Nearly 200 people of faith gathered on the Statehouse steps last Wednesday to call for an end to the freeze on green energy standards in Ohio. But it seems that State Senator Bill Seitz (R-Cincinnati) is unmoved by the convictions of faith communities about the sanctity of creation and the value of human life. On April 25 Seitz introduced Senate Bill 320, which would continue the freeze for another three years, and then re-introduce the green energy standards at a slower pace.

SB 320 also flies in the face of mounting evidence that green energy is more fiscally sustainable than fossil fuels. “Coupled with the state’s recent decision forcing customers to bail out old, uneconomic power plants to the tune of $6 billion, this bill further places Ohio on a dangerous path away from the clean energy leader it once was,” said Dick Munson of the Environmental Defense Fund. “The state’s competitive energy market had been attracting clean-energy investments and jobs for years before the freeze, but Ohio leaders keep resorting to extreme measures that block progress and favor fossil fuel subsidies over markets.”

“In Van Wert County, a local school district just received $1 million in revenue from the local wind farm, which is only one year in a 20 year revenue stream this school district will receive,” said Trish Demeter, Managing Director of Energy for the Ohio Environmental Council. “We need more clean energy projects like this in Ohio, so it’s mind-boggling to me why the Ohio General Assembly wants to tie us to a fading energy past instead of moving us forward.”

“This is clearly the wrong direction for Ohio,” said Jen Miller, Director of the Sierra Club, Ohio Chapter. “Senator Seitz is trying to sell us rotary telephones and the Pony Express.”

An overwhelming majority of Ohioans support the original green energy standards enacted in 2008. If you’re in that majority and want the freeze to end, contact your state legislators and urge them to oppose Senate Bill 310.