Ohio
Revising Building Code Standards
Increasing the efficiency of electricity is often the cheapest and easiest way to reduce global warming pollution and conserve natural resources. Ohio now requires investor-owned utilities to file 3-year energy efficiency plans describing the programs the utilities will implement to help reduce energy consumption. ELPC is working in Ohio to ensure that utilities meet or exceed their energy efficiency requirements, and in the process reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, improve environmental quality, and save Ohioans money.
By 2025, 12.5% of Ohio’s energy must come from renewable sources, such as solar and wind. ELPC is helping to create the necessary markets for renewable energy development in Ohio and leveraging our solar energy efforts in other Midwestern states to create a policy that will help develop clean, renewable sources of energy in Ohio.
Following ELPC’s legal advocacy, Ohio Utility Company FirstEnergy has agreed to obtain long-term renewable energy development contracts through a competitive bid process. As a result, roughly 3,000 homes will now be powered with Ohio-sited renewable energy.
Revising Building Code Standards
ELPC is working with a wide range of private, public, and non-profit partners to revise Ohio’s residential building code standards and help Ohioans live in more comfortable, cost effective homes. By setting stricter requirements for efficiency through minimum standards for insulation, windows, and heating and cooling, homeowners will save money while reducing fossil fuel consumption and carbon emissions.
In an era of high gasoline prices, expressway congestion at all hours, airport capacity constraints, and a shrinking pool of rural transportation choices, the Midwest needs improved passenger rail service now more than ever. With ten major cities within a 400-mile radius of Chicago, the Midwest represents the nation’s greatest opportunity to develop high-speed rail. A regional high-speed rail network would significantly reduce traffic congestion, travel time, air pollution, and urban sprawl. In Ohio, this can start with the “3-C Line.” Connecting Cleveland, Columbus, and Cincinnati by passenger rail will allow Ohioans to move quickly, easily, and efficiently across the state. By starting with the 3-C Line, Ohio can be poised for expansion into a wider, regional high-speed transportation network.