OFU: Energy bill good for rural Ohio
    A renewable energy bill passed on Wednesday by the Ohio Senate is far from perfect yet it will still benefit rural Ohio, says the state's second largest general farm organization.

    “As passed by the Ohio Legislature, Senate Bill 221 (SB 221) -- the energy bill -- is a step forward in encouraging the production and use of renewable energy,” said Ohio Farmers Union Government Relations Director Joe Logan. “The bill is an extremely complex set of policies designed to reconfigure how Ohio’s electric utilities are regulated, and to stimulate the development of advanced and renewable energy.”

    Ohio has lagged behind many other states in developing policy to help diversify its energy production. SB 221 will put Ohio on a par with dozens of other states that have given legislative support to set renewable energy standards.

    “The renewable energy portion of the bill represents a strong step in a positive direction”, said Logan. “The provisions in SB221 will encourage the rapid development of wind, solar and biomass energy projects in Ohio. Such projects will not only be good for rural Ohio as a source of direct revenue, but they also encourage the local manufacturing of renewable energy related components.”

    A number of commercial wind projects that have been in the planning stages for months should go forward due to the passage of SB 221.

    The bill also establishes a “hybrid” system for regulating electric utility providers by strengthening the Public Utility Commission of Ohio’s (PUCO) ability to govern the electric rates charged by utilities. In addition, SB 221 allows for utility companies to move toward a market-based system, if such a system can be shown to be better for consumers. “All in all, SB 221 achieves the stated goals of limiting the price increases for electricity, while encouraging more renewable energy,” said Logan.

    "This bill is far from perfect. We wish the bill would have set a goal for Community-Based Energy Development (C-BED) projects, but that didn’t happen," said Logan. "We also wish the utilities were required to accurately report all their costs and charges to PUCO, even under market-based systems, but not so," continued Logan. “At the end of the day, this bill is good for all Ohioans, rural and urban.”
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