You have to actually join SOPECand become a member.
Again, we're a council ofgovernments, so we're governed
by the members we serve.
And then all the eligibleresidents and small businesses
within illuminating companyterritory here in Cleveland then
(06:24):
are automatically rolled intoour program.
So it's an opt-out program.
So if you're eligible, thatmeans you have not selected your
own supplier and you're not onan income plan like PIP you're
automatically rolled into ourprogram and you can choose to
opt out if you want.
(06:44):
So we serve residents of theinvestor owned utilities.
You have to be in illuminatingcompany territory.
We are not able to servecustomers in a municipal utility
like Cleveland Public Power.
Diane Bickett (07:00):
Okay, so that's a first.
On EcoSpeak CLE, there was afire alarm go off in the
building that we're recording in, so we'll just keep going,
because apparently we're not onfire.
So where were we?
Oh good, oh, my goodness.
Let's define renewable energyfor a minute.
What energy sources aretypically in a renewable energy
(07:21):
portfolio?
Who decides?
Is that a regulated thing?
Jennifer McMillin (07:26):
So renewable energy, I feel like for most
people refers to solar and wind.
It can also refer tohydroelectric, biomass,
geothermal sources.
Okay, it is defined by thestate in that there is.
Ohio has a renewable portfoliostandard that currently mandates
(07:51):
that Ohio's electricdistribution utilities have to
have a minimum percentage ofrenewable content in the
electricity that they supply.
That's only eight and a halfpercent by 2026.
Oh geez, yeah, that number washigher slightly, but House Bill
6, among other things, reducedthat renewable portfolio
(08:12):
standard down to 8.5 percent and, of course, took away some of
the other energy efficiencymeasures that the utilities were
offering.
Diane Bickett (08:23):
How does SOPEC choose its renewable energy
providers?
Jennifer McMillin (08:27):
So SOPEC has an exclusive arrangement with
one supplier and that is AEPEnergy.
So we work with them to supplythe electricity for all of our
communities and members.
So what we do like many largeorganizations who can't
(08:49):
necessarily put solar on alltheir rooftops or land is we
purchase renewable energycertificates.
And just to explain what thatmeans a REC is how they're
commonly referred to representsone megawatt hour of electricity
that's generated by a renewablesource and put into the
(09:11):
electricity grid.
So it's a way of trackingrenewable energy from its source
.
And I'm just going to say thatthat's important because
otherwise it's nearly impossibleto track the source of energy.
Once an electron enters thegrid, sure, whether it comes
from a solar panel or a coalplant, once you put it into the
(09:34):
grid it is flowing with the restof the electrons like a drop of
water down a river right.
So RECs are.
It's an important way to beable to track our program and
(09:54):
Green E is a verification andcertification process that
allows the user to know thatthose are verified and
legitimate sources and that weare the only offtaker of that
power.
We really only consider windand solar and very carefully
(10:20):
selected hydroelectric power forour programs.
Diane Bickett (10:25):
Okay, I'm excited that AEP is your supplier
because it's also my newsupplier, because I went on the
PUCO Apples to Apples site andswitched from my high-cost
renewable supplier to AEP, soI'm glad to know that that's
been a verified source ofrenewable energy.
(10:45):
Who does the certification?
Is it a national organizationFor Green E?
Jennifer McMillin (10:52):
Yeah, yeah, I actually can't remember the
name of the organization thatruns Green E.
Yeah, yeah, I actually can'tremember the name of the
organization that runs Green E,but it is, it's it's widely,
widely accepted and in fact,it's what the EPA also leans on
for some of their green powerprograms and verification
systems.
Diane Bickett (11:12):
Green E is similar to like LEED
certification through the USGreen Building Council.
Jennifer McMillin (11:16):
It's kind of a stamp of approval for
renewable energy.
Diane Bickett (11:20):
Okay, so how long have you been at SOPEC?
Jennifer McMillin (11:23):
I started in February of this year.
Oh really, yeah,congratulations.
Thank you.
