Advanced Energy Fund
The Advanced Energy Fund offers grants and loans for renewable energy and energy efficiency projects through periodic funding announcements (NOFAs). You may qualify if you're a residential customer of a participating investor-owned utility—check the program website to see current opportunities and which specific technologies or projects are being funded in your area.
You can help residential, commercial, and industrial customers access grants and loans for a wide range of renewable technologies including solar, wind, geothermal, fuel cells, and biomass through periodic Notices of Funding Availability. Funding priorities and eligible technologies vary by NOFA, so monitor the program website and ensure your customers use a participating utility.
The Advanced Energy Fund, administered by the Ohio Development Services Agency since 1999, awards both grants and loans (expanded in 2012) through periodic NOFAs targeting specific technologies or economic sectors. The Public Benefits Advisory Board—a multi-stakeholder panel—assists ODSA in fund governance, while the PUC collaborates on program design. Funding derives from the state appropriation and potentially from alternative compliance payments under Ohio's Alternative Energy and Efficiency Portfolio Standards, though historical utility compliance has limited ACP revenue. Eligible participants span residents, businesses, industry, nonprofits, farms, schools, and local governments served by participating utilities; note that municipal utilities and electric cooperatives participate on a voluntary basis, meaning their customers are ineligible unless those utilities opt in.
Program details
- Program ID
- 2083
- Last updated
- 1/14/2025
Eligibility
- Sectors
- commercial industrial investor-owned utility municipal utilities residential cooperative utilities institutional
- Technologies
- solar water heat solar space heat geothermal electric solar thermal electric solar photovoltaics wind (all) biomass hydroelectric municipal solid waste combined heat & power fuel cells using non-renewable fuels landfill gas wind (small) fuel cells using renewable fuels microturbines yes; specific technologies not identified
Program summary
The Advanced Energy Fund is a public benefit fund administered by the Ohio Development Services Agency. The Advanced Energy Fund supplies funds for the Advanced Energy Fund Grant program. Advanced Energy Loan fund assets are also used to fill other actively lending funds such as the Energy Loan Fund. Energize Ohio is a compilation of state programs that works to promote energy incentives, find programs to meet your needs at their site.
Ohio's Advanced Energy Fund was originally authorized by the state's 1999 electric restructuring legislation. The Fund supports the Advanced Energy Program, which at different times has provided grants for renewable energy and energy efficiency projects to different economic sectors. Grant and loan funds are awarded through periodic Notices of Funding Availability (NOFAs) which may each focus on specific technologies or economic sectors.
In 2012, S.B. 315 transferred funds from the Advanced Energy Research and Development Taxable Fund and the Advanced Energy Research and Development Fund to the Advanced Energy Fund and allowed the Advanced Energy Fund to award loans in addition to grants. Additional income may accrue to the Advanced Energy Fund from alternative compliance payments (ACPs) associated with Ohio's Alternative Energy Portfolio Standard or Energy Efficiency Portfolio Standard, but historically the vast majority of utilities have met compliance goals, thus negating the need for an alternative compliance payment.
Ohio's 1999 restructuring legislation also created the Public Benefits Advisory Board, a multi-stakeholder panel that assists the ODSA in administering the Fund, and the Universal Service Board. The ODSA collaborates with the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio to design and develop energy programs. Incentives are available to residents, low-income housing developers, businesses, industry, local governments, schools, nonprofits and farms. Participation in the Fund by electric cooperatives and municipal utilities is voluntary. Because no electric cooperatives or municipal utilities are participating, customers of these utilities are not eligible for Fund incentives. For information on current opportunities please consult the program web site.
Contact & resources
- Contact email
- aef@development.ohio.gov
- Additional resources
Please verify current program details with the administering agency before making any financial decisions.
