Solar Panels in Ohio: 2026 Cost, Incentives & Savings

• Cash

  $3.00/W

  $23,100

  Subset classified as cash

• Middle published case

  $3.60/W

  $27,720

  All host-owned systems

• Loan

  $4.50/W

  $34,650

  Financed subset, before interest

Before incentives. A loan price here excludes interest. The federal residential credit under section 25D ended for systems placed in service after December 31, 2025. Berkeley Lab, U.S. Distributed Solar and Storage, August 2026 data update.

How to read Ohio

Ohio's 2025 EIA residential average was 16.90 cents per kWh. AEP Ohio, FirstEnergy's Ohio utilities, Duke Energy Ohio, and AES Ohio split the state. The resource is about 4.0 peak sun hours statewide in our table, higher in the south than on the lake. Winters are cloudy. Snow is a short interruption on a pitched roof.

Utilities

AEP Ohio serves Columbus and much of central and southern Ohio. FirstEnergy's operating companies include Ohio Edison, The Illuminating Company, and Toledo Edison. Duke Energy Ohio serves Cincinnati. AES Ohio, formerly Dayton Power & Light, serves Dayton. Municipal utilities serve some cities. The logo on the bill is the project.

Export credits and tariffs

Ohio law provides net metering for eligible customers of electric distribution utilities. The credit is often tied to the generation or supply portion of the rate rather than the full retail price, and riders differ by company. The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio posts the approved tariffs. Ohio-sited renewable energy credits can exist, and their prices have often been much lower than Maryland or Pennsylvania solar credits. Do not treat them as a meaningful second income unless a current written offer says so. We do not promise eligibility or a price. Source: PUCO, puco.ohio.gov.

Climate and roofs

Lake-effect snow hits Cleveland, Akron, and the snowbelt harder than Cincinnati or Columbus. Cloud cover is the annual constraint. A south-facing steep roof outperforms a shaded north slope by more than the difference between two Ohio city sun-hour figures.

Cities

• Columbus

  AEP Ohio in the largest city, with suburban roofs north and west of downtown.

• Cleveland

  FirstEnergy on the lake, cloudier and snowier than Columbus.

• Cincinnati

  Duke Energy Ohio, hillier lots, and a slightly better resource than Cleveland.

• Toledo

  Toledo Edison on the western lake, with snow and a FirstEnergy tariff.

• Akron

  Ohio Edison in the snowbelt, cloudier than Columbus.

• Dayton

  AES Ohio, formerly Dayton Power and Light, not AEP and not Duke.

• Canton

  Ohio Edison, south of the deepest snowbelt and north of Columbus.