Energy & Environment
Coal plants helped cause bribery scandal. Now FirstEnergy might be buying one back
Akron-based FirstEnergy might be poised to increase its coal-fired generation capacity by 40% with the purchase of a West Virginia plant it owned less than four years ago and spun off as part of a massive racketeering scandal. The reason why the company paid out more than $60 million between 2017 and 2020 to force […]
The nation’s biggest electric capacity market needs fixing, critics say
The nation’s largest grid operator is warning that it might not have enough electric generation in the future to guarantee reliability. And it comes as the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission convenes a forum on the multibillion-dollar capacity market PJM operates to ensure there’s enough power to meet demand even during grid emergencies, such as during […]
Analysis: Bribery scandal shows how Ohio politics is polluted with dark money
CINCINNATI — A utility bailout at the center of a massive bribery and money laundering scandal was such bad legislation — and it was pushed in such bad faith — that it’s hard to see how it could have survived without the more than $60 million in bribes that sustained it. And, while FirstEnergy CEO […]
Ohio Attorney General Yost sues Norfolk Southern over East Palestine train derailment
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost filed a 58-count civil lawsuit in federal court Tuesday seeking to hold Norfolk Southern financially responsible for the Feb. 3 train derailment in East Palestine that caused the release of over 1 million gallons of hazardous chemicals, “recklessly endangering” both the health of area residents and Ohio’s natural resources, a news […]
EPA proposes new rule to crack down on PFAS, forever chemicals in our water
The EPA on Tuesday announced its proposed maximum contaminant levels — MCLs– for six types of toxic PFAS in drinking water and acknowledged that no amount of these compounds is safe. “EPA anticipates if fully implemented the rule will prevent tens of thousands of serious PFAS-attributable illnesses or deaths,” the agency wrote in a slide […]
What the guilty verdicts in Ohio’s corruption case mean for energy policy and good government
This article is provided by Eye on Ohio, the nonprofit, nonpartisan Ohio Center for Journalism, in partnership with the nonprofit Energy News Network. Please join the free mailing lists for Eye on Ohio or the Energy News Network, as this helps provide more public service reporting. Jurors in Ohio’s House Bill 6 criminal corruption case […]
Former Ohio speaker, GOP chair both found guilty of racketeering
CINCINNATI — After more than nine hours of deliberation, a jury on Thursday found former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder and state Republican Chairman Matt Borges guilty of felony racketeering charges in connection with a billion-dollar utility bailout that was passed in 2019. Both men face maximum sentences of 20 years in what prosecutors said […]
Prosecutors: common sense that Householder’s guilty. Defense: They’re lying
CINCINNATI — If jurors rely on their common sense they’ll know that Akron-based FirstEnergy gave former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder $60 million for one reason: to pass a billion-dollar bailout for the company, federal prosecutors asserted Tuesday. But one of Householder’s attorneys accused the feds of bias in selecting their so-called mountain of evidence, […]
U.S. agriculture secretary unveils initiatives aimed at small and midsized operations
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Monday announced new steps the Department of Agriculture is taking to recenter U.S. agriculture and benefit small and midsized operations, including a proposed new “Product of USA” labeling rule and an $89 million expansion of the USDA intermediary lending program. At the National Farmers Union conference in San Francisco, […]
Advocates seek to boost clean energy program in latest Farm Bill renewal
Drew Bowman’s free-range turkeys don’t use much electricity. Getting their meat to customers, though, from slaughter and processing to packaging and chilling, is an extremely energy-intensive process. Rising electricity prices have been among the biggest factors driving up turkey farmers’ costs in recent years. Bowman, co-owner of Bowman & Landes Turkeys in New Carlisle, Ohio, […]
On the stand, former House speaker confronted by prosecutors with inconsistencies
CINCINNATI — From recordings of threats against other lawmakers’ kids, to undisclosed gifts, to nearly $2 million in undisclosed debts, federal prosecutors on Thursday confronted former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder with facts that appeared to refute things he said about himself under oath a day earlier. The cross examination prompted some observers to say […]
Oil and gas commission looking to lawmakers for increased royalties, fees
The commission in charge of new rules for leasing Ohio’s state lands to oil and gas companies will seek legislative tweaks to award leases through bidding and to allow for more lucrative royalties. Meanwhile, the commission is pushing forward with a standard lease form over the objections of environmentalists. They worry that, despite repeated statements […]