{"id":16182,"date":"2019-04-15T21:49:03","date_gmt":"2019-04-16T04:49:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/?p=16182"},"modified":"2019-04-15T21:49:03","modified_gmt":"2019-04-16T04:49:03","slug":"ohios-clean-energy-standards-are-key-to-thriving-economy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/?p=16182","title":{"rendered":"Ohio\u2019s Clean Energy Standards Are Key to Thriving Economy"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
April 12, 2019\u2014 Major investors and companies in Ohio oppose provisions in legislation introduced today in the Ohio Legislature that would weaken the state\u2019s renewable portfolio and energy efficiency resource standard.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

The provisions, included in part of a larger package to support a bail out of the state\u2019s aging nuclear plants, would require all classes of customers to meet a lengthy list of requirements in order to \u201copt in\u201d for participation in both the state\u2019s Renewable Portfolio and Energy Efficiency Resource Standards.<\/p>\n

Since 2015, dozens of major investors, companies, institutions and employers representing more than 200,000 employees\u2014including the\u00a0Cleveland Clinic, Mercy Health, Gap, Nestle and many others\u2014have shared their\u00a0support for maintaining strong clean energy standards in the Buckeye State<\/a>. Despite the unwavering support of the business community, Ohio lawmakers have introduced numerous bills in the last four years aimed at weakening or dismantling the standards. This back and forth has led to significant uncertainty for investors and companies looking to invest in renewable and energy efficiency technologies in Ohio.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a company of people who love the outdoors, we know that clean, renewable energy is crucial to protecting the Ohio\u2019s air and water, and to supporting the health of its citizens. Investing in clean energy like wind and solar also provides bottom-line benefits to our business and the overall economy,\u201d said\u00a0Elysa Hammond, vice president of environmental stewardship at Clif Bar & Co. \u201cWe have long supported Ohio\u2019s renewable energy and energy efficiency standards as a way to spur innovation and investment in the Buckeye State. We urge lawmakers to keep the standards strong.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe urge Ohio lawmakers to heed the call of the business community to protect the state\u2019s clean energy standards.\u201d said\u00a0Jeff Perkins, executive director at Friends Fiduciary Corporation. \u201cForward-thinking clean energy policies are essential for growing the state\u2019s economy and creating jobs. Ohio must maintain their current standards if they are to capture the benefits of clean energy and position the Buckeye State for future economic success.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a real estate management firm, JLL understands firsthand the value of clean energy as a way to reduce costs and improve energy price predictability, both in our own operations and for the clients we serve,\u201d says\u00a0Cynthia Curtis, senior vice president of sustainability at JLL. \u201cEncouraging renewable energy investment and energy efficiency programs and projects will benefit Ohio businesses and residents alike. That is why we support Ohio\u2019s renewable energy and energy efficiency standards.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNestle is committed to procuring 100 percent of its resources from competitively procured clean energy resources. We rely on clean energy resources, such as wind, solar, and efficiency to help us reduce energy costs, avoid volatility of fossil fuel prices, and stay competitive,\u201d said\u00a0Megan Villarreal, policy and public affairs at Nestle. \u201cIn order for Nestle to maintain and enhance our commitment to these goals, we encourage Ohio’s lawmakers to maintain renewable and efficiency standards, which allow us to rely on the power of markets to meet our needs more efficiently and cost-effectively. Nestle believes that all these clean energy resources are key to ensure a thriving economy and healthier future for all Ohioans.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a firm that manages more than $2 billion in assets, we see renewable energy and energy efficiency as essential to Ohio\u2019s long-term economic success,\u201d said\u00a0Brianna Murphy, vice president of shareholder advocacy at Trillium Asset Management. \u201cThe current standards help to spur private investments, save businesses and consumers money, and create jobs in the state\u2019s growing clean energy economy. We firmly oppose efforts to weaken the state\u2019s clean energy standards.\u201d<\/p>\n

A number of businesses in Ohio and around the country are seeking opportunities to invest in clean energy as a way to cut energy costs, avoid the volatility of fossil fuel prices and stay competitive. Ohio\u2019s renewable energy and energy efficiency standards are key to attracting investments and bringing jobs to the state.<\/p>\n

While the original standards were in place from 2008 to 2013<\/a>, investments in Ohio\u2019s clean energy sector created thousands of new jobs and stimulated over $160 million in annual GDP growth. During that time businesses and consumers also saved hundreds of millions of dollars each year on their bills, and were on track to save over $5 billion by 2020.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are pleased to see that the Ohio Legislature is bringing energy to the forefront of their policy agenda this year,\u201d said\u00a0Anne Kelly, vice president of government relations at Ceres, a nonprofit organization working with investors and companies in Ohio. \u201cCeres looks forward to working with the governor and with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle as we continue to make the economic and business case for clean energy in Ohio. Given the business community\u2019s long history of strong support for clean energy, we hope that Ohio lawmakers will look for ways to encourage investment in this growing sector of the economy.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

April 12, 2019\u2014 Major investors and...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,12,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16182","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-business","category-science-tech","category-u-s-a"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16182","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=16182"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16182\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16183,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16182\/revisions\/16183"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=16182"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=16182"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=16182"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}