Gov Holcomb: World taking note of Indiana’s energy transition

Last May, we brought the world to Indiana by hosting our first-ever Global Economic Summit. We accomplished our mission, with more than 800 attendees from two dozen countries around the world. We showcased how Indiana is leading the way in the economy of the future by investing in innovation and entrepreneurship and building out new energy sources that will help feed, fuel and construct the 21st century, worldwide.

Just as we brought the world to Indiana last spring, today, I’m traveling to Egypt, to bring Indiana to the world at the United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP27) in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. The purpose of my visit will be to share Indiana’s proven results-oriented, strategic approach to managing our energy transition reliably and cost-effectively powers our homes, businesses, and economy with a cleaner energy grid than ever before.

The transition of our electric system will impact us in multiple ways. And I am proud to share Indiana’s positive energy story with the world. Energy sources remain key evaluation points in all our business development conversations throughout the state. Hoosier businesses—both international and homegrown—consider energy reliability, affordability, and environmental sustainability to be top factors in their decision-making.

As the legislatively created 21st Century Energy Policy Development Task Force found in their comprehensive, four-year evaluation of Indiana’s energy policy landscape, there is a clear and ongoing transition to clean energy resources and innovative technologies. Further, the energy transition to more renewable and clean energy resources should be encouraged and managed in a responsible way to not compromise the reliability of our infrastructure and affordability of the power we depend on every day to keep the lights on.

I wholeheartedly agree and would argue we are doing exactly that. For the third time in the last six years, Indiana’s infrastructure—inclusive of our energy grid—ranked first in the nation. And not only do we have reliable infrastructure, we can also boast that we are fourth in the country in the amount of capacity of clean energy projects actively under development in the Hoosier state, behind only much larger states like Texas, California, and New York. Additionally, Indiana is planned to be home to the country’s largest solar farm under development in Starke and Pulaski Counties. These investments have diversified Indiana’s energy portfolio from 80% coal in 2010 to 50% today allowing for a diverse blend of coal, natural gas, nuclear, wind and solar to power our state. And as we rebuild and improve our infrastructure, invest and incorporate clean energy on an unprecedented scale, we continue to be nationally competitive with our energy rates, which are below the composite U.S. average.

Hoosiers are building the energy economy of the future, from the technologies that generate zero-emission electricity to the manufacturing of electric vehicles and the batteries that power them. Indiana has a rich energy story, and I look forward to sharing the message of “what’s happening in America’s heartland” to the world this week in Egypt.

Eric J. Holcomb is the Republican governor of Indiana. Send comments to [email protected].