OBRT Releases Energy Competitiveness Study: Natural Gas & Nuclear Edition

COLUMBUS – The Ohio Business Roundtable (OBRT) today released its latest policy report, Energy Competitiveness Study: Natural Gas & Nuclear Edition, outlining a strategic framework to strengthen Ohio’s energy reliability, accelerate infrastructure development, and secure the state’s long-term economic advantage. 

The report builds upon OBRT’s inaugural 2025 Energy Competitiveness Study, which focused primarily on electric generation and grid constraints. Five of the six recommendations from that first report were enacted by the General Assembly—demonstrating Ohio’s willingness to act decisively when reliability and competitiveness are at stake.

This second edition expands the analysis to include Ohio’s natural gas advantage and the state’s nuclear foundation, while advancing four targeted recommendations to ensure Ohio remains a national energy leader.

“Energy is the defining economic issue of this decade,” said Pat Tiberi, President and CEO of the Ohio Business Roundtable. “Ohio sits atop one of the most abundant natural gas formations in the world and maintains one of the strongest nuclear foundations in the Midwest. But advantage is not automatic. If we want to continue winning advanced manufacturing and next-generation industry, we must continue to modernize our policies and move with urgency. This report outlines a practical path forward.”

Built with Broad Stakeholder Input

The Ohio Business Roundtable is comprised of more than 120 presidents and CEOs of Ohio’s top companies—leaders who make long-term capital, workforce, and site selection decisions in a highly competitive environment. That CEO-driven perspective anchors this report.

The Natural Gas & Nuclear Edition was developed with participation from more than 35 OBRT member companies spanning the full energy economy, from producers and generators to utilities, manufacturers, large industrial users, and builders of energy infrastructure. While the recommendations reflect OBRT’s independent analysis, they are informed by real-world operational data and technical expertise from across the energy value chain.

What’s New in This Edition

Unlike the first study, which concentrated on electric demand growth and grid constraints, this report:

• Quantifies Ohio’s natural gas advantage, including the state’s position atop the Utica and Marcellus shale formations and its role as both a producer and consumer of natural gas.

• Converts projected electric load growth into natural gas demand, estimating that meeting Ohio’s anticipated growth could require approximately 3 Bcf per day of additional natural gas at peak times.

• Provides a level-setting overview of advanced nuclear technology, including Ohio’s competitive positioning.

• Details recent nuclear-related announcements tied to Ohio assets, including plant life extensions, enrichment capacity expansion in Piketon, and advanced reactor development.

The report makes clear that natural gas serves as the system’s near- and mid-term reliability backstop, while nuclear power represents a long-term, around-the-clock generation asset essential to sustaining economic growth.

Key Policy Recommendations

The report outlines four major recommendations for consideration:

1. Adopt a Deposit-and-Build Framework for Energy Infrastructure

Align Ohio’s eminent-domain process with 45 other states by allowing construction to proceed once public necessity is established and appraised compensation is deposited with the court. This reform would preserve landowner rights while preventing multi-year delays that increase costs and jeopardize reliability.

2. Establish an Ohio Office of Energy

Create a small, focused, statutory Office of Energy to serve as the state’s central energy strategist—coordinating infrastructure planning, PJM engagement, interagency alignment, and economic development priorities. The Office would not replace regulators but would ensure unified statewide leadership.

3. Strengthen the Ohio Nuclear Development Authority (ONDA)

Realign and expand ONDA’s responsibilities within a coordinated statewide energy framework to support proactive site readiness, supply chain development, workforce planning, and early-stage permitting for advanced nuclear technologies.

4. Capitalize on Ohio’s Self-Generation Advantage

Following House Bill 15, Ohio has emerged as a national leader in behind-the-meter generation. The report recommends proactive engagement with PJM to ensure surplus self-generation can support grid reliability and affordability under clear, controlled pathways.

A Strategic Moment for Ohio

Ohio is a manufacturing state. An entrepreneurial state. A state that has long competed—and won—by pairing innovation with discipline and turning assets into opportunity. We sit atop world-class natural gas resources. We maintain a strong nuclear foundation. We have the workforce, industrial base, and geographic position to lead.

Energy is now the central economic issue—nationally and globally. The states that can deliver reliable, affordable, and abundant energy will define the next generation of growth.

The full Energy Competitiveness Study: Natural Gas & Nuclear Edition is available using the link below.

READ THE STUDY