Ohio has abundant energy resources. The state government estimates that Ohio's coal reserves are sufficient to meet demand for 500 years and that oil and natural gas reserves are also ample.
In 1999, Ohio ranked 7th among all states in electric power production. In that year, installed electric power capacity (utility and nonutility) was 27.4 million kW, and electrical output totaled 142.4 billion kWh.
With energy consumption of 353 million Btu per capita (89 million kcal), Ohio ranked 23rd among the 50 states in 2000. In 1998 industries consumed 40%, residential users 22%, commercial establishments 16%, and transportation 22%.
In the 1880s, petroleum was discovered near Lima and natural gas near Toledo, both in the northwest; these fossil fuels have since been found and exploited in the central and eastern regions. In 2002, the state produced 16,000 barrels per day of crude petroleum; proved reserves were estimated at approximately 46 million barrels in 2001. About 100.1 billion cu ft (2.8 billion cum) of natural gas were extracted in 2001, with reserves estimated at 970 billion cu ft (27.5 billion cu m). At the end of 2001 there were 33,917 producing gas wells.
Coalfields lie beneath southeastern Ohio, particularly in Hocking, Athens, and Perry counties. In 2000, Ohio's coal production was 22.3 million tons. Reserves were estimated at 450 million tons as of 2001. In 1998, 75 surface mines produced 48% of the state's coal; eight underground mines supplied the remainder. A potential energy source is the rich bed of shale rock, underlying more than half of Ohio, which was estimated to contain more than 200 trillion cu ft (5.7 trillion cu m) of natural gas; but much research is needed before the gas could be extracted economically.
As of September 2003, only one of Ohio's two nuclear facilities, Perry in Lake County, was in operation. The Davis-Besse plant in Ottawa County was shut down in February 2002 after it was discovered that boric acid had eaten a hole through the steel cap covering the reactor vessel. The plant had been scheduled to return to service in the spring of 2003, but the reopening was delayed repeatedly due to other problems.
In January 1985, three Ohio utilities halted construction of the Zimmerman nuclear power plant, after spending $1.7 billion on the project; plans were announced to convert the plant to coal use, at an estimated cost of another $1.7 billion. In June 1985, a nuclear reactor at Oak Park was closed down after an accident involving the failure of 14 pieces of equipment; no radiation release or major damage was reported.