Diane Bickett (11:28):
Before that I remember you were with the
Sustainability Office withCleveland State right how long
were you doing that?
Jennifer McMillin (11:36):
I was the Director of Sustainability at
Cleveland State for the lastseven and a half years and I've
been, but I've been working inthe higher ed sustainability
sector for probably a total of15 years.
I actually worked at anotheruniversity overseas for about
seven years before that.
Diane Bickett (11:54):
So a lot of time in higher ed, yeah.
So as a sustainability directorfor Cleveland State, I assume
you're involved with energyefficiency issues and things
like that.
What other types of projectswere you implementing there?
Jennifer McMillin (12:09):
Yeah, so being kind of the one person
director of sustainability, Iknow a lot of my peers would
feel the same way.
We're doing a lot of thingsright.
Everything from waste andrecycling and composting
programs Always starts there onplanning and setting standards
(12:33):
and looking at cleaning suppliesand, you know, landscaping and
all sorts of things.
I also was part of the smallteam that actually did the
electricity procurement for theuniversity, so I got really
familiar with the markets aroundgas and electricity and
purchasing electricity for alarge organization.
Diane Bickett (12:54):
Excellent.
Well, thanks for all that work.
I'm sure education was probablya big part of your role too.
Jennifer McMillin (12:59):
I didn't even mention that, did I?
Diane Bickett (13:01):
Never-ending process of educating students
and faculty.
Jennifer McMillin (13:04):
A lot of student and faculty outreach and
education and fun stuff as well.
Engagement activities withstudents living in the residence
halls.
Diane Bickett (13:14):
Is there still a director of sustainability over
there?
Who is that person now?
Jennifer McMillin (13:18):
I don't believe there is anyone at the
moment.
Okay, I'll put the pressure onto fill that role.
Diane Bickett (13:24):
Can we talk about some steps for choosing a
renewable energy supplier?
So I get say I'm sitting in mykitchen and looking at my bill
and I want to become a moreconscious consumer of
electricity.
What tips would you have forany listeners to kind of go
(13:48):
through that process and selecta renewable energy provider?
Jennifer McMillin (13:52):
So if you are not part of an aggregation
program like SOPEC, where youcan sign on and somebody else
has done the homework for youand you're able to just receive
that rate with 100% renewablepower, or you could potentially
be with an aggregator where youhave the option to select 100%
renewable power for yourself,even if that's not the default
(14:15):
product for the whole community.
So keep in mind that that's anoption as well.
How would I know if that's anoption.
Diane Bickett (14:21):
I haven't heard of that.
Jennifer McMillin (14:22):
So, for example, you could go to NOPEC's
website and look at thedifferent product options and
there is a 100% green poweroption that you can select for
your individual household.
Diane Bickett (14:36):
Okay, I didn't know that.
Jennifer McMillin (14:38):
Yes, yes, and then the other thing that you
can do, as you have mentioned,is go to the PUCO's website,
which is the Public UtilitiesCommission of Ohio.
They have a very useful site,which is the Energy Choice
website, commonly referred to asApples to Apples, and what you
(15:00):
can do is you can filter for100% renewable energy options
with your specific utility, sowhatever region of Ohio you are
in, and then you can see whatthe options are.
And then I do have a couple ofpieces of advice for what people
should think about if they'regoing to go select their own
(15:21):
independent supplier.
So I think, number one, peopleare probably going to sort it by
price, right?
What is the price per kilowatthour that you'd be paying for
that renewable power?
And then the other things youwould need to look at are
whether that rate is fixed for acertain period of time or
whether it's a variable rate,and how long that rate is good
(15:45):
for.
Okay, right, Probably mymistake at the grocery store,
right?
Diane Bickett (15:49):
Yeah.
Jennifer McMillin (15:49):
Well, so put it on your calendar right.
If you know you signed up for a12-month contract, put a note
on your calendar to gore-evaluate your options 10 or
11 months into that contract.
You should also then be lookingfor whether or not it auto.
