Ohio House passes bill allowing renewable energy credits for coal-burning coke plant [Video]

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The state House passed legislation Wednesday to allow a coal-burning facility in southern Ohio to claim a renewable energy credit – a commodity that utility companies pay for in cash to comply with Ohio’s green energy requirements.

SunCoke Energy operates 200 garage-sized ovens in Scioto County that refine coal into “coke,” a purified carbon used in the blast furnace production of steel. Instead of wasting the steam it produces as a byproduct, SunCoke sells it to a neighboring plant owned by Altivia Petrochemicals, which uses the steam in its production of chemicals like phenol, acetone, and alpha-methyl-styrene.