OHIO LEGISLATIVE SERVICE COMMISSION
Office of Research Legislative Budget
www.lsc.ohio.gov and Drafting Office
S.B. 247 Bill Analysis
135th General Assembly
Click here for S.B. 247’s Fiscal Note
Version: As Introduced
Primary Sponsor: Sen. Lang
Effective date:
Rocky Hernandez, Attorney
SUMMARY
State electric policy
 Amends the state electric policy to add provisions relating to community solar facilities,
and the establishment of the Community Solar Pilot Program (CSPP).
Community solar facilities
 Defines a “community solar facility” (CSF) as a single facility that generates electricity by
means of a solar photovoltaic device that meets several facility and subscriber
requirements, including, for example, that it is located in Ohio, has at least three
subscribers, and has a nameplate capacity of ten megawatts (MW) or less, or 20 MW or
less, if it is on a distressed site.
 Allows a CSF to be placed on the same parcel or a contiguous parcel of land as another
CSF or solar field developed, owned, or operated by the same entity, affiliated entity, or
entity under common control, if certain requirements are met.
Distressed sites
 Defines a “distressed site” as a site made up of one or more parcels of land located
within an electric distribution utility’s (EDU’s) certified territory, or in a county in which
the EDU operates, where a majority of the acreage is a certain type of property,
including, for example, a brownfield.
Community Solar Pilot Program
 Requires the Public Utilities Commission (PUCO) to establish the CSPP, consisting of
1,500 MW implemented throughout Ohio.
 Requires PUCO to certify 250 MW of CSFs annually until 1,000 MW are certified and 500
MW of CSFs exclusively on distressed sites.
May 9, 2024
Office of Research and Drafting LSC Legislative Budget Office
 Requires such certification to be separate from the certification process for renewable
energy benchmarks and renewable energy credits under ongoing competitive retail
electric service law and related administrative rules.
 Requires an EDU with a CSF in its certified territory to purchase all electricity
attributable to a subscriber’s bill credit and purchase, at the EDU’s PUCO-approved
wholesale energy cost, all unsubscribed electricity from the CSF.
 Requires a subscriber to a CSF to be eligible for a bill credit from the subscriber’s EDU,
the amount for which must be established for each subscriber by PUCO pursuant to
calculations established by the bill if CSFs are or are not on a distressed site.
 Defines “bill credit” as the PUCO-approved or revised monetary value for each kilowatt
hour of electricity generated by a CSF and allocated to a subscriber’s monthly electric
bill to offset any part of the subscriber’s bill.
 Prohibits PUCO from modifying the bill credit that was initially established unless PUCO
determines a change is necessary to adjust for unallocated community solar capacity
after the review of the CSPP required under the bill.
 Requires PUCO to calculate and use the value stack (as defined in the bill) for each EDU
to modify the bill credit, if PUCO determines such modification is necessary.
 Requires the EDU to publish new tariffs or update existing tariffs based on the bill credit
that was initially set not later than nine months after the bill’s effective date.
 Requires PUCO to approve a tariff based on the revised bill credit not later than
12 months after submitting its report on the CSPP to the General Assembly.
 Specifies that any bill credit exceeding a subscriber’s monthly bill amount must carry
forward until fully allocated to the subscriber’s bill or until the subscriber’s community
solar organization (CSO) subscription has terminated.
 Prohibits a subscriber from subscribing to a share of a CSF representing more than 100%
if the subscriber’s average annual electricity usage.
 Permits a subscriber whose community solar subscription provides less than 100% of
their monthly electric usage to shop for their remaining usage, or be provided the EDU’s
current standard service offer.
 Specifies that the purchase of a subscription regarding the enrollment of subscribers to
purchase their share is (1) for residential subscribers, a consumer transaction subject to
the consumer sales practices law or (2) for nonresidential subscribers, goods subject to
the consumer transactions sales law.
 Requires an EDU to interconnect a CSF in its certified territory to its distribution system
within a reasonable time after the CSF’s construction and ensure that this is done
efficiently, safely, and in compliance with the applicable state and federal laws.
 Prohibits an EDU from discriminating against CSFs or their subscribers, including by
adding extraordinary fees and charges not applied to similar facilities.
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As Introduced
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 Provides that a CSO that constructs a CSF on a distressed site that is a brownfield is
eligible for a grant under the Brownfield Remediation Program in existing law and
requires the Department of Development to promulgate rules for awarding grants for
these CSFs.
 Requires PUCO to promulgate rules to implement the CSPP not later than six months
after the bill’s effective date and specifies several requirements that the rules must
include.
 Requires PUCO to convene and facilitate an ongoing stakeholder working group to assist
PUCO staff with effectively and efficiently promulgating rules for the CSPP.
Large industrial customer
 Provides that a large industrial customer cannot be a subscriber of a CSF nor may it
participate in the CSPP or be charged in any way for CSPP costs.
Regional governmental aggregators
 Allows a regional governmental aggregator (a regional council of governments
organized under current law with members in at least 17 counties and is also a
governmental aggregator) to purchase: (1) certain credits, certificates, or other benefits
from a CSF or a solar field, and (2) any amount of electricity generated by a solar field.
Decommissioning procedures
 Requires a CSO, not later than 18 months after a CSF has ceased generating electricity,
to start decommissioning the CSF, which must meet certain terms agreed upon in
writing between the property owner(s) and the CSO.
 Requires a CSO to maintain a sufficient bond through the life of a CSF’s operation to
provide for decommissioning using certain procedures to calculate the bond with the
board of county commissioners where the project resides as the obligee of the bond.