Does it have an auto renewalprocess and if so, what happens
to the price then?
(16:09):
Maybe it goes up.
Is there an introductory rate?
Is the first month's ratereally appealing and then it's
going to go up on you?
You should look to see whetheror not there's a service fee
every month.
That happens occasionally.
And is there a termination feewhere, let's say, six months
(16:30):
into your 12-month contract youfind a much better deal and you
want to leave?
Is there a termination fee toend that contract?
Diane Bickett (16:39):
I see you go to Apples To Apples and everyone's
familiar with that there'sdozens and dozens of energy
suppliers.
It's just.
The list goes on and on.
Keep scrolling down.
How do I know that those but Ilove that they're showing the
companies that do offerrenewable energy how do I know
that they're either GreenEcertified or reputable?
Jennifer McMillin (17:03):
Yeah.
So I mean honestly, I think thebest you can do is do your own
due diligence right.
So their website will be listedthere.
So I've gone and had a look atseveral of them and they give
you varying levels of detailright.
They will usually tell youwhether or not the wrecks
they're purchasing are maybe100% wind, and many of those
(17:27):
come from Texas.
You might get that level ofdetail.
If you don't, I think callingthe supplier and asking them,
you know, is useful informationand shows them that consumers
want transparency as well.
That's a great tip.
Diane Bickett (17:42):
Okay, I think it's important to look at our
bills.
So in our, you know, everyelectric bill had like with the
illuminating company you cancalculate your cost based upon,
because they'll show you 12months worth of kilowatt usage.
So you can just multiply thatout.
It'll also show, I think, who Ithink.
(18:06):
If you go to the illuminatingcompany website, they'll have
something called the price tocompare number.
So that's the number you wouldneed.
So look at your bill first.
Use that price to comparenumber, which might be different
than what's on the apples toapples site.
Jennifer McMillin (18:22):
Correct.
Yeah, the price to compare onyour bill is the number that you
want to use as your point ofcomparison for that fee.
You're going to see on applesto apples.
Diane Bickett (18:35):
Okay, so that would be like the illuminating
company's charge for their power.
Jennifer McMillin (18:41):
Okay, if you were to receive your power
directly from the illuminatingcompany utility, from the
illuminating company utility,that price to compare is the
price you would pay.
Okay, so when you're lookingfor a new supplier you want to
just compare those two rates perkilowatt hour.
(19:03):
And I think it might be helpfulif I explain just a little bit
about the other things that arehappening on the utility bill so
you know where you have theability to make a selection.
So there are really utilitybills, have a lot happening and
a lot of different charges, butyou can really simply break it
(19:24):
down into two different types ofcharges.
So on an illuminating companybill it's sort of on the right
hand column and on the lowerside there is a box that will
say charges from theilluminating company and that is
the part of your bill that youhave absolutely no control over,
because that is what theutility, the fees that the
(19:47):
utility charges to maintain thelines and the wires, the
infrastructure and the equipmentthat actually brings the
electricity to your home.
Diane Bickett (19:56):
Yeah, I think it's called the distribution
charge.
Yes, exactly.
Jennifer McMillin (20:00):
The box below that is going to be called
charges from insert the name ofyour electricity generation
supplier.
Insert the name of yourelectricity generation supplier
and that is actually for theelectrons that are delivered to
your home, the actualelectricity that flows through
those wires so that it turns thelights on, and that is the rate
(20:24):
that we have some ability tochoose right.
In an energy choice state wherewe have a deregulated
electricity market, consumershave the ability to select a
supplier.
So it's that supply rate thatyou are able to go and shop for
a competitive price.
And that's also the part of thebill that community choice
(20:48):
aggregation programs caninfluence that supply rate
Excellent.
Diane Bickett (20:53):
Let's talk about Cleveland.
So Cleveland is the oneNortheast Ohio community that
SOPEC is serving now.
When did Cleveland become amember of SOPEC and how did that
come about?
Jennifer McMillin (21:04):
So Cleveland joined SOPEC last summer.
