Bethesda, MD Solar Panels

The Maryland Solar Access Program (MSAP), established by the Brighter Tomorrow Act of 2024, provides grants of $750 per kilowatt of installed solar capacity, up to a maximum of $7,500, to help eligible low- and moderate-income Maryland homeowners go solar. Residents of Bethesda may qualify for this program. A total of $2,000,000 is available for FY 2026 through the Strategic Energy Investment Fund (SEIF), and grants are awarded on a first-come, first-served basis. The application portal is open through 12:00 PM ET on June 5, 2026, or until funds are exhausted.

To qualify, your household income must be at or below 150% of the statewide median income, your home must be owner-occupied and your primary residence, and the system must be installed by an MEA-approved contractor. The system must also be a brand-new installation — not an expansion of an existing system.

The application process is two-step: first, submit an initial application through the MyMEA Portal to reserve funds; then, verify that your solar system is fully installed and operational within 180 days of your fund reservation. Contact MEA at [email protected] for assistance.

Maryland’s Solar Renewable Energy Credit (SREC) program lets solar system owners earn one SREC for every 1 megawatt-hour (1,000 kWh) of electricity their system produces. These credits are tracked via a revenue-grade meter and can be sold on the open SREC market to Maryland utility companies, which are required under the state’s Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) to source a portion of their electricity from solar energy. Credits are earned for the first 15 years of a system’s operation.

Recent SREC market prices in Maryland have ranged from $60 to $80 per SREC. The Solar Alternative Compliance Payment (SACP) — which sets a ceiling on SREC value — is $55 for 2025 and will gradually decrease to $22.50 by 2030. Thanks to the Brighter Tomorrow Act (Senate Bill 783, signed May 2024), systems that meet certification requirements — including a capacity of 5 MW or less, placed in service between July 1, 2024 and January 1, 2028, and located on a rooftop, parking canopy, or other eligible location — earn Certified SRECs worth 1.5x the standard value, boosting your earnings by 50%.

To participate, register your solar system with the state of Maryland and track production through a revenue-grade meter. SRECs can be sold through brokers such as SRECTrade or Sol Systems. This program provides a meaningful ongoing income stream on top of your utility bill savings.

Maryland’s Sales and Use Tax Exemption removes the state’s 6% sales tax from the purchase of residential solar energy systems and equipment. This exemption is applied automatically at the point of sale — you don’t need to file any paperwork or take any extra steps to claim it.

On an average Maryland solar installation costing around $33,700, this exemption saves homeowners approximately $2,000–$2,100 right off the top. The savings apply to solar panels, inverters, mounting hardware, and other qualifying solar equipment.

This exemption is available to all Maryland homeowners purchasing a residential solar energy system, regardless of income, including homeowners in Bethesda. It stacks with other state and local incentives, making it one of the simplest and most universally accessible solar benefits in the state.

Maryland’s statewide Property Tax Exemption for Solar and Wind Energy Systems ensures that any increase in your home’s assessed value resulting from the installation of solar panels is excluded from your property tax calculation. In other words, your property taxes will not go up simply because you added solar to your home — even though solar typically increases a home’s market value.

This exemption is available to all Maryland homeowners with a qualifying solar energy system and applies automatically — no special application is required beyond your normal solar installation and permitting process. It is a permanent, ongoing benefit for as long as the solar system remains on the property.

This statewide exemption is separate from — and stackable with — the county-level property tax credits offered in Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Harford, Howard, Montgomery, and Prince George’s counties, which can provide additional one-time savings of up to $5,000.

Maryland’s net metering policy is one of the strongest in the country. When your solar panels produce more electricity than your home uses, the excess is sent to the grid and your utility credits your account at the full retail rate — a true 1-to-1 structure. Each month, you are billed only for the net difference between what you consumed and what you generated. Net metering is available across all major Maryland utilities, including BGE, Pepco, Potomac Edison, and Delmarva Power.

Excess credits roll over month to month indefinitely, allowing you to bank surplus generation from sunny summer months and draw on those credits during cloudier winter months. Maryland conducts an annual true-up each April, at which point any remaining excess credits can be cashed out as a payment from your utility (note: the cash-out rate may be lower than the full retail credit rate).

