Ohio

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 means that even though your solar panels or other renewable energy system adds value to your home, you won’t see an increase in your annual property tax bill because of that added value.

The financial benefit varies based on your local property tax rate and the value of your energy system, but it can save you hundreds of dollars annually. For example, if your solar system adds $20,000 in value to your home and your local property tax rate is 1.5%, you would save $300 per year in property taxes. To qualify, your energy facility 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 application deadlines since the exemption automatically applies to qualifying systems, making this a straightforward way to reduce the long-term costs of your renewable energy investment.

Solar Renewable Energy Certificates (SRECs) in Ohio are tradeable credits that 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 should register your system soon after installation to start earning credits. Keep in mind that SREC prices fluctuate with market conditions, so your annual income from certificate sales may vary from year to year.

Net metering in Ohio allows homeowners with solar panels to receive credit for the excess electricity their system produces and sends back to the utility grid. When your solar panels generate more power than your home uses during the day, that extra electricity flows into 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 production. This means you receive full retail rate credit (typically 5-12 cents per kWh depending on your utility) for the solar energy you export to the grid. Any unused credits carry forward to your next monthly bill at the generation rate, which ranges from about 5-12 cents per kWh across different utilities. AEP Ohio customers see rates around 6-11 cents per kWh, while FirstEnergy and Duke Energy customers typically see 5-12 cents per kWh, and AES Ohio customers see around 5 cents per kWh (though rates can fluctuate based on market conditions).

Net metering is available to residential solar customers across Ohio’s major utility territories, including AEP Ohio, FirstEnergy companies (OhioEdison, Cleveland Electric/Illuminating Company, Toledo Edison), Duke Energy Ohio, and AES Ohio. The program operates on a monthly settlement basis, meaning your credits reset each month rather than carrying over annually. Homeowners should be aware that excess credits are valued at the generation rate rather than the full retail rate, so it’s most beneficial to size your solar system to closely match your annual electricity usage rather than significantly oversizing it.