They put out an RFP a requestfor proposals to get an
electricity aggregation provider, and we were successful in our
(21:24):
submission to that proposal.
So Cleveland residents startedreceiving power through the
SOPEC aggregation program inAugust of 2023.
Okay, and I'll just say aCleveland resident will know
that they're on the SOPECaggregation program Just by
looking at their bill.
(21:45):
They're going to see two things.
They're going to see AEP Energylisted as the supplier.
They're going to see two thingsthey're going to see AEP Energy
listed as the supplier and thenfor the rate, they're going to
see 6.762 cents as the ratethey're paying, though that'll
be listed in dollars on the bill, so it'll actually say 0.06762
(22:05):
on the bill.
Diane Bickett (22:06):
Yeah, that's where it gets a little confusing
too.
Jennifer McMillin (22:07):
6.72 on the bill, which has been a great
rate because the price tocompare over the last year has
been it has varied from 9, 10,11 cents, so the 6.762 that
we're offering has been a verycompetitive rate for Cleveland
residents.
Diane Bickett (22:24):
That's great.
And if they're members ofCleveland public power, not
members of but if they'regetting their power from CPP,
they're not part of that program.
Correct.
Jennifer McMillin (22:35):
They're not eligible for community choice
aggregation as part of amunicipal utility.
Diane Bickett (22:39):
Okay, what else do you want Cleveland residents
to know about the program withSOPEC?
Jennifer McMillin (22:45):
Well, I think the most exciting thing that
they should know is when wecalculated the savings for
Cleveland residents over thefirst year of the aggregation
program.
The SOPEC program was able tosave Cleveland residents and
small businesses over $13million.
Greg Rotuno (23:04):
Really.
Jennifer McMillin (23:04):
Wow In electricity supply charges.
When you compare that to theillumin, eliminating company's
price, to compare, $13 millionin savings.
Diane Bickett (23:12):
Wow, that's amazing.
Well, check your bills, people,because it matters, it matters,
it does, yeah, especially when Iwent from 12 cents a kilowatt
hour down to less than six.
Yeah, yeah, so yeah, that's alot.
It's like double Okay.
In fairness to NOPAC theywanted me to mention because I
(23:36):
talked to Deepa yesterday.
She wanted me to mention thatthey have four communities in
Northeast Ohio that are on their100% renewable plan, and that's
Lakewood, cleveland Heights,south Euclid and Sheffield
Village.
Hopefully there'll be moregoing forward.
And she also wanted me tomention that Cleveland is also a
(23:56):
NOPEC member for their naturalgas supplier, correct?
So they're both NOPEC and SOPEC.
So just to confuse you all alittle bit more.
And NOPEC has like 240 citiesacross Northeast Ohio.
What would be the futureoutlook, you think, for our grid
and in terms of the amount ofrenewable energy that's coming
(24:21):
into it?
Jennifer McMillin (24:24):
Hmm.
So I guess I'll start by saying, you know, natural gas
currently fuels the largestshare, you know is the largest
part of Ohio's total electricitygeneration, so fracking and all
that.
Yeah, so I actually went to lookup the figures.
So we had it, so I had it infront of me.
(24:45):
So in 2022, that was the mostrecent figures I could find
Natural gas was about 51% ofOhio's power source, coal was
37%, nuclear was 12% andrenewables 4%.
And then just to dig into thatrenewables a little bit further,
(25:08):
what I found was wind power isthe majority of that about
three-fifths of our state'srenewable generation, and then
most of the rest was solar.
Diane Bickett (25:18):
So that's where we're at currently.
That's generation in Ohio.
That's why, when AEP gets itswind, it's coming from Texas.
Jennifer McMillin (25:27):
Much of it much of the wind wrecks come
from Texas.
Diane Bickett (25:31):
Okay.
Jennifer McMillin (25:31):
Yeah, yeah.
So, um, there are wrecks arenot a perfect solutionables
(25:52):
built out in Ohio both for thebenefit of our you know, our own
residents and air quality rightfor our residents.
