Funding the Future of Energy
Ohio's New Energy Fund Is a Win for Jobs —
Let's Make It an Even Bigger One
By: Gena Miller Shelton, Executive Director
Ohio just took a meaningful step toward strengthening its economy and its electric grid at once. JobsOhio's new Energy Opportunity Initiative will direct $100 million in grants and loans toward natural gas infrastructure and small modular nuclear projects, capital-intensive investments that bring construction jobs, long-term operating jobs, and new tax base to communities statewide. As a coalition of Ohio businesses that depend on a reliable, affordable grid, the Ohio Business Energy Partnership (OBEP) applauds JobsOhio for recognizing that growing Ohio's energy supply is directly tied to growing Ohio's economy.
But the opportunity in front of Ohio is bigger than $100 million and two sources of electrical generation. In late summer, PJM Interconnection, the grid operator serving Ohio and 12 other states, ran its latest capacity auction, but PJM still fell short of its reliability target by roughly 6.8 gigawatts. As PJM spokesperson Jeff Shields put it: "We can use all the capacity we can get."
That's a signal Ohio should read as an economic opportunity as much as a reliability challenge, every megawatt of new generation built here means construction contracts, manufacturing supply chains, and jobs that could otherwise land in another state.
That's exactly why the Ohio Business Energy Partnership encourages JobsOhio to cast a wider net and make all forms of energy generation eligible for grant funding. The development of all sources of carbon free generation including utility scale solar will spur economic development and help generate tens of thousands of jobs statewide, according to prior research. Including these projects creates a level playing field for all generation, compounds investments in nuclear and natural gas, and gives Ohio more shots at landing not only the next major energy project but also future investments through access to a competitive energy market.
Expanding the fund’s eligibility also helps Ohio meet the state’s growing energy demands faster. Gas and nuclear projects are the backbone of reliable, always-on power, and Ohio is right to invest in them, but they take time to build, particularly new nuclear capacity. Other carbon-free energy like solar paired with batteries can often be sited, permitted, and energized faster, meaning they can start delivering jobs and electrons to the grid while larger gas and nuclear projects are still under construction. Together, a broader generation mix gets Ohio to "more power, faster" sooner than either path alone.
Ohio’s policymakers have said they embrace an "all-of-the-above" energy strategy. Opening this fund to every generation type would put real dollars behind that vision, and give Ohio a stronger hand in competing with other states for energy investment, jobs, and the businesses that follow reliable, affordable power.
OBEP's members don't have a preferred fuel source, we have a preferred outcome: an Ohio grid with enough supply to keep prices stable, keep businesses here, and keep new ones coming. Opening the Energy Opportunity Initiative to all generation types, evaluated on cost, reliability, and speed to market, is the clearest way to maximize the jobs and investment this program can deliver.
Ohio has real momentum here. Let's build on this fund, not limit it — and put every form of Ohio energy to work growing Ohio's economy.
About the Author: Gena Miller Shelton, serves as the Executive Director of the Ohio Business Energy Partnership. An attorney by trade, Gena has over two decades of experience in Ohio public policy and private sector experience developing, permitting and constructing energy projects across the PJM region.