Cincinnati Highlighted for Solar Progress in New Report

Environment Ohio

The City of Cincinnati ranks first in the state of Ohio for solar energy production in a new report, landing it among the region’s leaders for installing clean energy from the sun.

The report, Shining Cities 2018: How Smart Local Policies Are Expanding Solar Power in America, ranks 69 cities around the country for solar energy production and growth over the past calendar year. Cincinnati has the highest solar creation both per capita and by total megawatts in the state, placing it 5th regionally.

To celebrate the city’s solar record, Environment Ohio, Solar Energy Solutions, and the Greater Cincinnati Energy Alliance (GCEA) held a press conference touting the important work that led to this achievement.

“Cities like Cincinnati are leading the way to a future powered by clean, renewable energy,” said Nathaniel Ropski with Environment Ohio. “By tapping into more of our vast solar energy potential, we can benefit from cleaner air and fight climate change.”

Cincinnati’s solar progress comes from many sources, but one of the biggest efforts comes from the city’s Green Cincinnati Plan. This sustainability initiative has helped the city partner with local businesses and organizations to make going green easier.

GCEA Residential Operations Director Rob McCracken has watched this program grow steadily over the past few years.

“The Solarize Cincy program is about increasing solar installations by educating people that installing solar equipment is easy and affordable,” McCracken said. “Last year, Solarize Cincy increased residential solar installations by 42 percent in Hamilton County compared to 2016 and we expect to improve upon that number this year.”

Given the lowering cost of solar installations – a nearly 60% drop over the last decade – consumers are now seeing not only the feasibility, but the benefit of turning towards the sun. “This is one of the most simple, safe, and sustainable investments you could make over the long term,” said Syl Masih, Market Manager at Solar Energy Solutions.

“We are in a moment when progress on renewable energy will come from cities across the country,” said Ropski. “More local leaders should step up and start plugging their communities into the clean and virtually limitless power of the sun.”

Shining Cities is the fifth annual report from the Environment Ohio Research & Policy Center. Each year, the survey ranks nearly 70 of the nation’s major cities by megawatts of solar energy.