Friday, 6/13/2014,  Ohio Governor John Kasich signed Ohio SB 310, bringing about major changes for Ohio’s renewable energy economy. Most importantly, the bill will place a two year freeze on Ohio’s Renewable Portfolio Standard requirements and end Ohio’s in-state purchasing requirements for SRECs. Pro-business and pro-utilities interests insist that the original legislation set unrealistic goals and placed unnecessary economic strain on Ohio ratepayers, despite evidence that the costs were less than $5 annually per household.

Here are the details of how this bill will affect SREC producers in and around Ohio:

• Ohio RPS requirement frozen at 2014 levels through 2016. The original RPS schedule will resume with a two year delay after the freeze. The adjusted schedules are detailed in the following table:

• Ohio’s Solar Alternative Compliance Payment (SACP) will be similarly frozen at 2014 levels through 2016. The SACP is currently set at $300, and after 2016 will begin to decline by $50 every two years to reach a minimum of $50 by 2026.
• The 50% in-state purchasing requirement for SRECs has been eliminated. All of Ohio’s SRECs may now be purchased from adjacent states.

Because the freeze on the RPS and SACP requirements is set to this year’s levels, impacts of these changes will not be felt until the beginning of 2015. The end of the in-state purchasing requirement, however, is effective immediately.

Though presented as a bill to buy time for Ohio’s legislature to discuss a responsible path forward for their state’s renewable energy economy, SB 310 is a significant step in the wrong direction for Ohio’s renewable energy future.

May 28, 2014 – The Ohio State House passed SB 310 in a historic 53-38 vote today. SB 310, touted as a pro-consumer, pro-business bill, weakens Ohio’s existing Alternative Energy Portfolio, calling it too expensive for Ohio ratepayers. This despite analysis that shows the actual cost to Ohio ratepayers is likely less than $5 per household per year. Instead, SB 310, freezes the current standards in place through 2016 and allows all of Ohio’s renewable energy requirement to be met by facilities located in Ohio and bordering states. Should Ohio Governor Kasich sign SB 310, (the bill passed the Ohio Senate on May 8, 2014), Ohio ratepayers will subsidize renewable energy in other states, without any state-level guarantee for renewable energy in Ohio itself.

Click here for Twitter-based public reaction.

Regardless of your sentiments about renewable energy, SB 310 is overtly anti-ratepayer and bad for renewable energy jobs in Ohio. This is a step back for Ohio’s renewable energy economy and sends a clear signal to the business community that Ohio’s commitments are not to be trusted.

SB 310 will be immediately sent to Governor Kasich’s desk to sign a day after his office launched a new OhioMeansJobs website. Kasich’s decision to veto or sign SB 310 will test the meaning of his commitment to Ohio’s economic future.

If you are an Ohio resident, please contact Governor Kasich’s office and let him know your opinion.

Governor Kasich

Phone Number: (614) 466-3555

Complete List of Kasich Office Staffers’ Names and Contact Information

Today, May 27, 2014, the Ohio State House Public Utilities Committee passed the House version of SB 310 by a vote of 13-9. It is likely that the Ohio House will vote on the bill sometime this week.  If passed by the House and signed by  Ohio Governor Kasich, SB 310 would freeze Ohio’s renewable energy targets through 2016 and allow all of the state’s renewable energy targets to be met by facilities located in Ohio and bordering states.  The bill already passed the Ohio Senate on May 8, 2014.

SB 310 faces clear opposition from members of Ohio’s business and renewable energy stakeholder groups. Notably the Ohio Manaufacturers’ Association (OMA) testified before the House Public Utilities Committee on May 14th saying that SB 310 is bad for business. SB 310 is a step back for renewable energy advocates in Ohio and as written does not serve the general interests of Ohio ratepayers. In effect, the bill would have Ohio ratepayers subsidize renewable energy in other states while undermining the renewable energy economy within Ohio.

If you are an Ohio resident with an interest in continuing to grow Ohio’s clean energy industry, please use this list to express your point of view by contacting your State House Representative.

http://www.ohiohouse.gov/members/member-directory

SRECTrade will continue to posts updates as appropriate.

As mentioned in our May 9th blog post, the Ohio State Senate passed SB 310. If signed in to law, the bill that would reduce the Ohio mandate for renewable energy installations, and allow the mandate for renewable energy in Ohio to be completely met with out-of-state facilities. The house version of the bill is up for consideration this week and is supported by Ohio Governor John Kasich who is quoted as saying that Ohio’s RPS mandates are, “simply unrealistic and will drive up energy costs for job creators and consumers.”

Overall, however, the financial impact of the Ohio RPS on ratepayers is likely quite low and represents approximately 0.45% of the total cost of electricity that Ohioans pay, or about $5 per average ratepayer per year. A more in depth analysis by SRECTrade of the RPS cost to OH ratepayers can be found here.

Yesterday, May 8, 2014, the Ohio State Senate passed SB 310. The legislation calls for a temporary freeze of the Ohio Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) at current levels through 2016. The legislation must also pass the Ohio State House and be signed by the Governor before becoming law. Please see the proposed amendment to the percentage of renewable  in the image below.

The Ohio RPS defines the amount of SRECs required each year in Ohio. The number of OH certified SRECs increases annually according to a schedule defined by the RPS. If the RPS is frozen at current levels, the number of SRECs required will remain at approximately 194,178 SRECs per year (through 2016), rather than increasing next year to approximately 246,363 SRECs*.  The legislation also calls for removal of the requirement that at least 50% of the state’s renewable energy requirement be met by facilities physically-sited in Ohio. Instead, the RPS would be amended to allow the entire requirement to met by facilities located in Ohio and neighboring states.

The outcome of these two changes in policy would likely lower the value of SRECs generated in Ohio. Further, the policy precedent that this legislation sets might increase the cost of financing renewable energy projects,  an outcome that is counter to the assumed justification (the supposed high cost of renewable energy) for freezing the RPS at current levels.

If you are an Ohio resident we recommend contacting your state representative immediately. Let them know that you don’t support the move to reduce the Ohio RPS. Click below for the contact information for all members of the Ohio House of Representatives.

Ohio House of Representatives Directory

*SREC estimates are based on the Energy Information Administration (EIA) annual OH electricity usage in MW-hrs as of 10/1/2012. The 2014 OH RPS requires .12% of all electricity to come from solar. SRECs reflect one (1) MW-hr of solar power production.
Note: Ohio-sited facilities, sited in PJM territory, are eligible to cross register in the Pennsylvania SREC market. Like the Ohio SREC market, the Pennsylvania SREC market is oversupplied, but it does provide another option for monetizing SRECs. SRECTrade clients with OH-sited facilities may request PA certification through the facility “Settings” page in their SRECTrade.com accounts.

Source: Ohio State Legislature website