Clean Energy Posts Strong Returns on Investment for Investors, Ratepayers

As Ohio welcomes data center developers and advanced manufacturing projects, grid operators and utilities are finding it increasingly more difficult to keep up with rising demand for electricity. With the AI boom and data centers continuing to rapidly raise demand, investors are supporting a technology that has been the subject of ideological debate for years: clean energy. Technological advances in battery storage technology, along with a direct need for electrons to be deployed as soon as possible led to clean energy stock outperforming expectations in 2025, with many clean energy stocks returning more than 50% last year. Despite the change in federal policy priorities, market demand was stronger..

And all indications are that market demand for electricity supply will remain strong in 2026 and keep growing for years to come.

For many families and small businesses in Ohio, rising electricity costs aren’t just a spreadsheet or a talking point: they are a daily source of anxiety and stress. Ohio continues to rank in the bottom half for electric affordability in the nation, with rates increasing year after year. Families in Ohio shouldn’t have to worry about whether they can afford to turn the heat on each day. While Wall Street investors and policymakers lecture about the importance of an “all of the above” approach to energy, ratepayers in Ohio need immediate relief.

Residents are not the only ones who need immediate relief: Ohio’s growing business and manufacturing communities require power supplies that are affordably-priced and predictable. That’s only possible if new supplies of electricity can be brought to market in the next two to three years, preferably providing options for long-term, stably-priced contracts, such as is standard for distributed generation. 

Even as federal policymakers abruptly end incentives for clean energy development, investors are again realizing that in a market where demand is skyrocketing and capacity is constrained, speed is the ultimate determinant of value. Clean energy systems like solar and wind can be constructed and operational in two years or less, once permitting is completed. As grid operators and utilities continue to raise rates, rapid deployment of new electrons to Ohio’s grid does not just mean reduced risk for Ohio business:, it means lower costs for all ratepayers, since more supply puts downward pressure on prices.

While quick construction timelines are valuable for delivering relief to ratepayers and strengthening our grid, the most expensive days for ratepayers are days where demand is exceptionally high – namely, summer’s heat or winter’s cold. Advances in battery storage technology in the past ten years have led to massive price drops in battery storage systems (80% drop in cost over the past 10 years), leading to increased investor confidence in clean energy. 

Battery storage facilities store excess power and can distribute electrons instantaneously during peak times, at a significantly lower cost to ratepayers when compared to traditional natural gas peaker plants, which are more expensive to operate and require more time to deploy. During frigid winter storms or scorching summer days, ratepayers are not worrying about where their electrons came from, they are worried about keeping their HVAC system running and not breaking the bank at the same time.

While Ohio consumers need relief from higher prices and reporters publish frequent news stories about insufficient supplies and a strained grid, investors know that putting new, clean energy on the grid is the answer. Now is the time for policy to enable solutions, not create additional barriers.