And you know I'm hoping thatstate policies move into a
little bit more favorabledirection to be able to make
that an easier process.
Diane Bickett (26:13):
Yeah, we all hope that state policies move in
that direction.
I mean, I think we're seeing alot of commitment on the part of
Cleveland and other cities andmaybe that helps with kind of
moving that political needle.
I learned that Cleveland ispart of the Green Power Partner
with EPA.
Can you talk about what that is?
Jennifer McMillin (26:34):
Yes, so Cleveland is an EPA Green Power
Partner community.
I believe they joined in 2014.
And what that means is that aminimum of 5% of the community's
total annual electricity usemust come from renewable sources
(26:57):
.
Okay, organizations 5%, 5% Okay, yeah, organizations can join
another EPA Green Power PartnerProgram.
So it's a pretty big initiative.
Cleveland has been.
Cleveland was already a memberwhen they joined us, but I just
have to share a really fun SOPECfact, and that is there are 19
(27:19):
EPA Green Power Partnercommunities across Ohio, and
each and every one of them areSOPEC members.
So those are all of ourcommunities, ranging from the
small villages to the city ofCleveland.
And here's the other fun thingAcross the US, for all of the
EPA Green Power Partnercommunities, 18% of them are in
(27:43):
Ohio.
Diane Bickett (27:44):
Really, yeah, wow , yeah, that's amazing.
Jennifer McMillin (27:47):
Yeah, slightly unexpected but such a
great statistic and we're reallyproud of the you know, of our
role in bringing thosecommunities you know into being
eligible for that Green PowerPartnership.
Yeah as you should be, sosupport our members on their
(28:10):
journey towards sustainability.
So I guess a couple ofinteresting things are.
We support the City of AthensCommunity Solar Program, so that
started in June of 2020.
And the funds from that go tofund solar projects for public
buildings in the City of Athensgo to fund solar projects for
(28:31):
public buildings in the city ofAthens.
We recently worked to supportthe city of Dayton's application
to Bloomberg Philanthropies andDayton was selected as one of
25 US cities as part of thatprogram to implement
sustainability initiativeslocally.
(28:51):
Program to implementsustainability initiatives
locally Excellent.
And then we have a communitygrants program where we support
things like solar installations,battery storage and EV charging
in our communities.
Diane Bickett (29:03):
Okay, so you really are growing and as.
I mentioned earlier, you arehiring.
Yeah, what jobs do you haveavailable, can I?
Jennifer McMillin (29:11):
tell you just a couple more cool things.
Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean tocut you off, no, you're fine,
but I wanted to just brag aminute about our grants team,
because we have been extremelysuccessful over the last year on
the federal grants front, andso we have either directly
(29:32):
received or supported otherorganizations to receive over
$24 million in grants in thelast year, and so just a couple
of examples of that funding is.
So we received from the USDA,we've got a RETA grant and
(29:54):
there's the REAP program, andthrough that program we are able
to provide free solarassessments to agricultural
producers across the state ofOhio, which shows them what
their opportunity is and whatsome of the available financing
might look like.
But now we're able to take thata step further and also provide
(30:17):
them with the grant writingservices to be able to go and
apply for the funding streams orrebates and tax credits that
might be available to them.
So that's one of ourinitiatives.
Of our initiatives, and thereally big one that we are very
excited about is we have nowreceived two rounds of funding
(30:37):
through the Charging and FuelingInfrastructure Grant, or CFI,
which is through the USDepartment of Transportation.
So we got a $12.5 million grantin the first round and then in
actually it's round 1B, we justreceived another $4 million, and
so with that $16 plus millionwe're going to be able to deploy
electric vehicle chargingstations across Southern Ohio
(31:01):
and in many of our membercommunities.
Diane Bickett (31:04):
Very nice.
How many charging stations doyou think you'll be able to
employ or deploy with?
Jennifer McMillin (31:09):
that I feel like the number is 250-ish.
Wow, okay, I'd have to doublecheck, but it's a big number.
