Considering that the only thing remotely substantive in Ted Strickland’s State of the State was about creating “green jobs” by manipulating the tax code and corporate welfare, The Toledo Blade uncovered a HUGE embarrassment:

Toledo and its northwest Ohio neighbors have missed out on coveted manufacturing jobs in the solar industry because of a failure by state officials to attract companies with tax incentives or create a viable market for solar panels in Ohio, a Blade investigation shows.

Since 2007, thousands of those jobs have gone to states where companies were enticed by a mixture of tax credits, grants, and additional incentives to make solar products there.

While northwest Ohio has gained its share of acclaim in the solar industry through the success of First Solar Inc. and University of Toledo spin-offs such as Xunlight Corp., thousands of laid-off factory workers have yet to find work from the gains made here in the research and development of thin-film photovoltaics.

That’s because, according to solar industry analysts, consultants, and executives, Ohio is fighting both the perception and reality of noncompetitive tax structures and incentive packages compared with other states.[...]

Scott Sklar of Washington-based Stella Group Ltd., a strategic marketing and policy firm for renewable-energy companies, estimates that Ohio – and especially Toledo – has missed out on about 3,000 solar-based jobs in the last few years.

That’s obviously disheartening news for a state that shed more than 200,000 jobs from 2000 through 2007, a region battling double-digit unemployment, and a city like Toledo that was dubbed a solar “hot spot” in 2007 because of success stories such as First Solar and Xunlight.

“In my mind, Ohio could have three to five times the amount of renewable-energy companies it has now if incentives were orchestrated in a way to attract those businesses,” Mr. Sklar said. “Toledo would’ve definitely gotten some of those jobs.”

Would Ohio Jobs Czar Lee Fisher care to comment?

Related posts:

1. Ohio’s Green, Jobless Economy
2. Senators Jones, Widener, Wagoner, and Goodman Sponsor Gov. Strickland’s Green Inantiatives?
3. Ohio’s Heavy Handed Environmental Rules Killing 214 Jobs
4. Obama and Strickland Killing American Jobs at Procter & Gamble
5. Patronage Jobs Up 11% on Ted Strickland’s Watch