SOLON, OH — February 20, 2026 — The Northeast Ohio Public Energy Council (NOPEC) is celebrating the completion of the NOPEC SolSmart Cohort, a regional initiative launched in August 2025 to help communities implement best practices for local solar permitting, planning, and zoning—making solar energy more accessible and affordable for residents and businesses. Cohort participants supported local solar growth through actions such as improving solar zoning codes, streamlining and clarifying solar permitting processes, establishing concrete solar goals and strategies for achieving them, and installing solar on local government facilities.
The NOPEC cohort was delivered in partnership with SolSmart, an initiative of the Energy Ready Program, a national program supporting local governments that take proactive steps to support new energy technologies, including solar, electric vehicles, and energy storage. The Energy Ready Program, led by the Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC) and the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) provided free technical assistance to communities helping to review local plans and ordinances, train staff, create educational resources and identify strategies to educate and engage residents.
“In recent years solar energy has proven to be one of the most cost-effective ways to build new power generation – it can be built quickly compared to sources like natural gas and nuclear, and it generates no emissions. Local governments have an important role to play in making solar more affordable and accessible for residents and businesses. This cohort represented the first coordinated SolSmart cohort of its kind in Ohio, with a goal of building capacity for long term solar readiness and market growth across dozens of communities.”- Deb Perry, ICMA’s Clean Energy Program Director
Participating communities included Akron, Avon Lake, Bedford Heights, Cuyahoga Falls, East Cleveland, Garfield Heights, Geneva, Lorain, Munroe Falls, North Royalton, Oakwood Village, Olmsted Township, Orange Village, Richfield, Solon, South Euclid, South Russell, University Heights, and Warrensville, with NOPEC participating as a regional entity
The SolSmart system has 4 designation levels based on community readiness for solar adoption. Several NOPEC SolSmart cohort communities earned SolSmart designations: Akron (Silver), NOPEC (Silver), Olmsted Township (Silver), Solon (Bronze), Avon Lake (Bronze), North Royalton (Bronze), South Russell (Bronze), Garfield Heights (Bronze), and Munroe Falls (Bronze). They join a prestigious group of over 600 communities across the nation that have earned SolSmart designation.
“Local governments play a critical role in making solar more accessible, and this cohort was intentionally designed as a peer learning model; because when communities come together, progress accelerates,” said Deepa Vedavyas, NOPEC’s Director of Resiliency & Sustainability. “By standardizing permitting and clarifying zoning, our cohort communities are cutting red tape and unlocking investment opportunities, expanding access for residents and small businesses to participate in the clean energy economy.”
The 2025 NOPEC SolSmart cohort received technical assistance at no cost to the municipalities, including independent zoning reviews, support to publish clear solar permitting checklists, and peer learning through several workshops.