CSPP reviews and report
 Requires PUCO to conduct reviews of the CSPP 48 months after the rules for the CSPP
have been promulgated and submit a report to the General Assembly.
Regulatory restriction reduction exemption
 Exempts rules required to be adopted under the bill from the regulatory restriction
reduction limitation in existing law.
Energy storage definition
 Defines “energy storage” in the competitive retail electric service law to be electrical
generation and storage performed by a distributed energy system connected battery.
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As Introduced
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Electricity expressed in alternating current
 Specifies that all measures of electricity, as used in the Revised Code and described in
watts, kilowatts, MW, or any derivative thereof means electricity expressed in
alternating current, unless the context requires otherwise.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Overview ......................................................................................................................................... 5
State retail electric service policy ................................................................................................... 5
Community solar facilities............................................................................................................... 5
Common ownership exception ................................................................................................... 6
Distressed sites ............................................................................................................................ 7
Community Solar Pilot Program (CSPP) .......................................................................................... 7
Unreserved MW .......................................................................................................................... 8
MW reserved for distressed sites ............................................................................................... 8
Separate certification process ..................................................................................................... 8
EDU purchase of community solar electricity ............................................................................. 8
Bill credits .................................................................................................................................... 8
Establishment of bill credit ..................................................................................................... 9
Modification ........................................................................................................................... 9
Tariffs .................................................................................................................................... 10
Community solar subscription .................................................................................................. 10
CSF interconnections ................................................................................................................. 10
Nondiscrimination against CSFs ................................................................................................ 10
Brownfield Remediation Program grant ................................................................................... 11
CSPP rules .................................................................................................................................. 11
Rules for CSF establishment and certification ...................................................................... 11
Rules related to EDUs ........................................................................................................... 11
Rules regarding consumer protections for subscribers ....................................................... 12
Rules regarding CSF and CSO duties ..................................................................................... 12
Ongoing stakeholder working group ......................................................................................... 12
Regional governmental aggregator .............................................................................................. 13
Large industrial customers ............................................................................................................ 13
CSF decommissioning procedures and bond requirement .......................................................... 13
CSPP review and report ................................................................................................................ 14
PUCO report ......................................................................................................................... 14
EDU and CSO reports ............................................................................................................ 14
Regulatory restriction reduction exemption ................................................................................ 14
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As Introduced
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Energy storage definition .............................................................................................................. 15
Electricity expressed in alternating current .................................................................................. 15
DETAILED ANALYSIS
Overview
The bill amends the state competitive retail electric service policy to encourage
community solar facility (CSF) development. It also establishes the Community Solar Pilot
Program (CSPP) for the development of CSFs under which subscribers receive bill credits
allocated to the subscribers’ monthly electric bills to offset part of their bills.
State retail electric service policy
The bill adds to the state competitive retail electric service policy, new policies to do all
of the following:
 Encourage the development of CSFs for the benefit of customers in Ohio and to
facilitate participation by customers with the CSFs;
 Establish a CSPP;
 Establish program evaluations and consumer protections ensuring that community solar
subscribers are effectively and equitably receiving guaranteed savings from participating
in the CSPP.
Under the bill, “guaranteed savings” is defined as the realized savings by the subscriber
as the difference between the cost of the subscription to a CSF and the bill credit received for
the generation attributed to the subscription (see “Bill credits” below).1
Community solar facilities
The bill defines “community solar facility” to mean a single facility that generates
electricity by means of a solar photovoltaic device and that meets all of the following
requirements:
 The facility is located in Ohio and is directly connected to an electric distribution utility’s
(EDU’s) distribution system;
 The facility is located on one parcel of land and, unless the bill’s common ownership
exception applies (see “Common ownership exception” below), there is no CSF
or solar field on the same parcel or a contiguous parcel that is developed, owned, or
operated by the same entity, affiliated entity, or entity under common control;
 The facility has a nameplate capacity of ten megawatts (MW) or less, or 20 MW or less if
the facility is on a distressed site (described below), as measured at the point of
interconnection;
1 R.C. 4928.02(Q) to (S), and 4934.01(H).
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As Introduced
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 The facility is not under the control of an EDU, but may be under the control of an
affiliate of the EDU;
 The facility provides retail electric service only to subscribers within the same EDU
certified territory as the facility;
 The facility has at least three subscribers;
 No subscriber holds more than a 40% proportional interest in the output of the system,
measured as the sum total of all meters on the subscriber’s property;
 Not less than 60% of the facility capacity is subscribed by subscriptions of 40 kilowatts
(kW) or less based on the average annual demand for the prior 12-month period. A
multi-unit building served by a single electric meter is considered a single customer if
the average usage, based on the number of units, is 40 kW or less.
“Subscriber” is defined in the bill to mean any retail electric customer who: (1) has a
single unique tax identification number, (2) has an electric meter on the customer’s property,
(3) resides within the certified territory of an EDU, (4) purchases a subscription, and (5) is not a
large industrial customer. A “subscription” is the right to a share of the output of a CSF located
in an EDU’s certified territory purchased from a “community solar organization,” (CSO) a for-
profit or nonprofit entity that operates one or more CSFs. A “large industrial customer” is any
manufacturer that uses electricity primarily in a process involving a change of raw or unfinished
materials into another form or product, and that takes service for an EDU at primary voltage,
subtransmission voltage, or transmission voltage.
Under the bill, a “solar field” is a single facility that generates electricity by means of a