The Sierra Club and billionaire Charles Koch have found at least one thing to agree on: They hate Ohio's plan to take away renewable power subsidies and give them to coal and nuclear plants.
The pair, normally at odds over energy issues, have both found elements to rail against in the "Ohio Clean Air Program," which passed a key hurdle Thursday in the state House of Representatives. The Republican bill would scuttle wind and solar quotas and create an annual fund of about $190 million, primarily to bail out reactors owned by bankrupt FirstEnergy Solutions Corp.
The move would be unprecedented. While New York, New Jersey and Illinois have all begun subsidizing nuclear power as part of their clean-energy strategies, Ohio would be the first to do so by directly yanking support from renewables. Environmentalists decry the move as an assault on wind and solar, while fossil fuel advocates warn it will drive up power prices and unfairly tilt markets. Both say it's a blatant corporate "bailout."