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 state tax exemption means that even though your solar panels or other renewable 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 energy system.

To qualify for this exemption, 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 is no specified end date for this program, making it an ongoing benefit for eligible homeowners. The financial benefit varies based on your local property tax rates and the value of your renewable energy system, but it can result in hundreds or thousands of dollars in tax savings over the life of your system. This exemption helps make renewable energy more affordable by ensuring you don’t face higher property tax bills simply for investing in clean energy technology.

Solar Renewable Energy Certificates (SRECs) are tradeable credits that Ohio solar system owners earn for every 1,000 kilowatt-hours (1 megawatt-hour) of clean electricity their solar panels produce. Think of SRECs as a bonus payment on top of the electricity savings you already get from your solar system. When your solar panels generate power, you create these valuable certificates that can be sold to utility companies who need them to meet state renewable energy requirements.

The financial value of SRECs fluctuates based on market demand, but they typically provide ongoing income for solar system owners throughout the life of their system. In Ohio, you can earn and sell these certificates for 15 years after your solar installation. To be eligible, you need a solar system that’s connected to the grid and registered with the state’s renewable energy tracking system. The income from selling SRECs can help offset your initial solar investment and provide additional long-term financial benefits beyond your monthly electricity bill savings.

Net metering in Ohio allows homeowners with solar panels to receive credit for the excess electricity their system produces and sends back to the grid. When your solar panels generate more power than your home uses during the day, that extra energy flows into the electrical 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 for every kilowatt-hour (kWh) of solar energy you send to the grid, you receive a full credit against your monthly consumption. Any excess credits beyond what you used that month carry forward to your next bill, but are valued at the lower generation rate rather than the full retail rate. Generation rates typically range from 5-12 cents per kWh depending on your utility company, with AEP Ohio offering 6-11 cents, FirstEnergy companies offering 5-12 cents, Duke Energy offering 5-10 cents, and AES Ohio offering around 5 cents per kWh (though this rate can fluctuate significantly).

To participate in net metering, you must be a customer of a participating Ohio utility company and have an approved solar installation that meets your utility’s interconnection requirements. There are no specific statewide deadlines for net metering enrollment, but policies can change over time. It’s important to understand that while you receive full retail credit for immediate monthly usage offset, any excess credits that carry forward month-to-month are compensated at the lower wholesale generation rate rather than the full retail electricity rate you normally pay.