Ohio Citizen Action

In 2010, the U.S. added 246.8 megawatts of utility-scale solar. This year the country is on track to add nearly 43,000 megawatts. Solar has gone from a niche technology to the fastest-growing source of new power capacity in the country. Will Ohio get left behind? https://insideclimatenews.org/news/09072026/inside-clean-energy-utility-scale-solar-booming/

Data center electricity demand is surging, and utilities are proposing new gas plants to meet it. New analysis shows that approach could add $30 billion a year to customer bills nationwide by 2030. https://www.forbes.com/sites/energyinnovation/2026/06/29/what-will-it-cost-america-to-meet-data-center-electricity-demand/

Belden Brick in Sugarcreek, Ohio has made bricks for 141 years. Last year their monthly capacity charge jumped from $1,600 to $12,000. Data center demand is driving up costs for Ohio manufacturers and families alike. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/big-tech-data-centers-are-driving-up-power-bills-americas-rust-belt-factories-2026-07-07/

"In Ohio right now, solar generation faces more regulatory scrutiny than a data center. Renewable energy projects go through siting reviews, local approval processes, and public hearings. Data centers, whose electricity demands are reshaping grid planning across the state, arrived at the legislature without a consumer protection framework in place, and legislators walked away without building one."

Why should Ohioans pay tech billionaires’ energy tab? Tom Bullock Ohio keeps picking up the tab, and now it’s for data centers used by tech billionaires. Guest columnist Tom Bullock writes that Ohioans shouldn't be surprised by this latest example of utility interests driving up their bills while legislators look the other way.