DeWine announces Super RAPIDS Grants to educational institutions
Apr. 14—CCTC to receive $113,582
COLUMBUS — Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, Lt. Gov. Jim Tressel, and Ohio Department of Higher Education Chancellor Mike Duffey announced that $8.3 million was awarded to 39 universities, community colleges, and career technical centers across Ohio through the latest round of Super RAPIDS grants.
In Lawrence County, Collins Career Technical Center was awarded $113,582.
Awardees will use this funding to update equipment to enhance training opportunities for over 6,600 students — preparing them for careers in Ohio's expanding manufacturing industries.
"We're seeing historic investments in Ohio that are creating thousands of new jobs, and we need a workforce ready to step into those opportunities," DeWine said. "This Super RAPIDS funding will ensure students are training on the same state-of-the-art equipment they'll use on the job, giving them a direct path to these careers."
The Super RAPIDS grants were awarded through a competitive process that prioritized employer input. Over 130 businesses, spread across Ohio's seven JobsOhio regions, played a key role in shaping the proposals, ensuring that the funded projects address the specific skill needs of regional industries. This approach allows Ohio's training institutions to rapidly adapt to changing workforce demands and prepare students for the jobs that are most in demand in their region.
The entirety of the $8.3 million available through this round of grant funding will be awarded to help schools upgrade their lab and classroom space with new, modern equipment.
Ohio's Super RAPIDS program provides additional one-time funding to supplement ODHE's traditional Regionally Aligned Priorities in Delivering Skills grant program.
RAPIDS grants are used to purchase equipment for use in classrooms specific to regional workforce needs. Equipment purchased by grantees is often shared among multiple campuses, expanding the reach of the equipment and allowing more students to get an affordable, high-quality education.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Why an Ohio ban on settlements to close ‘base load' power plants matters for clean energy
Aerial photograph of the OVEC-operated Kyger Creek Power Plant in Cheshire. (Getty Images.) This story was originally published by Canary Media. A decade ago, the Sierra Club and other environmental groups, trade organizations, and companies found themselves in a regulatory standoff with American Electric Power over operating costs for six coal-fired power plants in Ohio. The utility's opponents objected to letting the company collect more money from customers to keep the unprofitable plants running, while the utility argued the charges were a hedge against even higher costs. Before state regulators made a decision, the utility and some of its opponents announced a compromise. As part of the deal, the Sierra Club would drop its opposition in exchange for AEP's commitment to add more solar and wind to its portfolio as well as move up its timeline for closing or converting several coal plants to natural gas. A Sierra Club representative at the time described it as 'nowhere near a perfect deal' but as one that would significantly reduce carbon emissions and accelerate the state's clean energy transition. Such compromises will now be prohibited in Ohio under a new state law that forbids settlements involving the closure of 'base load' power plants. Proponents of House Bill 15, signed by Republican Gov. Mike DeWine in mid-May, say it will support the state's ever-growing power needs and promote competition within its energy sector. Yet critics are questioning the law's definition of 'base load' generating facilities: It only covers electricity sources that run primarily on nonrenewable fuels such as natural gas or nuclear. The definition excludes wind or solar power, even when combined with battery storage. Negotiating special deals in settlements has long been common in utility regulatory cases. Industry groups or companies have gotten discounts and other benefits in return for dropping opposition to utilities' added charges. Parties in court cases often settle before trial, too. For example, the same year that the Sierra Club reached a settlement with AEP, a trade group representing industrial customers negotiated a special rate with FirstEnergy's Ohio utilities in exchange for dropping opposition to a customer-funded bailout of that company's unprofitable coal and nuclear plants. (The secret terms of that agreement were part of a criminal case filed last year against Ohio's former chief utility regulator, Sam Randazzo. They also became part of a House Bill 6-related regulatory case on which regulators will finally hear evidence this month.) HB 15 will still allow settlements with special deals, as long as terms are part of the public record, there's no cash payment, and they do not close or limit 'base load' electricity-generating facilities. Neil Waggoner, who heads the Sierra Club's Beyond Coal campaign for the Midwest region, suspects the provision is likely a backlash to the environmental group's 2015 settlement with AEP. That deal didn't end up delivering all of the expected clean energy benefits. State rules requiring wind turbines to be a certain distance from other properties ultimately made it impossible for AEP to add the planned 500 megawatts of wind generation, and the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio refused to allow the utility to charge customers the cost of building 400 MW of solar energy. