Columbus, OH – On Tuesday, The Buckeye Institute submitted testimony (see full text below or download a PDF) to the Ohio Senate Energy Committee on Ohio Senate Concurrent Resolution 20, which calls on Congress to expedite energy production.

As he did in his testimony on Ohio House Concurrent Resolution 35, Greg R. Lawson, a senior research fellow at The Buckeye Institute, noted that Ohio “continues to attract new advanced manufacturing firms, cloud computing companies, semiconductor plants, and digital storage centers” that help the United States “maintain its technological advantage.” As these industries “come online and continue to mature,” their “demand for energy is outpacing current supply.”

Lawson applauded lawmakers for adopting reforms championed by The Buckeye Institute, including those in House Bill 15 and Senate Bill 103, and called Senate Concurrent Resolution 20 “the logical next step” to “modernize and streamline federal regulatory policies” and expedite energy production across the country to meet growing demand.

In closing, Lawson told lawmakers that Ohio’s “households, businesses, and new technology centers require adequate, affordable energy,” and that our “growth, prosperity, and national security depend on it.”

# # #

Expediting Energy Production is Key to Ohio’s Future

Interested Party Testimony
Ohio Senate Energy Committee
Ohio Senate Concurrent Resolution 20

Greg R. Lawson
Senior Research Fellow
The Buckeye Institute
June 9, 2026

As Submitted

Chair Chavez, Vice Chair Landis, Ranking Member Smith, and members of the Committee, thank you for the opportunity to submit testimony on Ohio Senate Concurrent Resolution 20.

My name is Greg R. Lawson. I am a senior research fellow at The Buckeye Institute, an independent research and educational institution—a think tank—whose mission is to advance free-market public policy in the states.

The United States is in a technological cold war with China in a fight to lead the world’s advanced computing and artificial intelligence revolution. The country that most effectively deploys computing power—and the massive data infrastructure behind it—will shape the global future of innovation, economic growth, and national security.

Ohio plays a key role in America’s strategic campaign. The state continues to attract new advanced manufacturing firms, cloud computing companies, semiconductor plants, and digital storage centers that contribute to the U.S. effort to maintain its technological advantage. As those industries come online and continue to mature, their insatiable demand for energy is outpacing current supply.

For energy companies to meet the rising industrial demand, energy policy must adapt to economic and strategic realities. As The Buckeye Institute and Americans for Prosperity explained in their joint report, Better Energy Policy for Ohio, “reliable and affordable energy is the backbone of a thriving modern economy,” and state and federal energy policies should therefore ease the regulatory burdens that put undue stress on that economic spine. Ohio House Bill 15 and Senate Bill 103 have taken great strides in the right direction, and House Concurrent Resolution 35 represents the logical next step: calling on Congress to modernize and streamline federal regulatory policies so that energy infrastructure, including power generation facilities, pipelines, and transmission lines, can be built promptly in accordance with reasonable environmental safeguards.

As Ohio does its part to help win a defining geopolitical contest, its households, businesses, and new technology centers require adequate, affordable energy. Their growth, prosperity, and national security depend on it. The General Assembly has made it easier for power suppliers to build, network, and transmit energy. And now Congress must do the same and remove federal impediments to energy production and infrastructure.

Thank you for your time and attention.

# # #