ICYMI: AFP’S Donovan O’Neil in Washington Times: “Ohio sets energy policy standard for policymakers nationwide”

Sep 25, 2025 by AFP

Columbus, OH – On Tuesday, Americans for Prosperity—Ohio (AFP-OH) State Director Donovan O’Neil and The Buckeye Institute Vice President Rea S. Hederman Jr. published an op-ed in The Washington Times entitled, “Ohio sets energy policy standard for policymakers nationwide.”

This article illustrates the themes of recent events in AFP-OH’s ’Buckeye Blueprint Blitz’ Tour to spotlight bold solutions that remove barriers and expand opportunity for all Ohioans and AFP’s “Road to Prosperity” National Permitting Reform Tour which highlights the urgent need to modernize and streamline the country’s permitting process.

President Trump’s recent executive orders have taken important steps to cut red tape, speed up energy project approvals, and reassert America’s energy leadership. But executive action alone is not enough — Congress must act to make these reforms permanent.

Read an excerpt of the article below:

Ohio sets energy policy standard for policymakers nationwide

By Donovan O’Neil and Rea S. Hederman Jr.

Tuesday, September 23, 2025

Ohio’s sweeping energy policy reforms have taken a bold, market-based turn that state and federal policymakers would be wise to follow. Evolving from Rust Belt factories to a high-tech haven, Ohio has seen the technological future, and it needs energy — reliable, affordable energy — and a lot of it.

Electricity demand was relatively flat for the first 20 years of the millennium, but artificial intelligence, supercomputing, cryptocurrencies, advanced technology manufacturing, and expanded digital services requiring massive new data centers have changed everything. Energy demand has spiked. Energy grids are stressed. Regional power companies can charge record prices. Consumers are left with the choice of paying the increasing rates or turning off the lights.

In Europe, when energy demand exceeded supply, central planners chose to decrease demand by tapping the brakes on economic growth while closing operating power plants. Electricity prices skyrocketed. Germans today pay 10 times what many Americans pay for power, their manufactured goods cost more to make and more to buy, and their less-competitive economy suffers. These higher energy prices, along with overly stringent regulatory regimes, have crippled Europe’s technology sector, leaving it reliant on American companies for computing, data storage and AI…

Read the full article online here.