FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 1, 2006

Columbus, OH -- Lieutenant Governor Bruce Johnson today awarded grants totaling $27,500 to two home builders in the first phase of the Ohio Department of Development, Office of Energy Efficiency's (OEE) project to promote solar technologies on newly constructed homes in Ohio communities. Urban Green Designs, located in Cincinnati, has been awarded $17,500 for a solar demonstration that features solar electric and solar thermal technology. Decker Homes has been awarded $10,000 toward solar electric technology being utilized on a Parade Model Demonstration Home, located in Toledo.

"Now more than ever, it is imperative that we promote and utilize energy saving technologies," said Johnson, who also serves as state development director. "These funds will help promote awareness of advanced solar energy technologies for new homebuyers and will encourage Ohio builders to develop options that focus on energy efficiency and solar technologies."

The projects will be funded through the Energy Loan Fund and will be used for the installation of solar energy systems on model homes and for newly built homes in the same development. The Energy Loan Fund is administered by OEE, which is charged with providing incentives to reduce energy waste and deploy renewable energy technologies in the service areas of Ohio's investor-owned utilities.

Homebuyers purchasing a new home in these two developments will be eligible to apply for an Energy Loan Fund grant to cover up to 50 percent of their costs to install a solar energy option on their new home. Ohio is among the first four states in the nation to offer state incentives for the installation of solar technologies on new homes. This is the most generous state incentive available for solar energy system installations on new construction in Ohio to date.

In each of the projects, builders will begin with energy efficient, high performance building designs and will install metering and monitoring equipment to collect and display system performance information. They will also promote awareness of clean energy by developing sales and marketing materials to promote the selection of solar energy by homebuyers in their developments. The model homes will be featured for two years after installation in the annual Ohio Solar Tour, which is organized by Green Energy Ohio.

Solar energy in Ohio can be harvested by using photovoltaic panels to produce electricity and by using solar thermal collectors to generate hot water. Once installed, the solar energy systems reduce a homeowner's demand for purchased electricity or gas. Ohio residents interested in estimating the cost, productivity and payback for installing solar energy in their home or business can select the Clean Power Estimator link at the OEE Web site at http://www.odod.state.oh.us/cdd/oee/renewables.htm.