Solar Guide

Ohio’s Property Tax Exemption allows homeowners with solar, wind, or hydrothermal energy systems to avoid paying property taxes on their renewable energy equipment. This state tax exemption means that even though your solar panels or other qualifying energy system may increase your home’s value, you won’t pay additional property taxes on that added value. The exemption applies to the actual equipment and fixtures that are part of your renewable energy system.

To qualify for this exemption, your energy system must have a nameplate capacity of 250 kilowatts or less, and construction or installation must be completed on or after January 1, 2010. There are no current expiration dates for this program, making it a long-term benefit for Ohio homeowners. The financial benefit varies based on your local property tax rates and the value of your system, but it can result in hundreds of dollars in annual tax savings. Keep in mind that you’ll need to work with your local tax assessor to ensure the exemption is properly applied to your property tax bill.

Solar Renewable Energy Certificates (SRECs) are tradeable credits that Ohio solar system owners earn for the clean electricity their panels produce. For every 1,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of solar energy your system generates, you earn one SREC that can be sold to utility companies who need these credits to meet state renewable energy requirements.

The financial value of SRECs varies based on market demand, but they typically sell for $10-50 each in Ohio’s market. A typical home solar system might generate 10-15 SRECs per year, providing an ongoing income stream that helps offset your solar investment costs. You can sell your SRECs through online marketplaces or aggregators who handle the transactions for you.

To participate, you need a solar system that’s connected to the grid and registered with Ohio’s renewable energy tracking system. Your system must be located in Ohio and meet basic technical requirements. There’s no specific deadline to join the program, but you can only earn SRECs for electricity generated after your system is properly registered and operational.

Net metering in Ohio allows homeowners with solar panels to receive credit for the excess electricity their system produces and sends back to the power grid. When your solar panels generate more electricity than your home uses during the day, that extra power flows to the grid and you receive a credit on your electric bill. At night or during cloudy days when your panels aren’t producing enough power, you can use these credits to offset the electricity you draw from the grid.

The financial benefit varies by utility company, but all major Ohio utilities offer monthly net metering with 1:1 credit for excess solar production. This means you receive full retail rate credit for every kilowatt-hour you send to the grid during the month. However, any excess credits beyond your monthly consumption are carried forward to the next month at a lower generation rate, typically ranging from 5-12 cents per kWh depending on your utility company. AES Ohio customers should note that generation rates can fluctuate significantly – they reached 10.8 cents/kWh from June 2022 to May 2024 but are expected to return to the typical 5-7 cents range.

Net metering is available to residential solar customers across Ohio’s major utility territories, including AEP Ohio, Duke Energy, FirstEnergy companies (OhioEdison, Cleveland Electric, Toledo Edison), and AES Ohio. There are no specific deadlines for enrollment, as this is an ongoing program. Homeowners should understand that while net metering provides valuable bill savings, the monthly settlement structure means you won’t build up large credit balances over time – excess credits are settled monthly rather than annually at the lower generation rate.