Front View of the Great Lakes Science Center

Solar power in Ohio has been increasing, as the cost of

photovoltaics Photovoltaics (PV) is the conversion of light into electricity using semiconducting materials that exhibit the photovoltaic effect, a phenomenon studied in physics, photochemistry, and electrochemistry. The photovoltaic effect is commercially us ...

has decreased.

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

installed 10 MW of solar in 2015. Ohio adopted a

net metering Net metering (or net energy metering, NEM) is an electricity billing mechanism that allows consumers who generate some or all of their own electricity to use that electricity anytime, instead of when it is generated. This is particularly importa ...

rule which allows any customer generating up to 25 kW to use net metering, with the kilowatt hour surplus rolled over each month, and paid by the utility once a year at the generation rate upon request. For hospitals there is no limit on size, but two meters are required, one for generation, the other for utility supplied power. In 2010, the 12 MW

solar farm Solar may refer to: Astronomy * Of or relating to the Sun ** Solar telescope, a special purpose telescope used to observe the Sun ** A device that utilizes solar energy (e.g. "solar panels") ** Solar calendar, a calendar whose dates indicate t ...

Upper Sandusky Upper Sandusky is a city and the county seat of Wyandot County, Ohio, United States, along the upper Sandusky River, which flows north to Sandusky Bay and Lake Erie. The city is approximately 59 mi (96 km) south of Toledo and 62 mi ...

was the largest solar farm in the state. It was later surpassed by the 20MW DG AMP Solar Bowling Green farm, which was completed in January 2017. The First Solar factory in Perrysburg can produce almost 600 MW of panels per year. Costs have decreased to the point that the average consumer may save approximately $17,527 over a 20-year period by installing solar panels. Euclid's City Hall and library installed solar panels and expects to save $25,000 over the next 15 years. The panels were installed at no cost to the city by Ohio Cooperative Solar, which is leasing the rooftops.

Solar projects

Overall capacity of Ohio's utility-scale solar projects was estimated at 100 MW in December 2020, with an additional 400 MW projected to come online within a year.

Toledo area

In 2009, ground broke on what was then one of the largest solar fields in the United States, located in

Wyandot County Wyandot County is a county located in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 21,900. Its county seat is Upper Sandusky. It was named for the Wyandot Indians, who lived here before and after ...

, near Upper Sandusky. The 12-MW plant, finished in September 2010, was constructed by

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

-based Juwi Solar and is called Wyandot Solar LLC., leasing its energy to AEP. A 1.1 MW solar field was constructed by Advanced Distributed Generation on the

University of Toledo The University of Toledo (UToledo or UT) is a public research university in Toledo, Ohio. It is the northernmost campus of the University System of Ohio. The university also operates a Health Science campus, which includes the University of T ...

campus. The airbase for 180th Fighter Wing of the Ohio Air National Guard in Toledo has a 1.2 MW solar installation. In 2010, the Ohio Department of Transportation announced Xunlight and First Solar would provide 100 kW of panels for a $1.5 million research project at the

Veterans' Glass City Skyway The Veterans' Glass City Skyway, commonly called the Toledo Skyway Bridge, is a cable-stayed bridge on Interstate 280 in Toledo, Ohio. After many delays, it opened in 2007. The bridge has taken traffic and reduced delays on the Robert Craig ...

in Toledo.

Dayton

In 2009,

University of Dayton The University of Dayton (UD) is a private, Catholic research university in Dayton, Ohio. Founded in 1850 by the Society of Mary, it is one of three Marianist universities in the nation and the second-largest private university in Ohio. The univ ...

graduate Zachary Layman's company

Solar Roadways Solar Roadways Incorporated is an American company based in Sandpoint, Idaho, aiming to develop solar-powered road panels to form a smart highway. Their proof-of-concept technology is a hexagonal road panel that has a glass driving surface with ...

received a $100,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to develop his solar road prototype, which embeds solar panels into driving surfaces. It won General Electric's Ecomagination Challenge Award in 2010. Another of the state's largest

solar array A photovoltaic system, also PV system or solar power system, is an electric power system designed to supply usable solar power by means of photovoltaics. It consists of an arrangement of several components, including solar panels to absorb and co ...

s was constructed by

The Dayton Power and Light Company DP&L Inc. is a subsidiary of AES Corporation. Through its subsidiaries The Dayton Power and Light Company and DPL Energy Resources, DP&L sells to, and generates electricity for, a customer base of over 500,000 people within a area of West Central ...

Dayton Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Da ...

. The solar field generates 1.1 Megawatts of power." Largest Solar Power Facility in Southwestern Ohio"
Retrieved 17 dec 2009. The facility will consist of 9,000 solar panels constructed over , and will generate enough electricity to power nearly 150 homes.

Elsewhere

In September 2009, Third Sun Solar in collaboration with the Akron Metro Regional Transit Authority and Sharp Solar Energy Solutions Group installed the largest rooftop solar array in the state, comprising 2,076 solar modules producing 488 kW. Cincinnati Zoo and Melink Corporation announced the opening of a new 1.56 MW

solar canopy Green parking lots are a form of parking lot designed to be environmentally more sustainable. Many agencies and organizations have released different standards as to what will be considered a green parking lot. As an example, the Toronto guideli ...

in 2011. The 6,400 solar panels, located in the Zoo's Vine Street Parking Lot, provide 20% of the Zoo's power needs. In 2012,

Campbell Soup Company Campbell Soup Company, trade name, doing business as Campbell's, is an American processed food and snack company. The company is most closely associated with its flagship canned soup products; however, through mergers and acquisitions, it has gro ...

built a 9.8 MW solar plant constructed to provide energy for its operations in

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

Renewable portfolio standard

HB6, which passed the state legislature in July 2019, phases out Ohio's renewable portfolio standard completely. A referendum petition has been started to overturn HB6. Ohio had a renewable portfolio standard which calls for 0.06% from solar by 2012, 0.09% by 2013, and 0.5% from solar and 12.5% from renewable sources by 2026. However, the standard was frozen in government in 2014 and no further increases were required.U.S. solar power demand intensifies
''Toledo Blade'', Jon Chavez, May 29, 2016 Ohio used 154,145 million kWh in 2010. Approximately 75 MW is required to generate 0.5% of the state's demand. Covering rooftops with solar panels in Ohio (46,800 MW) would generate 35.3% of demand. Many of the homes, schools and businesses which have installed solar panels can be monitored online.

Statistics

References

External links

Incentives and Policies
{{Energy in the USA Energy in Ohio