President Trump has been a savior for the American industry which struggled deeply under tough restrictions and regulations imposed by the Obama Administration.
Ohio, one of the largest states to suffer from the decay of infrastructure and manufacturing in the rust belt, was hit hard over the last three decades of failed domestic policy by past administrations.
However under the guidance of President Trump and his business first platform and well as his industry saving removal of federal regulations the state is now seeing a boom in the energy sector.
The first of a dozen natural gas plants being built across the state is set to open, with enormous applause from both Ohioans and the Governor of Ohio, John Kasich, who's hoped to see such improvements during his time in office but says Obama's impositions on the energy sector harmed his state.
Bill Siderewicz, owner of Boston based Clean Energy Future LLC, which developed the Ohio plant and has three more in the works, says that he expects massive gains for the state of Ohio under President Trump.
“The key is having access to natural gas pipelines, the electrical grid and a large supply of water to run the cooling system,” said Peter Rigney, who oversaw construction of the newly opened natural gas plant in suburban Toledo.
While most of the plants are being targeted for their development near the shale fields in eastern Ohio, others are being built in southwestern and northwestern corners of the state with the hopes to add new pipelines across the buckeye state.
Just a few weeks ago, the Oregon Clean Energy Center (OCEC) opened for business in Ohio.
Ohio Governor John Kasich visited OCEC to join the ceremonial ribbon-cutting as the facility came to life, adding 870 megawatts of power to the grid.
The combined cycle natural gas fired plant is officially the most environmentally friendly power plant in the state and provides enough electricity to power over 700,000 homes.
“We are excited to announce that the Oregon Clean Energy Center is online, providing clean, affordable reliable power to hundreds of thousands of homes, businesses, and consumers,” said Peter Rigney, Projects General Manager at OCEC.
“This milestone would not have been possible without the support and cooperation from the City of Oregon, from its initial approval of the project to reaching commercial operations this month.”
OCEC’s development has provided an economic boom for the surrounding region. Investments totaling $800 million were made in the area because of the plant.
Construction employed 950 people over four years. Now operational, OCEC will add $20 million to the local economy on an annual basis for years to come and employ dozens of local residents.
The state’s regulatory environment played a big role in facilitating the construction of OCEC and providing this economic boost to the area around the City of Oregon.
“Think about this: This plant is providing the same amount of power as one nuclear plant. And at the same time we say that there’s no risk to it,” noted Governor Kasich.
“So this is the future here. This is a big deal. So I think it’s important that Ohio stay in a deregulated environment which brings in investors. If all of a sudden you don’t have a level playing field then you don’t have the significant investment. It will go in another place.”
As one of the most technologically advanced natural gas plants in the country, OCEC’s smart design eliminated many of the environmental and safety risks associated with other forms of power generation.
Advanced Power, the privately owned Swiss company building Carroll County Energy, partnered with a large retirement fund, a Japanese utility and two investment groups connected to insurance companies to raise a little more than half of the $890 million construction costs. It secured a financing package from 10 large banks for the rest.
Ohio regulators recently told state lawmakers that they expect 4,300 megawatts of electricity to flow from new gas-fired power plants by 2019, most of it from plants owned by independent power companies.
Experts say that Ohio could sustain around fifteen additional plants within a decade if Trump's energy growth policies continue at this record setting pace, on top of the dozen which has already been proposed.
"We have all this natural gas in the ground," Governor Kasich said. "If we don't take advantage of it, what's the point of having it?"
Source:
http://www.wfsb.com/story/36282328/opening-of-natural-gas-plant-first-of-many-expected-in-ohio
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