The Columbus Dispatch reported on Sunday that the Department of Development has stopped accepting grant request applications for advanced energy projects in Ohio, as the funds were over by the month of November. The program awarded $15.6 million in grants for 161 solar power panels and wind-turbine projects from July to November.

More than 200 homeowners and businesses filed grant requests before the cutoff, only to find out they wouldn’t get funds from the program this year, according to the newspaper.

The grants were paid for by a 9-cent fee on most residents’ electricity bills each month, but the fee expired last year and was not reauthorized. The 200-plus applications submitted last year sought nearly $21 million, compared with just $2 million provided for 67 projects five years ago.

Democratic state Rep. Mike Foley of Cleveland sponsored a bill to extend the fee, but the bill died in the legislature. He plans to reintroduce it.

Demand may have increased in part because projects have become more financially feasible, especially with the help of state grants and federal tax credits. Many people decided to install solar panels on there homes in hope to get the state grant that would slash the cost from $47,000 to about $8,000. People thought of getting nearly $25,000 in grant money, but instead got a letter saying the money had run out.