Overview

Resources and Consumption

Ohio is rich in coal and offshore wind energy potential but has relatively few other energy resources. The Appalachian basin, which crosses the eastern part of the State, holds considerable reserves of coal and small deposits of oil and gas. Winds offshore in Lake Erie reach the highest energy potential classification. With a large population and a heavily industrial economy, Ohio is among the top States in total energy consumption. The industrial sector dominates energy consumption, largely due to several energy-intensive industries, including chemicals, glass, metal casting, and steel.

Petroleum

Although Ohio's crude oil production is minor, the State has the second-highest refining capacity in the Midwest. Nearly all of Ohio's crude oil output is derived from stripper wells (wells producing fewer than 10 barrels per day) in the eastern part of the State. Ohio’s four refineries primarily depend on crude oil delivered by pipeline from the Gulf Coast and through an oil transportation hub in central Illinois. Ohio has a large network of product pipelines that connect its refineries to markets in Ohio and adjacent States. Ohio’s total petroleum demand is high, and Ohioans consume large amounts of motor gasoline and distillate fuel. Ohio allows the use of conventional motor gasoline throughout most of the State, but requires gasoline to be formulated to reduce emissions that contribute to ozone formation in the area surrounding Cincinnati adjacent to the southwest border with Kentucky. Ohio has substantial ethanol production. The additive is frequently blended with the State's motor gasoline, making Ohio’s share of U.S. ethanol consumption significantly higher than its share of production.

Natural Gas

Ohio produces a small amount of natural gas. Most of its supply is brought in via several major interstate pipelines from western Canada and the Gulf Coast region. Ohio has major natural gas storage capacity, in depleted oil or natural gas reservoirs, that is used to meet peak demand during the winter. Total supply and consumption have slightly declined in recent years, although the construction of a natural gas pipeline from Colorado could reverse that trend in the near future. The eastern leg of the Rockies Express Pipeline is expected to be completed by late 2009 and to terminate in Monroe County, Ohio, near the border with West Virginia. Recent assessments also indicate that there may be significant potential for future coalbed methane production in the State. Ohio natural gas consumption is high, led by the residential and industrial sectors. Nearly seven-tenths of Ohio households use natural gas as their primary source of energy for home heating.

Coal, Electricity, and Renewables

Although Ohio is a moderate producer of coal, it is a substantial consumer – Ohio ranks fourth in the United States in coal consumption. Ohio’s coal mines, concentrated in the Appalachian basin in the eastern part of the State, typically supply less than one-third of State coal consumption. The remaining coal is brought in primarily by railcar and river barge from West Virginia, Wyoming, Kentucky, and Pennsylvania. Although large amounts of coal are used by industry, its primary use is for electricity generation and coal fuels close to nine-tenths of Ohio’s total generation. Two nuclear plants located along Lake Erie supply most of the remainder of the State’s generation.

Although it is one of the Nation’s top generators of electricity, Ohio is also among the major importers of electricity. Ohio’s total electricity consumption is high due primarily to the State's energy-intensive industrial sector, which accounts for more than one-third of the State's electricity consumption. The residential sector consumes around one-fourth of the State's electricity, with nearly one-fifth of Ohio households relying on electricity as their primary source of energy for home heating. In August 2003, a transmission failure in northeastern Ohio led to the largest blackout in North American history, affecting an estimated 50 million people in the northeastern United States and Canada. Over half a million Ohio homes and businesses lost power during the incident.

Ohio established an alternative energy portfolio standard in 2008, mandating that at least 25 percent of all electricity sold in the State come from alternative energy resources by 2025. At least half of this electricity must be generated in Ohio itself. Renewable sources such as wind, solar, hydroelectric power, geothermal, and biomass must account for at least half of the standard, or 12.5 percent of electricity sold. The other half of the standard can be met through alternative energy resources like third-generation nuclear power plants, fuel cells, energy-efficiency programs, and clean coal technology that can control or prevent carbon dioxide emissions.