Choosing Clean Energy in Ohio

Faces of Clean Energy

Clean energy has a “face” in Ohio. It is the face of city and school officials who are tapping the potential of wind, solar, hydro and energy efficiency to save taxpayer dollars.

These are just a handful of the stories from the public sector that demonstrate the advantage of embracing renewable energy. Their experiences illustrate why renewable energy – and consistent state policies to encourage its growth – matter to the future of Ohio’s economy.

Clean Energy Opportunity and Innovation

The electric power industry is in a state of rapid transformation, and in the next decade Ohio has an opportunity to reinvest how it generates, transports and uses electric power. New infrastructure, new business models and new energy services are needed so Ohio's economy can reap the full benefits of these new opportunities. 

Improving Quality of Life

Innovation will power Ohio's future. Many of the solutions we need to address the conservation challenges of our time —increasing uptake of energy efficiency, investing in renewable energy sources, establishing a price on carbon, modernizing the electric grid, and increasing the use of nature based solutions— also offer the opportunity for more jobs, more consumer choice, lower costs, cleaner air and water, better soil quality and better health. We no longer need to choose between abundant energy and a cleaner environment. With careful planning, we can have both.

The Faces of Clean Energy

Clean energy has a “face” in Ohio. It is the face of entrepreneurs, business executives and employees who are tapping the potential of wind, solar and energy efficiency to expand market share, hire and retain talent, and increase profitability. Although many of these companies explain that it is the right thing to do for the environment, all of them point to the economic benefits as the driving motivation for making the investment.

These are just a handful of the stories of companies that are taking advantage of the promise of clean energy. Their experiences illustrate why clean energy – and consistent state policies to encourage its growth – matter to the future of Ohio’s economy.  

Economic Benefits

Clean energy can make a significant contribution to Ohio's economy:

• Ohio would see an average increase of 5,900 to 9,700 jobs annually if utilities are required to source more power from wind and solar.
• Clean energy standards also mean electricity savings. Investments in energy efficiency would result in electricity bill savings to consumers of $29 million to $51 million each year by 2030.
• Lower-polluting energy sources and energy efficiency could result in health care savings starting at $800 million and reaching $3 billion by 2030.

Time to Upgrade

Much of the electrical grid in the United States is more than 70 years old, and was built before many energy technologies were even imagined.  It's an outdated system resulting in 20 times more brownouts and blackouts than our economic competitors, costing Americans more than $150 billion annually.  

America needs a state-of-art grid to compete in a fast-paced global economy and achieve a clean energy future.

Learn more in the video below:

Consumer Choice

As the nation’s power grid evolves, consumers are being offered new technologies—from smart thermostats, to solar panels to electric vehicles and energy storage—making their choices an increasingly important part of how the grid performs.

The benefits of a modern grid to society and the consumer are many:

• More efficient use of primary energy.
• More reliable and resilient power supply.
• More consumer control of electric power bills.
• Integration of clean and distributed energy resources.
• Electrification of the transportation sector.
• Cheaper and cleaner power for remote communities.