Above: Solar panels outside J S Knight Center used to provide patrons with cups of hot coffee while waiting to enter the Green Energy Expo.
I have many stories to share from yesterday's Northeast Ohio Green Energy Expo held at the John S Knight Center --enough blogging for at least a week or more! But the biggest news I heard at the Expo was undoubtedly about the new solar and wind energy rebates that will be available to Ohio residents starting in October of this year. While business incentives have been in place for awhile now, this will be the first time that individual homeowners will also be given an initial financial boost toward purchasing and installing a solar energy system.
With Governor Strickland's signing of Ohio's Renewable Energy bill into law, Ohio leaped into third place (behind only California and Illinois) in its commitment to making alternative forms of energy a way of life. Rate payers are now being charged 9 cents monthly by the four major energy companies in Ohio (First Energy, AEP, Duke, and Dayton Power and Light). That money is collected the state government to issue state grants for renewable forms of energy.
The rules for application are:
1. Residents must live in Ohio
2. Residents must be on the grid and customers of one of the four previously mentioned power companies.
3. Residents must seek an installer who is on the state's list of official installers.
4. The installer will fill out the paperwork to apply for the rebate.
5. The money goes to the installer, not the resident, who will then adjust the cost to the consumer.
The solar program will offer a rebate rate of $3.00 per per watt, up to a cost of $25,ooo.
The wind program will offer a rebate of $2.50 a kwh or 50 percent of the total ,to a maximum of $25,000.
A solar thermal program will be available only to owners of multi-family buildings.
No geothermal program was discussed and unfortunately, there will be no incentives for energy efficiency.
Full details will be found at ohioenergyoffice.ohio.gov shortly. You can also keep abreast of details by visiting Green Energy Ohio's web page.
2 comments:
Bonjour/Hello
Excuse me for coming here not invited. It's just that we seem that to have a common friend, Microdot.
I don't have a blog but I visit one international one, and Microdot is there nearly every day and I always enjoy what he says and also often laugh so much because he is so clever and witty with things.
But I also like to go around and check other blogs of other people, and I sometimes say something, but not often because I often get rebuked.
Anyway, I read a bit about what you say and I like it. Maybe you would like to have fun on the blog that I attend; it's very busy and now Microdot is having a fight with a woman, and he is so funny with his sarcasm. And there is Stiletto who is Russian and swears like a trooper, LOL.
Ok, sorry to intrude, and greetings from France
Valérie
I think it's fantastic that Ohio has finally joined the group of progressive states to offer renewable energy rebates to home owners. The only downside I see with the current rebate program is that it leaves no option for the Do-It-Yourselfer who we work with so often - people who some (with a licensed professional finishing it off) or all of the installation partly out of pride, curiosity and sometimes to make it more financially feasible. However, this need not belittle the big step forward Ohio has taken.
Starting this year we (AltE) have started offering renewable energy workshops in the Columbus region through our AltE University division. These solar & wind workshops cover solar electric system basics and design, solar thermal systems, wind power systems and renewable energy basics. All are oriented at homeowners. In the 2nd half of 2009 we hope to be able to offer our professional line of workshops for folks looking to become installers.
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