Tracked Senate Bills – September 2019

State Update:

Ohio Wins $7.5M Federal Grant for Automated Vehicle Project in Rural Areas: The U.S. Department of Transportation recently awarded an Ohio team $7.5 million for a research project to develop and deploy automated vehicles to rural roads and highways. The project will test the safe integration of automated driving systems and examine the economic effects of the technology.  Partners in the team include DriveOhio (the Ohio Department of Transportation’s (ODOT) autonomous and connected vehicle initiative), the Transportation Research Center (TRC), Ohio State University, Ohio University and the University of Cincinnati, who will contribute an additional $10.3 million, bringing the total size of the project to nearly $18 million. The grant was made possible through DOT’s Automated Driving System Demonstration grant program, which supports projects that are meant to generate data to inform rulemaking and encourage collaboration on automated driving systems. The project was apparently one of more than 70 nationwide competing for $60 million in grants.

Tracked House Bills – September 2019

State Update:

Davis-Besse Nuclear Plant to Receive $9M Research Funding: On September 13, the Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station in Oak Harbor was awarded a $9 million research grant by the U.S. Department of Energy through its Advanced Reactor Development Pathway Program.  The competitively awarded project will include the installation of an electrolysis unit at the plant, creating a pilot program to showcase a light water reactor hybrid energy system. In addition to the more than $9 million in federal funds, non-DOE partners will chip in about $2.3 million to support the project.  The award is among $15.2 million awarded recently by the federal government to foster advanced nuclear technology efforts.

Success through Collaboration: A Regional Conference for Southeast Ohio

Success through Collaboration: A Regional Conference for Southeast Ohio, is being held on Friday, October 4th from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Buckeye Hills Regional Council in Marietta. This event will bring together community leaders, elected officials, practitioners and more to explore how the power of collaboration has – and will continue to – garner success for southeast Ohio.