Note: On November 5, 2010, Ohio announced suspension of all new grants for non-residential solar electric (PV), wind and solar thermal systems. This includes businesses, schools, institutions, farms, local government entities, and other non-residential organizations. Grants have also been suspended for residential systems. The following information details the Ohio Non-Residential grant program prior to this suspension. The Ohio Dept. of Development, Energy Office provides Advanced Energy Fund grants for non-residential systems under NOFA #08-09 announced May 1, 2008. These grants are available to businesses, farms, local government entities, and non-profit institutions, such as museums, hospitals, and schools. This NOFA replaced NOFA 07-02. There are grants available for Solar Electric (photovoltaic), Solar Thermal, and Wind systems. In order to qualify for a grant you must be in an Investor Owned Utility service area. That is your utility company must be one of the FirstEnergy companies (CEI, Toledo Edison, or Ohio Edison), one of the AEP companies, Duke Power, or Dayton Power & Light. If your utility company is a municipal or rural co-op utility you are not eligible for an Advanced Energy Fund grant.
Grants are awarded based on system size. Systems must be at least 10 kW to qualify. Size is determined by adding up the STC watts rating for all the solar PV modules in the system. The grant provides $3.50 per watt. The maximum grant for Non- Residential PV systems is $150,000, but no more than 50% of system cost.
Grants are awarded based on turbine output at the location and height that it is installed. Turbines must produce at least 3 kW AC at average site wind speed to qualify. The grant provides $2.00 per watt. The maximum grant for Non-residential wind systems is $200,000, but.no more that 40% of the system cost.
Grants are awarded based on system size. Systems must be at least 200 kBTU to qualify. Size is determined by adding up the SRCC 100 "clear day", category "C" BTU rating for all the solar thermal collectors in the system. The grant provides $30.00 per kBTU. The maximum grant for Non- Residential solar thermal systems is $150,000, but no more than 50% of system cost.
Grants are also now available for Third-Party ownership of renewable systems. These grants support the purchase, ownership and operation of a renewable energy system by a financial entity, who then sells the clean energy produced back to the building owner or tenant via a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA). The formulas for calculating the grant amount are the same as above. However, the minimum system size to qualify is larger for each type of system. PV systems must be at least 50 kW. Wind systems must produce at least 50 kW AC at average site wind speed. Solar thermal systems must be at least 500 kBTU based on collector SRCC rating. The maximum grant for Non- Residential Third-Party Ownership systems is $200,000. Give us a call to discuss your specific situation. Ohioans should also check the State of Ohio web site: Ohio Dept. of Development's Office of Energy Efficiency (ODOD, OEE) for details on the renewable energy grants that are available. Click Economics of Solar & Wind Energy in Ohio (1.1 MB PDF file) to view or download a copy of Dovetail's presentation. It provides examples for several sizes of systems.