Last week, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the addition of four Biomass Crop Assistance Program projects across the nation, including a major project in Ohio.

These projects promote the cultivation of crops that can be processed into renewable energy. Instead of corn, these projects are being designed to grow giant misconstrues, a sterile hybrid warm-season grass that can be converted into energy to be used for heat, power, liquid biofuels and bio-based products.

It’s all part of the ongoing push towards renewable energy. According to Vilsack, these four new projects will not only harvest green energy, but will also create nearly 4,000 living-wage jobs and generate around $50 million per year.

Those projects are targeted for locations in Ohio, Arkansas, Missouri and Pennsylvania. The Ohio project is the biggest one of the four, estimated to add 1,210 new jobs. There is also the possibility of establishing “green hubs” in the project areas, leading to other green industries, including green industrial parks, officials said.

The Ohio project focuses on 5,344 acres of land in Ashtabula, Geauga, Lake and Trumbull counties. The sponsor for the project is Aloterra Energy LLC, and the project area surrounds the company’s conversion facility in Ashtabula, Ohio.

How these projects affect the Ohio Valley is unclear. Is it even certain that the projects will come to fruition? It sure sounds good on paper, but this push for biomass energy sure sounds familiar.

It wasn’t too long ago that fanfare about a biomass conversion facility was planned for Shadyside. The governor, local officials and other dignitaries were on hand when the big announcement was made about FirstEnergy’s plans to create a state-of-the-art biomass conversion facility at the R.E. Burger Plant, creating jobs and clean energy, and serving as a model for the rest of the nation.

Of course, that project never happened, and it’s not going to. The plug was pulled on the project several months ago.

Green energy is a nice idea, but until those living-wage jobs become a reality for areas in the nation that need it, legislators need to focus on projects and investments that help maintain the living-wage jobs that already exist in the energy industry – including the coal industry.