By Sabrina Eaton

Wind power advocates from Ohio and across the country blew through Washington on Tuesday with a job creation message for Congress.

Up to 274,000 new green energy jobs could be created in the United States if the federal government begins requiring utilities to produce a portion of their electricity from renewable sources like wind, solar and biomass, they say.

"The renewable energy standard, as we call it, has three main points: jobs, jobs and jobs," said John Grabner of Bedford Heights-based Cardinal Fastener, whose company makes dumbbell-sized bolts that hold together wind turbines.

Wind power advocates predict job losses if the government follows the suggestion of Democrats including Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown and suspends an American Recovery and Reinvestment Act program that funds wind and solar projects until "Buy American" provisions are inserted.

Brown, along with groups like the Ohio Cast Metals Association, say more than $1 billion from the government program has paid foreign manufacturers to put wind turbines in the United States rather than subsidizing U.S. turbine makers.

But members of the American Wind Energy Association said not enough turbine parts are made in the U.S. to meet demands, and temporarily halting the program would cost U.S. jobs by scaring off American companies that seek stable demand before they decide whether to produce wind turbine parts.

"The discussion of it has already had a chilling effect," said the wind group's CEO, Denise Bode.

Members of the trade group say setting a nationwide renewable electricity standard would be the best way to create a steady demand for green energy and create jobs. Twenty nine states, including Ohio, have already set targets for renewable energy production.  Legislation passed in 2008 requires that Ohio utilities provide at least 25 percent of their retail electricity supply from alternative energy resources by 2025. Half the renewable energy facilities must be located in Ohio.

Energy legislation passed by the House of Representatives last year calls for a 20 percent nationwide renewable standard by 2020, while a bill that passed the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee calls for a 15 percent standard by 2021.

Electric utility sentiment on such legislation varies by region, with opposition being strongest in parts of the southeast and northwest that feel they've got lower solar and wind power potential than the rest of the country, says Jim Owen of the Edison Electric Institute power industry trade group. His group doesn't back any particular renewable energy target.

Brown backs the idea of a renewable energy standard but wants to read the language in any bill that comes before the Senate before committing his support, said his spokeswoman Meghan Dubyak.

Brown has had "lots of positive feedback" on his "Buy American" proposal from manufacturers who want to supply the clean energy industry, said Dubyak, adding that he discussed the issue on Tuesday with Grabner, who presented him with a giant bolt that will be displayed in the senator's front office.