Report: Embrace Clean Energy And Investments Will Follow

A study is urging Ohio leaders and policymakers to support clean and alternative energy now before it’s too late. One researcher says there’s a ticking clock on the economic benefit the state could harness. The report lays out five ways Ohio should embrace clean energy, from attracting clean energy-focused corporations; evolving transportation toward electric vehicles; and modernizing the grid.If these aspects are implemented, then Ohio could tap into $25 billion in future investments.Asa Hopkins is a researcher with Synapse Energy Economics, which was hired to do the report. He says Ohio must position itself as a pro-clean energy state now as businesses look to develop the next wave of new technology.“Companies are going to make those decisions on where to make those investments over the next few years and Ohio will be in the first fight of that or it won’t,” says Hopkins.Hopkins says Ohio is uniquely positioned because of its existing manufacturing industry.As Hopkins explains, the study is just the first step in their research. They plan to continue their work by looking into what kind of policies and decisions can be made to carry out the bullet points they've laid out.Conservative groups have opposed policies that support one kind of energy source over another, pressing that a free market approach would work best. Opponents to renewable energy standards, for example, says the mandates would force electric bill costs to rise.  Copyright 2018 The Statehouse News Bureau. To see more, visit The Statehouse News Bureau.