Columbus, OH – The Buckeye Institute has presented testimony to the Ohio House Energy Committee regarding Ohio House Bill 15. This legislation incorporates several energy policies championed by The Buckeye Institute and Americans for Prosperity-Ohio, as outlined in their report "Better Energy Policy for Ohio." The proposed measures aim to ensure a reliable supply of affordable energy to meet increasing consumer demands across the state.
Greg R. Lawson, a research fellow at The Buckeye Institute, expressed concerns about how government regulations have increased the cost of generating reliable energy and threatened the region's power grid. He commended House Bill 15 for aligning with principles advocated by his organization and Americans for Prosperity. These principles include ending taxpayer-funded subsidies, focusing on reliability and affordability, improving permitting processes, promoting environmental well-being, ensuring abundant energy availability, and enhancing transparency and competition.
Lawson suggested further measures for legislators to consider. He proposed allowing energy generators to collaborate directly with heavy electricity users to address their needs and enabling property developers to assess areas requiring more generation or transmission capacity. Additionally, he recommended permitting new energy projects on brownfields and streamlining state requirements to facilitate all forms of energy production.
During his testimony, Lawson highlighted the growing demand for electricity driven by technological advancements such as data storage centers and electric vehicles. He criticized government policies that favor less reliable green energies over dispatchable options while making powerplant upgrades difficult. According to Lawson, these preferences conflict with the need for ultra-reliable energy required by modern industries like AI computing.
House Bill 15 aligns closely with recommendations from The Buckeye Institute’s recent report alongside Americans for Prosperity. It aims to eliminate subsidies that distort markets, focus on affordability and reliability of electricity supply during peak demands or adverse weather conditions; expedite the permitting process; encourage voluntary adoption of clean practices without coercion; promote transparent market operations fostering innovation through competition.
In summary, Lawson emphasized Ohio's need for sound energy policies that reduce bureaucratic hurdles while meeting rising consumer demands effectively—a sentiment echoed throughout his testimony before the committee members chaired by Holmes along with Vice Chair Klopfenstein among others present at this session held February 12th in Columbus.