green energy standards

Lawmakers are lining up their priorities for policymaking once they return from their spring break. And the top leader in the Senate says he has a particular issue he expects to address when they come back.

Clean energy issues have been a sparkplug for debate at the Statehouse for years now, with opposition mostly coming from Republicans and Democrats supporting incentives for the industry. A clean energy group has new data that they say can change the debate during campaign season.

The Senate plans to deliver the final blow to what are currently known as Ohio’s green energy standards. These standards require utilities to get a certain amount of energy from renewable sources. A bill to toss out those requirements could move first thing next year.

Gov. John Kasich got a guided tour of Amazon’s huge new fulfillment center in central Ohio today. And he took the opportunity to blast a bill to change the state’s green energy requirements on electric utilities into voluntary goals.

An environmental group says Ohio is 11th among all states in jobs in the solar energy industry. But the group says a vote likely this week in the House to change the state’s energy requirements for electric utilities could change that.

When Gov. John Kasich vetoed another two year freeze on the state’s renewable energy benchmarks last year, his fellow Republicans in the legislature promised they’d be back with a total repeal of those benchmarks. And they appear to have taken the first step.

Still no definite word on whether the Ohio Legislature will come back this week in the lame duck session to deal with vetoes of legislation.

Gov. John Kasich has vetoed a bill that rolls back state requirements on electric utilities and clean energy. 

The future of green energy development and use in Ohio is murky after lawmakers decided to continue a freeze on renewable energy standards utilities would be required to follow.