Maryland solar incentives, honestly explained

Maryland has a real stack of solar incentives. Not as many as some states, and not as few as others. Here is what is actually available, how each one works, and which ones apply to your situation.

Maryland Residential Clean Energy Rebate

Maryland runs a Residential Clean Energy Rebate administered by the Maryland Energy Administration. Qualifying homeowners who install a new residential solar PV system can receive a one-time rebate, subject to program funding at the time of application.

A few important realities:

• Funding is finite. The rebate draws from an annual budget. When it runs out, it runs out for that fiscal year.
• Eligibility rules can change. System size caps, equipment requirements, and homeowner eligibility have been adjusted over the life of the program.
• Paperwork matters. The rebate is not automatic. It has to be applied for, with specific documentation.

We confirm current availability and walk you through the application when you are eligible.

Maryland net metering

Maryland net metering is in place across all four major investor-owned utilities: BGE, Pepco, Potomac Edison, and Delmarva. The mechanism is the same everywhere in concept. Your meter records exports and imports, and credits offset your usage at the retail rate, up to certain system size thresholds set by state rule.

Net metering is the single biggest reason a Maryland solar system works economically. Without it, you would have to use every kilowatt hour the moment it was produced. With it, you effectively bank summer midday production and spend it in the evening or winter.

Maryland SRECs

Maryland has an active Solar Renewable Energy Credit market driven by the state Renewable Portfolio Standard. Each megawatt hour your system produces earns one SREC, and utilities buy them to meet compliance requirements.

If you own your system, SRECs are yours. You register with a qualified aggregator and sell them, typically resulting in a predictable stream of income for the life of the system. SREC prices move with the market.

On a Solar PPA, the SRECs belong to the financing partner who owns the system. That is part of what funds the zero-down, below-utility-rate PPA.

Maryland Energy Storage Tax Credit

Maryland offers a state tax credit for installed residential energy storage systems (batteries), subject to annual program funding. If you are adding a battery to your solar array (for backup during outages, for time-of-use arbitrage, or both), the credit can make a meaningful difference in the math.

The credit is capped at an annual statewide funding level, which means it can run out before the end of the calendar year. We check current availability and walk through whether a battery is actually worth it for your situation. Sometimes it is not.

How incentives work under a Maryland Solar PPA

Under our Maryland Solar PPA, the financing partner owns the system. Here is how each incentive breaks out:

• Residential Clean Energy Rebate: goes to the system owner (the financing partner). Already baked into the PPA rate, which is how the rate lands below your utility.
• SRECs: belong to the financing partner. Same reason.
• Net metering: belongs to you, because it follows the electric meter and the bill payer.
• Energy storage credit: depends on who owns the battery. If the battery is part of the PPA, the partner; if you buy the battery separately, you.

How we walk through incentives with you

Solar incentives change year over year. Rebate funding gets added and drawn down. Storage credit caps fill. SREC prices move. So we do not publish a stale list and call it good.

When you ask us for a quote, we check what is actually available for your address, your utility, and your financing path right now. You see what applies, what does not, and how each one changes the number. No "you might qualify" hand waving.