Maryland electric utilities and cooperatives are required to allow net metering until the total statewide capacity of net-metered systems reaches 3,000 MW. While significant capacity remains, locking in net metering now ensures you benefit from the current favorable 1:1 structure for the life of your system.

Maryland’s permanent Community Solar Program, established by House Bill 908 in 2023 and fully effective January 1, 2025, allows renters, condo owners, and homeowners with shaded or unsuitable roofs to subscribe to a share of an off-site solar array. Subscribers receive bill credits on their utility bills for the electricity generated by their share — no rooftop panels required. This makes solar accessible to virtually any Maryland resident or business, including those in Bethesda.

Starting January 1, 2026, the program implements consolidated billing, a streamlined net crediting mechanism similar to programs in New York and New Jersey. Utilities charge a small administrative fee of 1% of the total bill credit value per month for this service. All community solar projects must ensure that a minimum of 40% of subscribers are low- to moderate-income (LMI) households, and LMI subscribers receive guaranteed savings — their subscription rates cannot exceed 90% of the bill credit value, ensuring at least a 10% discount on their solar energy costs.

To participate, simply find a community solar project in your utility territory and sign up for a subscription. There are no installation costs, no long-term equipment commitments, and you can typically cancel or transfer your subscription if you move. Contact the Maryland Public Service Commission or visit the official program page for a list of available projects in your area.

Montgomery County offers a county-level property tax credit for residential homeowners who install a qualifying solar energy system. Bethesda is located in Montgomery County, making homeowners in Bethesda eligible for this credit. This credit is applied directly to your Montgomery County property tax bill and is separate from Maryland’s statewide property tax exemption.

The credit is stackable with the statewide exemption, providing Montgomery County homeowners with multiple layers of property tax protection when going solar. Montgomery County residents may also have access to specialized low-interest solar financing through the Montgomery County Green Bank, which offers a 30-year solar loan program with 0% interest for the first 10 years for homes in Equity Emphasis Areas.

Contact the Montgomery County tax authority for specific credit amounts, application forms, and submission requirements. As with other county credits, this benefit is awarded on a one-time basis following a qualifying solar installation.

The Maryland Residential and Commercial Energy Storage (RCES) Grant Program, launched by the Maryland Energy Administration (MEA) for Fiscal Year 2026, replaces the discontinued Maryland Energy Storage Income Tax Credit Program that ended in 2024. The program provides grants to support the installation of battery energy storage systems (BESS) for both residential and commercial customers. Residential applicants can receive the lesser of 30% of installed costs or $5,000, while commercial applicants may receive up to $150,000.

A total of $2,000,000 is available from the Strategic Energy Investment Fund (SEIF) for FY 2026, awarded on a first-come, first-served basis. Applications were accepted through 3:00 PM ET on June 5, 2026, or until funds were exhausted. As of the latest update, the application portal is closed to new applications due to the program budget being fully requested — however, MEA is processing the existing queue and the portal may reopen if reserved applications do not convert to approved status.

Eligible applicants include owners of residential or commercial properties installing a qualifying BESS, as well as third-party owners who finance or own the system on behalf of the property owner. Applications are submitted through a two-step process via the MyMEA Portal. For questions, contact MEA’s Energy Storage Team at [email protected].

The Maryland Energy Administration’s FY 2026 Commercial and Canopy Solar Program (CCSP) combines the former Commercial Solar Grant Program and the Solar Canopy and Dual Use Technology Program into a single funding opportunity. Up to $13,000,000 is available from the Strategic Energy Investment Fund (SEIF) for rooftop, ground-mounted, and solar canopy systems installed over parking areas or bodies of water. Grants are awarded on a first-come, first-served basis.

Grant amounts vary by applicant type: for-profit businesses and agricultural producers may receive the lesser of $1,700/kW or 75% of total project costs (up to $2,125/kW for canopy systems); nonprofits, small businesses, and veteran-owned businesses may receive the lesser of $2,000–$2,500/kW or 90% of total project costs. The maximum award per entity is $500,000. Eligible applicants include Maryland-based nonprofits, small businesses, veteran-owned entities, and organizations running eligible facilities.

Please note that the FY 2026 application deadline was February 11, 2026. Check the MEA website for updates on FY 2027 funding availability, as this program is expected to continue in future fiscal years.