Research
The Ohio River Valley Institute examines some of the region’s most pressing challenges. We provide policy analysis and practical tools for building a stronger Appalachia. All of our research is available for you to cite, use, and share, per our free use policy.
Fact-checking Pennsylvania Politicians’ Blue Hydrogen Hype in the Wake of House Bill 1059
Last week, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf signed into law House Bill 1059, an amendment to the state’s Tax Reform Code that, among other things,...
Inflation & Natural Gas: A Disease and its Carrier
Natural gas enters your home through your furnace, your appliances, and even through the electricity you use, much of which comes from gas-fired...
Industry is Misleading the Public on Carbon Capture, Internal Documents Show
Fossil fuel companies are misleading the public about carbon capture technology, according to internal documents unearthed as part of an ongoing...
Worker Housing: A Pressing Economic Development Need, an Important Economic Development Tool—The Case of Ohio
Economic growth—the expansion and enrichment of business activity—is a narrow goal, easy to explain and understand: “More jobs for the community.” ...
ORVI Makes Waves at the 2022 Global Clean Energy Action Forum
Last week marked the close of the Clean Energy Ministerial’s inaugural Global Clean Energy Action Forum, a three-day conference on accelerating the...
A Clean Energy Pathway for Western Pennsylvania
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Western PA Decarbonization Study
Continued reliance on locally sourced fossil fuels and carbon capture will be 12% more costly than a clean energy pathway that is focused on...
First Tranche of Federal Orphan Well Funds Out the Door
In late August, the US Department of Interior (DOI) announced it awarded 24 states $560 million from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) to plug...
Race to the Bottom: Carbon Injection Wells & Hydrogen Development in the Ohio River Valley and the Gulf Coast
West Virginia, Ohio, and Pennsylvania are independently racing to secure federal funding for a blue hydrogen and carbon capture hub, an...
Coal Plant Community Playbook
In June 2021, the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) released a comprehensive Report on Coal-Fired Power Plant Retirements in the United...
Chart Book: Tracking Recovery from the Kentucky Flood of 2022
In late July 2022, severe storms dumped extreme precipitation across southeast Kentucky. With so much rain bearing down over such a short period,...
Appalachia is Fueling a Global Petrochemical Buildout
Although the world is awash in plastics and other petrochemical products, the industry is planning for decades more growth. Much of the expansion could be driven by Appalachia.
“Absurd, You Say?”
The recently signed Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) offers coal and gas-fired power plants as well as factories and other carbon-emitting facilities a...
Here’s How Appalachian States Can Create “Good-Paying, Union Jobs” Cleaning Up Mines.
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Here’s How Appalachian States Can Create “Good-Paying, Union Jobs” Cleaning Up Mines.
In March, Senator Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) hosted the Secretaries of the Department of the Interior and the Department of Energy on a tour of West...