COLUMBUS, Ohio ( WCMH ) — An effort to create solar energy is stalled at the Ohio Statehouse after more than a year of hearings.
House Bill 197 would create a community solar program; for example, a solar array could go on top of a public school, part of a farm, or some brownfields so people who can’t independently install solar can subscribe to the panels in their neighborhoods.
“Community solar would open up solar to the masses,” Roger Sikes from Solar United Neighbors said. “They would open it up to working families to the scale of tens of thousands and hundreds of thousands of families in Ohio. How about that?”
The program would be driven by private companies putting up their capital for these projects.
Watch: Community solar power bill stalls
One of the sponsors of the legislation estimates that ratepayers who opt in will save 10% to 15% on their utility bill, and farmers like Mark Clay said community solar can help him once he retires.
“If the solar company was allowed to come in and put a solar array out, that at least it would produce something more for my family to be able to hold on to the farm long after I’m gone,” he said.