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Wind power agents are staking out locations in western Ohio, including Darke County and in Champaign and Logan counties for wind turbines. Click to enlarge

Click to enlarge

Click to enlarge

If Ohio were to stop burning coal tomorrow, the state would shut down.

Eighty-six percent of Ohio's electric energy comes from coal combustion — a key factor in menacing climate change. That's about to shift.

Dayton Power and Light Co. executives are feeling their way though a complex assortment of alternative energy proposals — more than 50 from 35 bidders — that concern everything from biomass to wind generation.

The utility's alternative energy request is meant to meet a mandate passed this year by the Ohio General Assembly that the state generate 25 percent of its power from advanced or alternative sources by 2025. The mandate, coming years after other states set such standards, could one day make Ohio a top state for renewable energy generation.

Some of the proposed projects — wind turbines, biomass energy and solar arrays — could transform the landscape just miles from Dayton.

In some respects, the race for wind power conjures up the days of wildcatters searching for untapped oil deposits. Company reps armed with wind maps are combing high ground, signing up farmers for the right to locate wind turbines on their land.

While it remains unclear how many projects will be built — regulation of the industry is evolving — agents are staking out sites in western Ohio, including Darke County and Champaign and Logan counties, where an ancient plateau once split advancing glaciers.

President-elect Barack Obama has said that creating a "clean energy economy" will be a centerpiece of his administration. He likened the effort to the Apollo project that put people on the moon — and eventually one that could prompt clean energy investments of up to $150 billion over 10 years to create 5 million jobs.

Gov. Ted Strickland has targeted advanced energy as a key to reviving Ohio. Studies say the state is positioned to play a heavy role in the manufacturing chain to produce renewable power-generating equipment. That could mean jobs and money for the Dayton region's high- and low-tech industries.

U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, recently proclaimed in Dayton that Ohio could become the "Silicon Valley of alternative energy."

The ongoing credit crisis and drop in oil prices has cast a shadow on renewable energy development, but advocates have said the long-term health of the economy and nation depend on it. Companies trying to pull projects together don't appear to be slowing.