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As an array of tech giants—Google, Microsoft, Amazon and Meta—plan to expand into Indiana, we must realize our economic growth isn’t reliant on fossil fuels. It can be achieved through renewable energy.
We need a comprehensive approach to incorporating renewable energy—and not an overreliance on fossil fuels. Local, renewable energy protects our climate, attracts more businesses and benefits our communities.
The Nature Conservancy supports policies that strengthen our resources through renewable energy, but we’re not alone in this quest. Hoosiers agree, and so do the corporations that have found our state to be attractive for business purposes.
Our 2023 poll shows two-thirds of Hoosiers (61%) want to require the state to obtain half of its energy from renewable sources by 2050. The large corporations I mentioned earlier all have ambitious goals to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions and transition to green energy, as do many of the companies with headquarters and large presences in Indiana currently. Companies like Salesforce, Cummins, Eli Lilly and Co., OneAmerica Financial and Roche have set high targets for reducing greenhouse-gas emissions. Salesforce, for example, aims to cut its global emissions in half by 2030 and reach near zero by 2040.
Additionally, new regulations in the European Union will require many of these companies to comply with the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive and report emissions for operations inside and outside of European countries. These companies will want to source green energy, especially from local suppliers.
Demand for renewable energy will continue to grow. Businesses from across five Midwestern states could face challenges in hitting their emission-reduction targets unless more is done to develop renewables.
We have plentiful opportunities in Indiana to develop more renewable energy. So much of the state is rich with lands that are fit to host solar and wind power. There are more than 150,000 acres of unused, former mining sites and about 155,000 acres of brownfields near pre-existing infrastructure that can help transfer electricity back to our homes and businesses. The Indiana Department of Natural Resources has $385 million in federal grants to reclaim abandoned mine lands, setting us up for renewable-energy development on these sites.
Again, Hoosiers support these efforts. They want more wind and solar energy overall, and they want to make sure their voices are heard in these decisions: More than three in four Hoosiers (76%) agree that community input and conservation outcomes should be incorporated into developing clean energy projects.
When it comes to growing our grid, renewable energy beats fossil fuel every time. Hoosiers want renewable energy. Companies demand it. And it’s what our environment needs.•
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Mobley is senior policy associate for climate and clean energy at The Nature Conservancy.
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