Renewable Energy

 

Quick Links

What Is Renewable Energy?

Renewable energy is energy that comes from natural, renewable resources such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, and geothermal heat. Around 16% of global final energy consumption comes from renewable sources.

 

Energy Alliance Renewable Energy Incentives

The Energy Alliance currently has an "instant rebate" program that connects homeowners to cash incentives for energy efficiency and renewable energy improvements. Here is a list of some of the qualifying home energy improvements that are eligible:

  • Solar Thermal Water Heaters
  • Ground-Source Heat Pumps (Geothermal)

Commitment to Green Energy

Duke Energy customers can make a commitment to green energy through the GoGreen program. Each commitment to green energy supports the drive for our region to develop green power sources. To find out more about Duke's GoGreen program visit the Duke Energy Go Green webpage.

Also check out Duke’s renewable energy program and find other ways you can contribute to the renewable energy effort in Ohio. 

 

Local Incentives

Federal Incentives

  • Personal Tax Credit - Residential Renewable Energy Tax Credit  - 30% Tax credits ranging from $2,000 - $4,000
    (Eligible Technologies:  Solar Water Heat, Photovoltaics, Wind, Fuel Cells, Geothermal Heat Pumps, Other Solar Electric Technologies, Fuel Cells using Renewable Fuels)
  • *Personal Exemption - Residential Energy Conservation Subsidy Exclusion – Tax exemption on 100% of subsidy  for Solar Water Heat, Solar Space Heat, and Photovoltaics
  • Performance-Based Incentive - Renewable Energy Production Incentive (REPI) - Receive annual incentive payments of 2.2¢ per kilowatt-hour (kWh) for first 10-years of operation.
    (Eligible Technologies: Solar Thermal Electric, Photovoltaics, Landfill Gas, Wind, Biomass, Geothermal Electric, Anaerobic Digestion, Tidal Energy, Wave Energy, Ocean Thermal) 

*Taxpayers considering using this provision for a renewable energy system should discuss the details of the project with a tax professional.

Top

  

Local Renewable Efforts

These Cincinnati businesses are setting precedents in the renewable energy field, with innovative uses of solar power:

  • Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden -  Melink Solar Canopy - One of the largest public urban solar displays in the country at nearly 4 acres of 6,400 photovoltaic solar collection panels.  This installment produces a projected 1.56 megawatts of electricity, about 20% of the Zoo's annual need.
  • Findlay Market - Solar Roof - Mounted on the roof of Ohio's oldest public market (started in 1885), this 114 panel array is the largest photovoltaic installment in Ohio on a building listed in the National Register of Historic Places.  With an expected life of 30 years, it is projected to offset more than 780 tons of carbon dioxide (52,000 pounds a year).
  

Wind Power

Wind power is the conversion of wind into a useful form of energy. Examples include utilizing wind turbines to make electricity, windmills for mechanical power, wind pumps for water pumping or drainage, or sails to propel ships. Compared to fossil fuels, wind power is plentiful, renewable, widely distributed, and clean, and it produces no greenhouse gas emissions during operation.

Today, wind energy is mainly used to generate electricity. Like old fashioned windmills, today’s wind machines (also called wind turbines) use blades to collect the wind’s kinetic energy. Steady wind is better than gusty conditions because a small difference in wind speed has a major effect on the amount of wind power available.

Top

Solar Thermal Energy

Solar thermal energy is a technology for harnessing solar energy for thermal energy (heat). Solar thermal collectors are classified by the USA Energy Information Administration as low-, medium-, or high-temperature collectors. Low temperature collectors are flat plates generally used to heat swimming pools. Medium-temperature collectors are also usually flat plates but are used for heating water or air for residential and commercial use. High temperature collectors concentrate sunlight using mirrors or lenses and are generally used for electric power production

Top

Solar Electric Energy

A photovoltaic cell, commonly called a solar cell or PV, is the technology used to convert solar energy directly into electrical power. A photovoltaic cell is a non-mechanical device usually made from silicon alloys. The photovoltaic cell is the basic building block of a photovoltaic system. Individual cells can vary in size from about 0.5 inches to about 4 inches across. However, one cell only produces 1 or 2 watts, which isn't enough power for most applications. To increase power output, cells are electrically connected into a packaged weather-tight module. Modules can be further connected to form an array. The term array refers to the entire generating plant, whether it is made up of one or several thousand modules. The number of modules connected together in an array depends on the amount of power output needed.

Top

Geothermal

Geothermal energy is heat from within the Earth. We can recover this heat as steam or hot water and use it to heat buildings or generate electricity. Earth's geothermal energy originates from the original formation of the planet, from radioactive decay of minerals and from volcanic activity.

Geothermal power is cost effective, reliable, sustainable, and environmentally friendly. People around the world use geothermal energy to heat their homes and to produce electricity by digging deep wells and pumping the heated underground water or steam to the surface. We can also make use of the stable temperatures near the surface of the Earth to heat and cool buildings.

 

Uses of Geothermal

  • Direct use and district heating systems use hot water from springs or reservoirs near the surface.
  • Electricity generation power plants require water or steam at very high temperature (300° to 700°F). Geothermal power plants are generally built where geothermal reservoirs are located within a mile or two of the surface.
  • Geothermal heat pumps use stable ground or water temperatures near the Earth's surface to control building temperatures above ground.

Hydropower

Hydropower is power that is derived from the force or energy of moving water, which may be harnessed for useful purposes. Hydropower is the renewable energy source that produces the most electricity in the United States. It accounted for 6% of total U.S. electricity generation and 60% of generation from renewables in 2010.

Prior to the development of electric power, hydropower was used for irrigation, and operation of various machines, such as watermills, textile machines, sawmills, dock cranes, and domestic lifts. Another method used a trompe to produce compressed air from falling water, which could then be used to power other machinery at a distance from the water

Top

Renewable Energy Credits

Renewable Energy Credits are tradable, non-tangible energy commodities in the United States that represent proof that 1 megawatt-hour (MWh) of electricity was generated from an eligible renewable energy resource (renewable electricity). Solar Renewable Energy Certificates (SRECs) are RECs that are specifically generated by solar energy. These certificates can be sold and traded or bartered, and the owner of the REC can claim to have purchased renewable energy. Duke Energy currently has a solar renewable energy credit program that will purchase RECs from Ohio residents who meet their program requirements.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy's Green Power Network, RECs represent the environmental attributes of the power produced from renewable energy projects and are sold separate from commodity electricity. While traditional carbon emissions trading programs promote low-carbon technologies by increasing the cost of emitting carbon, RECs can incentivize carbon-neutral renewable energy by providing a production subsidy to electricity generated from renewable sources. It is important to understand that the energy associated with a REC is sold separately and is used by another party. The consumer of a REC receives only a certificate.

Top