The Ohio State University

Why are nature-based carbon offset prices so low?

By Brent Sohngen (sohngen.1@osu.edu)   For nearly 25 years, carbon offsets in agriculture and forestry have been the next big thing – a market with huge potential to increase revenue for farming with certain practices like conservation or no till,…

How much is public land worth in Ohio?

How much is public land worth in Ohio?

by Brent Sohngen (sohngen.1@osu.edu) Well, it’s spring again and flowers are starting to show. My favorite is the snow trillium. Hard to find, but worth the walk. It’s not the state flower of Ohio, but it should be. It’s a…

Tax revenues or PILOT II

Tax revenues or PILOT II

Posted by Brent Sohngen Please feel free to email with any questions: sohngen.1@osu.edu The upshot of this post (to see the last post referred to below, go here) You can’t compare two financial analyses that use fundamentally different input data….

The Economics of Solar Development in Ohio

By Grayson Penland and Brent Sohngen This report examines a number of economic aspects of solar development in Ohio. Here is a summary of the findings. A PDF of the report can be downloaded here. Solar energy constitutes about 1.4%…

Real Property Tax Versus PILOT for Solar?

Real Property Tax Versus PILOT for Solar?

by Brent Sohngen, AED Economics (Sohngen.1@osu.edu)   Amid the debate about installing solar power on farmland in the state lies a discussion about how to evaluate the approach any county takes when taxing solar fields. It is well known that…

Renewable energy market conditions and outlook

Renewable energy market conditions and outlook

This post written by Paige Lampman (Lampman.11@osu.edu)   US: Renewable Energy Capacity Renewables have been gaining speed since 2010, and since 2015, the costs have fallen to levels competitive with traditional energy sources. The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) projects…

Oil and Natural Gas Market Assessment and Outlook

Oil and Natural Gas Market Assessment and Outlook

This assessment and outlook for oil and natural gas markets was written by Paige Lampman (lampman.11@osu.edu).   The key word in energy for 2022 is uncertainty, which has been growing throughout the year so far. And unfortunately for consumers, uncertainty…

Ohio Scenic Rivers Program Response to Op-Ed

In response to my Op-Ed in the Columbus Dispatch on 4/6/2022 (here), Ohio Scenic Rivers Program Manager Bob Gable sent the following note to the Ohio Watersheds list-serv. I am copying it here, as well as providing the two attachments…

For the sake of the future, Ohio must do more to protect its rivers

(this Op-Ed appeared in the Columbus Dispatch on 4/6/2022 (click here for original) (the study on which this article is based can be found at: https://go.osu.edu/little-miami) As a kid, I remember looking down in awe at the Little Miami River…

AEDE Carbon Market Outlook 2022

by Brent Sohngen (sohngen.1@osu.edu) As we enter into Outlook season here in the Department of Agricultural, Environmental, and Development Economics, it’s useful to provide a quick update on carbon markets.  I recently wrote an outlook piece for the Ohio Soybean…