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The 'base load' provisions weren't part of HB 15 as it originally passed the House, nor were they in the initial versions of the companion Senate bill, SB 2. The language appeared in a substitute version of SB 2 introduced on March 11, the same day that Ed Spiker, chair of the Ohio Coal Association, submitted written testimony pleading the state to enact 'guardrails to ensure current coal power plants are not forced to close.' The terms used in SB 2 included natural gas and nuclear in the definition of a 'base load electric generating facility' but not renewables. The Senate then added the provisions to HB 15 before passing it this spring. The law suggests Republicans' continuing willingness to prop up conventional power plants, even when their electricity may cost more than cleaner sources of power. 'How would you replace base load power generation, given the amount of megawatts that they produce that we certainly require?' Sen. Jerry Cirino, R-Kirtland, challenged one witness who spoke against nuclear power plants during a March 11 hearing held by the Senate Energy Committee. Yet electricity from coal and nuclear plants remains relatively expensive, compared to that from renewables or natural gas. Ashley Brown, a former state utility regulator, questioned the constitutionality of the new settlement restrictions. 'I don't know how they can tell somebody you can't shut down a plant,' he told Canary Media. Two weeks ago, the Trump administration ordered a retiring Michigan coal plant to stay open, although it's unclear whether the mandate will face a court challenge. Separately, regional grid operator PJM Interconnection has sometimes issued orders to keep power-generation facilities running to maintain grid reliability, as it did for former FirstEnergy coal plants. In that case, however, the company was paid to keep the plants open. Waggoner noted that HB 15's language only applies to settlements. Its terms wouldn't stop a company from closing an unprofitable plant on its own accord. HB 15 also finally revokes subsidies for two 1950s-era coal plants, which had been put in place by HB 6, the 2019 law at the heart of an ongoing public corruption scandal in Ohio. Yet Beth Nagusky, an adjunct law professor at Case Western Reserve University, wonders whether the provision preventing settlements that close 'base load' power plants is meant to lay the groundwork for new subsidies down the road for nuclear and coal plants, which might become involved in regulatory or judicial cases. 'I don't think that's even being hidden,' Waggoner said. Along the same lines, environmental groups have criticized laws from 2023 and 2024 that include natural gas and nuclear power in the state's definition of 'green energy.' As Waggoner sees it, utilities and policymakers who claim to be worried about maintaining enough 'base load' or 'dispatchable' electricity are concerned less about real reliability issues and more about minimizing the importance of renewable energy in the face of climate change, even when renewables are paired with storage. 'They're looking at how do you frame this argument so you're not just saying, 'We don't want renewables,'' Waggoner said. 'They're trying to find a way to justify what they want, as opposed to what the moment demands.' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
How sensors, software, and other tech could help Ohio's aging power grid
A new state law will require Ohio utilities and regulators to consider how technology might offer cost-effective options for improving the state's aging electric grid. Ohio's grid, like those in many states, faces rising repair and maintenance costs, growing demand from data centers and other new customers, and increased risks as climate change fuels more frequent severe weather and outages. House Bill 15, signed last month by Republican Gov. Mike DeWine, calls for a focus on software and hardware solutions to boost the safety, reliability, efficiency, and capacity of existing infrastructure. Clean energy advocates are hopeful the investments will also allow the grid to accommodate more renewable energy and battery storage projects, which can suffer costs and delays related to transmission bottlenecks. 'This is a really, really great inclusion in the bill,' said Chris Tavenor, an attorney at the Ohio Environmental Council, an advocacy group. Advanced transmission technologies that utilities must contemplate under HB 15 include things like sensors that allow lines to safely carry more electricity when conditions are favorable, a concept known as dynamic line rating. Digital controllers can remotely adjust the amount of power flowing through different parts of the grid, while topology optimization software can reroute power around congested areas, like a navigation app for electricity. A key benefit of these technologies is that they can be used with existing infrastructure. When wires do need to be replaced, advanced conductors provide an energy-saving option. Those conductors use carbon composites or other materials to carry more electricity with less loss of that energy, compared to traditional wires of similar diameter. A high-tech approach can create space on the grid for more renewable energy to come online. That would lessen the need to run expensive, polluting coal-fired power plants, said Rob Kelter, a senior attorney with the Environmental Law & Policy Center, a legal advocacy organization based in the Midwest. Besides helping to mitigate climate change, less pollution would help people's health as well, Tavenor said. Under HB 15, owners of high-voltage power lines must file annual reports showing which advanced transmission technologies they considered as part of their five-year forecasts. Those companies will also need to identify areas of the grid with congestion, and compare the cost of addressing it with traditional versus advanced technologies. The reports will be available to the