Rockville, MD Solar Panels

Maryland’s Property Tax Exemption protects homeowners from paying additional property taxes on the value added by installing solar panels or residential wind energy equipment. When you add solar energy systems to your home, they typically increase your property’s assessed value. This exemption ensures that increase won’t result in higher annual property tax bills, allowing you to enjoy the full financial benefits of your clean energy investment.

The exemption applies to equipment installed to generate electricity for use in your home or to supply to the electric grid, as well as solar systems that provide hot water. There’s no cap on the exemption amount—the entire added value from your solar installation is protected from property taxation. This benefit continues for as long as you own the system, providing ongoing savings throughout the life of your solar panels. The exemption is available to all Maryland homeowners who install qualifying solar or wind energy equipment on residential property, with no application deadlines or time limitations to worry about.

Maryland’s sales tax exemption removes the state’s 6% sales tax from the purchase of solar energy equipment and systems. This means when you buy solar panels, inverters, batteries, and other qualifying solar equipment in Maryland, you won’t pay the sales tax that would normally apply to these purchases. For a typical residential solar system costing $25,000, this exemption saves you approximately $1,500 at the time of purchase.

This exemption is available to all Maryland homeowners and businesses purchasing qualifying solar energy equipment. There are no income limits, system size restrictions, or application requirements—the tax exemption is automatically applied at the point of sale by your solar installer or equipment vendor. The exemption applies to the equipment itself and components necessary for the solar system to function properly. However, it’s important to note that this exemption does not cover labor costs, installation services, or general construction materials that aren’t specifically part of the solar energy system. Your solar provider should automatically apply this exemption when calculating your system cost, but it’s worth confirming that the sales tax exemption has been included in your quote.

The Maryland Solar Access Program (MSAP) is a state-funded grant program that helps income-qualified Maryland homeowners install solar panels on their homes. Established through the Brighter Tomorrow Act of 2024, this program provides direct financial assistance to make solar energy more accessible and affordable for eligible residents. The program operates on a first-come, first-served basis and uses a two-step application process: first reserving funds, then verifying installation completion.

The program has a total budget of $12 million for fiscal year 2026. Grant amounts vary based on individual circumstances, and applicants can use the program’s Maximum Offer Calculator to estimate their potential benefit. To qualify, you must meet specific income requirements detailed in the program’s Funding Opportunity Announcement. Your solar system must be installed by an approved contractor from the program’s Participating Contractor List, and your contract must be executed between June 13, 2025, and the application deadline.

Applications are accepted from July 21, 2025, through June 5, 2026, at 12:00 PM ET. As of November 4, 2025, 52% of the program budget has been requested and 23% has been reserved, so funds are still available but may run out before the deadline. Important note: if your solar system has already received funding from Maryland’s Solar Energy Equity Grant Program, it is not eligible for this program. You can apply directly or have an approved contractor apply on your behalf through the online application portal.

Solar Renewable Energy Credits (SRECs) are tradable certificates that represent the environmental benefits of solar energy production in Maryland. For every 1,000 kilowatt-hours (1 megawatt-hour) your solar system generates, you earn one SREC. These credits were created to help Maryland meet its clean energy goals, which include generating 14.5% of the state’s electricity from solar by 2030.

The financial value of SRECs varies based on market demand, as they are bought and sold on an open market. Homeowners can sell their SRECs to energy suppliers or through SREC aggregators, providing an additional income stream beyond electricity bill savings. For example, a typical 10 kW residential solar system producing 12,000 kilowatt-hours annually would generate 12 SRECs per year. SRECs remain valid for 3 years from their generation date, giving you flexibility in when to sell them.

To participate, you must register your solar system with the Maryland Public Service Commission within 30 days of installation, then register with PJM Interconnection’s Generator Attribute Tracking System (GATS). Keep in mind that if you sell your SRECs, you transfer the environmental claim of using solar energy to the buyer. If maintaining the right to say you’re using solar energy matters to you, you can choose to keep your SRECs rather than sell them—either way, the environmental benefit remains the same.

Net metering in Maryland allows you to earn credits on your electricity bill for the excess solar energy your system produces. When your solar panels generate more electricity than your home uses, that surplus power flows back to the grid, and your utility company credits your account at a 1:1 rate. This means you receive the full retail electricity rate for every kilowatt-hour (kWh) you send to the grid, which you can then use to offset future electricity charges when your panels aren’t producing enough power, such as at night or on cloudy days.

The financial benefit works on a monthly rollover basis across all major Maryland utilities, including Baltimore Gas & Electric (BG&E), Pepco, Potomac Edison, Delmarva Power, Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative (SMECO), and Choptank Electric Cooperative. Any excess credits you accumulate during sunny months carry forward to help cover your bills during less productive months. However, there’s an annual “true-up” period when utilities cash out any remaining credits at a lower rate—typically between $0.04 and $0.07 per kWh depending on your utility company. This true-up happens in April or May depending on your provider, and your credit balance resets to zero afterward. It’s worth noting that if you’re a BG&E customer, time-of-use rate schedules are not compatible with net metering, so you’ll need to remain on a standard rate plan to participate.