On Wednesday, the Ohio House of Representatives voted x-x to become the first state to freeze its state’s renewable power mandate. The freeze will keep the current renewable energy and energy efficiency standards for two years as a legislative study committee analyzes the issues’ effects. The bill has already passed the Ohio Senate and will go to the governor’s desk for final approval.
The following statements from policy experts at The Heartland Institute – a free-market think tank – may be used for attribution. For more comments, refer to the contact information below. To book a Heartland guest on your program, please contact Director of Communications Jim Lakely at [email protected] and312/377-4000 or (cell) 312/731-9364.
“Ohio’s two year freeze of the state’s renewable power mandate is a small step in the right direction for Ohio and a much bigger step in the national conversation over these costly policies. Over the last two years, more than 18 states have considered proposals that would freeze or rollback these mandates, and as a result of the vote today, more states will likely follow suit. Ohio lawmakers should be commended for standing up for low to moderate income Ohioans that suffer from increased electricity prices more than any other group.”
John Nothdurft
Director of Government Relations
The Heartland Institute
[email protected]
312/377-4000
“Ohio legislators have had enough of the state’s renewable power mandates that have caused electricity prices to rise much faster than the national average. Subjecting Ohioans to rapidly rising electricity costs needlessly stifles the economy and household budgets. Subjecting the Ohio landscape to hundreds of thousands of square miles of wind turbines needlessly develops beautiful rural lands and indiscriminately kills thousands of birds and bats every year.”
James M. Taylor
Senior Fellow, Environment Policy
The Heartland Institute
[email protected]
“The resiliency of the so-called ‘attacks’ on the AEPS shouldn’t surprise anyone. When an industry needs a law to force people to buy their product, then the law is naturally going to be very popular within that industry and not at all with consumers. Ohio is a top ten energy consuming state that will surely benefit when market actors are allowed greater control over their energy use instead of politicians.”
Taylor Smith
Policy Analyst
The Heartland Institute
[email protected]
“To adapt the words of a famous Ohioan: Ohio legislators have taken one small step toward reducing their constituents’ electricity costs, but taken one giant leap toward repealing costly and inefficient handouts to special-interests groups masquerading as energy companies across the nation. The true benefactors are seniors and lower-income Ohioans who, unlike the ‘Bourgeoisie Greens’ who advocated for Renewable Portfolio Standards in the first place, have a hard enough time paying their bills in the first place. Hopefully, the study required by this bill leads to bigger relief for consumers and a repeal of wasteful RPS mandates.”
Isaac Orr
Research Fellow, Energy & Environment Policy
The Heartland Institute
[email protected]
John Nothdurft joined the staff of The Heartland Institute in May 2008 and left in January of 2019.
Taylor Smith was a policy analyst for The Heartland Institute specializing in energy, climate, and environmental regulation. He is coauthor with James M.