public, and interested parties may ask the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio to hold a hearing on whether utilities properly reported transmission information and whether they should be able to recover costs from customers. The Ohio Power Siting Board must also require companies to consider technology solutions before it approves any new transmission projects. Companies would have to file reports and expert testimony to support any decision to forego advanced technologies in favor of conventional projects, Kelter said. Advocacy groups and other stakeholders 'would have a chance to similarly argue that those technologies are available and that they're cost-effective, and that they would be able to alleviate congestion and delay the need for new transmission lines,' Kelter added. The law requires the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio to study the costs and benefits of the various technologies, including how to streamline their deployment. That report will be due by March 1 next year. Some Ohio utilities have already been exploring the potential for advanced transmission technologies. In 2023, AES installed 42 dynamic-line-rating sensors at towers along five transmission lines owned by its Ohio and Indiana utilities. The companies shared early results last year showing that installing the sensors was cheaper and faster than replacing power lines, and using the sensors increased the system's electricity-carrying capacity. American Transmission Systems, a subsidiary of FirstEnergy, is planning to spend nearly $900 million on dozens of transmission projects across Ohio in the coming years. 'We are currently reviewing House Bill 15 and exploring how its provisions around advanced transmission technologies could be integrated into our planning to strengthen the power grid for Ohio customers,' said FirstEnergy spokesperson Lauren Siburkis. Many of the law's potential benefits hinge on how the Ohio Power Siting Board and Public Utilities Commission of Ohio implement its terms when making decisions on siting and electric rates, Tavenor noted. The law's advanced technology provisions only apply to high-voltage parts of the grid that move electricity over long distances. It doesn't require utilities to consider high-tech approaches to improving the local distribution lines that deliver electricity to homes and businesses. So, for example, AEP Ohio won't need to consider advanced transmission technologies in its latest rate case filed on May 30, spokesperson Laura Arenschield said. That's because AEP wants to use the 2.14% increase in base rates to pay for improvements to its local distribution system, not the AEP transmission network. Similarly, the new law won't address grid inequities affecting disadvantaged communities in FirstEnergy's Ohio territory, which the Interstate Renewable Energy Council described in a report released earlier this year. Even so, investments that use existing system capacity more effectively can still promote equity by reducing the need to build all-new transmission lines. Siting such infrastructure 'can be incredibly invasive and inequitable, harming both communities and ecosystems,' said report author Shay Banton, who is a regulatory program engineer and energy justice policy advocate at the Interstate Renewable Energy Council. Building less brand-new transmission can also save consumers money. Ohioans have generally paid for transmission maintenance and upgrades through a 'rider' on their bills. For the average AEP Ohio consumer, that extra charge is roughly $40 per month. HB 15, however, aims to get rid of single-issue riders, so in the future, utilities will instead have to consider transmission costs through rate cases that consider all utility costs and expenses and are heavily scrutinized by regulators. That could also lead to lower costs or at least smaller increases. 'Ohio utility consumers already are burdened by billions in utility transmission projects,' said Maureen Willis, who represents the interests of Ohio's utility customers in her role as the state's consumers' counsel. 'By adopting advanced transmission technology, these costs can be reduced, staving off unnecessary 'gold-plating' by utilities, giving consumers more bang for the buck. We strongly advocate for this approach to transmission spending.'
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Yahoo
The Spectrum: Lt. Gov. Tressel; Ohio budget; defense contractor setting up in central Ohio
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – This week on The Spectrum: Former Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel is settling in as Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine's right-hand man, but will he try to run to replace him? Colleen Marshall sits with the lieutenant governor for an exclusive interview as he weighs a potential run for the governor's mansion. Both property tax relief and a flat state income tax could become a reality if the latest draft of the state budget passes. 'I think it's a very exciting and very bold budget,' State Sen. Jerry Cirino (R-Kirtland) said. Hear how the budget could affect funding for the state's school districts. Anduril, a cutting-edge defense contractor, is setting up shop in America's heartland. 'Central Ohio is going to be vital to the future of what we do,' Anduril Senior Vice President of Strategy Zachary Mears said. Hear how the business is already making an impact on the war in Ukraine as it prepares to employ thousands of central Ohioans. Democratic strategist Spencer Dirrig and Republican strategist Terry Casey join the roundtable to discuss Tressel's political future in red-state Ohio and the disagreements between the Ohio House and Senate over the budget. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
