Even as Ohioans get ready to elect a new governor, the Ohio legislature is once again struggling to determine whether it will move forward, or backward, on energy policy. More than a year has passed since the Ohio House voted to approve House Bill 114, a bill that would effectively eliminate the state’s renewable energy and energy efficiency standards. Since then, Senate Leaders have worked to develop a compromise that preserves the state’s requirements but reduces them enough to satisfy the House without running afoul of Gov. Kasich, who vetoed lawmakers’ last attempt to gut the state’s RPS and EERS outright. The bill also needs to address the state’s burdensome wind setback requirement, which the Senate tried to fix in the 2017 budget bill. With time running out before the legislature breaks for summer recess, many are wondering – do Ohio lawmakers have the will to reach a constructive deal that finally puts Ohio’s energy policy on a stable course this year? Or will Ohio’s energy future be left to the legislature’s next session – and next governor?

AEE and CEP member companies meet with gubernatorial hopeful Chris Giunchigliani.

This is a guest post from Clean Energy Project, AEE's state partner in Nevada. For more information about AEE's State Coalition, click here. 

Last week, the Clean Energy Project, in conjunction with Advanced Energy Economy (AEE), hosted a series of roundtable discussions with Nevada gubernatorial candidates Chris Giunchigliani, Steve Sisolak, and a representative from Adam Laxalt’s campaign. These meetings provided an opportunity for each campaign to engage with representatives from clean energy companies and learn about the possibilities for Nevada’s energy future. All three guests were keen to hear the importance of clean energy to the state and were very receptive to the economic messages delivered by roundtable participants.

As part of our effort to engage candidates for governor in nine states this year on the economic opportunity provided by advanced energy, Advanced Energy Economy released a policy roadmap for Illinois on April 19 and delivered that roadmap to the major party nominees, Republican incumbent Gov. Bruce Rauner and Democrat J.B. Pritzker. Outlining a range of executive, legislative, and regulatory actions that the next governor can take to ensure continued growth of the state’s advanced energy sector, this roadmap shows the way to capitalize on the policy and business foundation already in place in Illinois and build on it, for the benefit of customers and the Illinois economy. Plus, an advertising campaign and website will provide a way for Illinoisans to learn about advanced energy – and sign up as Advanced Energy Voters!

On March 23, Advanced Energy Economy Institute (AEE Institute) hosted California gubernatorial hopeful Delaine Eastin for a roundtable session with AEE member companies in San Francisco. The former State Superintendent of Public Instruction shared her vision for maintaining California’s leadership on climate and energy issues, nationally and globally. Eastin underscored the imperative for long-range planning, and reiterated her commitment to ensuring continuity for the state’s critical advanced energy investments and programs.

On March 8, Ohio Advanced Energy Economy (Ohio AEE) sat down with Joe Schiavoni (D-Youngstown), state Senator and former Minority Leader, as we continued our series of meetings with gubernatorial candidates about the economic benefits and significant job growth of advanced energy technologies. This was Ohio AEE’s third in the series, including earlier meetings with Democrat candidate Richard Cordray, former head of the U.S. Consumer Finance Protection Bureau, and Republican Mike DeWine, the state’s Attorney General.

As a legislator, Sen. Schiavoni has been a strong advocate for the advanced energy industry, organizing his caucus to vote against legislation that would weaken the state’s renewable and efficiency goals (RPS and EERS).