Greg Rotuno (31:17):
Excellent.
Jennifer McMillin (31:20):
And then you asked me about jobs.
Diane Bickett (31:22):
I did.
But I want to go back to thefarm solar program because I
think there's some controversyor people will.
Certain politicians will say,well, we're going to give up all
our farmland and put solarfarms in.
I mean, is that I mean?
Can you speak to that?
Jennifer McMillin (31:41):
Yeah, so it is a controversial issue in Ohio
in many rural communities,which you will have seen by
watching the news, and I thinkthere's valid arguments on both
sides.
I actually grew up on a smallfarm in Minnesota.
I actually grew up on a smallfarm in Minnesota, and so I
(32:05):
actually see the side of thefarmer and the land owner
wanting the ability to diversifytheir income, which is pretty
valuable for a small farmer.
So I think that solar canreally play a role in rural
(32:27):
communities and I think there'ssome really interesting work
happening on agrovoltaics right,where maybe it's not one or the
other, so there's reallyinteresting research happening
looking at the interactionbetween a solar array and some
in between the rows or shadecrops, right.
(32:48):
So perhaps they're not mutuallyexclusive.
Diane Bickett (32:52):
So, yeah, I think there's a lot of opportunity
there.
Thank you for explaining that.
Okay, back to the jobopportunities Go.
Jennifer McMillin (32:59):
Yeah, so we are very excited to be growing
pretty rapidly.
We have the positions we haveavailable that I would love to
see some applications come infor are an associate in-house
general counsel position.
We are looking for an EVproject manager and technical
expert to help us support thebig grant that I just mentioned,
(33:22):
and we are looking for aSouthwest Ohio regional director
.
So it's just similar to my role,but in the Southwest part of
the state.
And then we've got two upcomingpositions that we're not
actively recruiting for rightnow, but we're going to be
looking for two more grantsspecialists to join us in the
pretty near future?
Diane Bickett (33:43):
Excellent, excellent, well.
So what's your website wherepeople can access those job
postings?
Jennifer McMillin (33:51):
sopec-ohiogov Okay, dash O-H, actually.
Okay, that'll be in the shownotes.
Diane Bickett (33:56):
Okay, well, let's wind up with our tip time.
I think you know not.
Do you have any tips for folkswho want to go solar, putting
rooftop solar on their homes?
We've done an episode on thatearly on, but anything new?
Jennifer McMillin (34:15):
Yeah, good question because we've talked
about how do you select arenewable energy supplier for
your home.
But if you want to take thenext step and actually go solar
on your rooftop, I always pointpeople to the Solar United
Neighbors Cooperative Programfor solar because that allows
you to have somebody do anassessment to look and see if
(34:36):
solar is even right for yourhome and then it's like
aggregation for solar purchasingright Because you're coming
together in a cooperative withother members of the co-op to
get that kind of bulk purchasingeconomy of scale with your
solar panels.
Yeah, so it should make it moreaffordable for an individual.
Diane Bickett (34:59):
Yeah, and it was for me back in 2017.
We joined the Cuyahoga CountySolar Co-op and they worked
hand-in-hand with United SolarOhio.
Jennifer McMillin (35:08):
I always have trouble with that Solar United
Neighbors?
Yeah, what do I have trouble?
Diane Bickett (35:14):
Thank you for that, okay.
Well, I have a quickannouncement too.
Our next Eco Meet CLE is goingto be held on November 19th at
Great Lakes Brewing Company.
It's our, not annual.
We've done them three times ayear for three years now
(35:36):
networking event and beerdrinking event.
So please join us, and thankyou to SOPEC for being a very
loyal sponsor of our events aswell.
Greg Rotuno (35:47):
You're welcome, all right.
Diane Bickett (35:49):
Well, thank you for joining us.
I learned a lot today.
Jennifer McMillin (35:51):
Good Thanks, diane.
Take care.
We hope you've enjoyed thisepisode of EcoSpeak CLE.
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Podcasts or wherever you getyour podcasts.
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(36:11):
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