A new Ohio bill could be a de facto statewide ban on solar and wind • Ohio Capital Journal

The state is mulling a bill that calls for all new generation to be “affordable, reliable, and clean” — but its strained definitions would exclude renewables.

TLDR

A new Ohio bill, Senate Bill 294, threatens to impose additional barriers on solar and wind energy development, potentially leading to a de facto statewide ban. The bill, which is being sponsored by Republicans George Lang and Mark Romanchuk, aims to prioritize natural gas and nuclear power as clean, reliable, and affordable energy sources, while excluding renewables. The legislation could distort markets and increase costs for consumers, according to experts. The bill's restrictive definitions of reliability and affordability would exclude most land-based wind and solar generation, and it does not mention energy storage, which is critical for grid reliability and cost control.