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Maryland Policy

Community Solar in Maryland: How the Program Works Now

Maryland's community solar pilot ended on December 31, 2024 and a permanent program took its place, bringing single-bill crediting and a set of contract rules worth reading before you sign.

By the Go Solar DMV news desk · Oct 24, 2026 · 5 min read

Community Solar in Maryland: How the Program Works Now

Key facts

What is community solar in Maryland?

Community solar in Maryland lets you subscribe to a share of an off-site solar project and receive credits on your electric bill, rather than installing panels on your own roof. The program has existed in some form since 2015, when House Bill 1087 and its Senate counterpart SB 398 required the Public Service Commission to develop a Community Solar Pilot Program, codified in COMAR 20.621.

That pilot is finished. It ended its seventh and final year on December 31, 2024, and over its life there were 139 community solar pilot projects representing 204 MW of operating capacity in Maryland, measured as of June 30, 20241.

The Maryland community solar program after the pilot

In 2023 the Maryland General Assembly passed House Bill 908, which amended PUA 7-306.2 and established a permanent Community Solar program to replace the pilot1. HB 908 directed the Commission to write two sets of regulations: provisions to implement the permanent program by January 1, 2025, and provisions to implement consolidated billing by electric companies by January 1, 20261.

So the question is no longer whether Maryland has a community solar program. It has one, it is permanent, and the rules around how you are billed and what a subscription contract must contain are now written down.

Community solar credit in Maryland: how consolidated billing works

The Commission voted to adopt final regulations establishing consolidated billing for the Maryland Community Solar Program, requiring electric companies to provide a single consolidated bill for community solar subscribers and to file tariffs for implementation, with a January 1, 2026 implementation deadline2. The rules direct utilities to present one bill showing subscription charges and how community solar credits are applied, and require utilities to remit subscription charges to community solar providers minus an administrative fee approved by the Commission2.

Phil Vander Hayden of the Commission's technical staff described the net-crediting framework at adoption, explaining that the approach applies a subscriber's community solar credit first to their subscription fee and then to their utility charges, streamlining the process into a single consolidated bill from the utility2. In practice, that means fewer moving parts than the old arrangement of a utility bill plus a separate subscription invoice.

How much does community solar save in Maryland?

The savings-rate floors are spelled out in the regulation text. For a non-LMI subscriber participating in consolidated billing, the subscriber organization or subscription coordinator must set a percentage savings rate greater than or equal to 03. For a low- and moderate-income subscriber, the rate must be greater than or equal to 10 percent3. The electric company calculates an account's net bill credit using that savings rate with precision up to .01 percentage points3.

Read that carefully before you compare offers. The 10 percent floor applies to income-qualified subscribers. For everyone else, the regulatory floor on the consolidated-billing savings rate is zero, which means your discount is whatever your contract says, not a figure the state sets for market-rate customers3.

Consumer protections to check before you sign

The contract rules in COMAR 20.62.05 are specific. A subscription coordinator may not charge or collect a termination fee for the downsizing or cancellation of a subscriber's allocation4. A subscription coordinator may only enroll subscribers in contracts that commit to financial savings for the subscriber4. And a subscriber organization may not subscribe a residential customer using a process that does not require the customer's consent4.

Subscriber organizations are also barred from marketing tactics that are unfair, false, misleading or deceptive, and there are minimum requirements for a subscription contract as well as a contract disclosure form that must be presented to every subscriber before a contract is signed1. If a salesperson will not hand you that disclosure form, that tells you something.

A proposed addition to COMAR 20.62.05, posted in June 2026, would add protections for tenant subscribers in master-metered facilities, under which a provider may not require a security deposit or a credit check from a tenant subscriber as a condition of participation5. It would also require that a lease entered into or renewed after a master meter subscriber subscribes contain a Commission-approved provision explaining the credit allocation method and clarifying that receipt of community solar credits may not be used as a basis for a rent increase5. Those rules are proposed and not yet final5.

Community solar farm approvals in Maryland: how projects reach the grid

New capacity enters the queue through Commission dockets, and those hearings are public. On October 13, 2026 the Commission invited public comment on a proposal by ICFTS MD Solar, LLC to construct a 4.63 MW alternating current community solar project in Caroline County6. The application proposes a project anticipated to occupy 47 acres of a 163.84-acre parcel at 26844 Hobbs Road in Denton6.

A hearing is scheduled for Monday, November 9, 2026 at 6:00 p.m. at the Caroline County Health and Public Services Building, 403 South 7th Street, Rooms 111 and 112, in Denton, with Public Utility Law Judge Amy Schaeffer presiding6. Members of the public who want to join virtually must register by November 5, 2026 through the 'File a Public Comment' page of the Commission's website, under 'Case No. 9835 – ICFTS MD Solar, LLC (CPCN)'6.

These proceedings are where supply in your utility territory gets approved, and also where it gets delayed. If subscription availability near you is thin, this is the mechanism behind it.

Community solar and rooftop solar together

Having panels on your roof does not disqualify you. Per the Commission's consumer guidance, you can apply to a subscriber organization as long as all of your subscriptions, community solar and rooftop combined, do not exceed 200 percent of your baseline annual energy usage1. That leaves room for households that generate part of their own power and want to cover the rest.

If you are weighing a subscription against an owned system, the state and federal programs that apply to ownership are a separate question from the community solar rules above. Our summary of Maryland solar incentives covers that side, and a roof assessment will tell you whether your own roof has the sun to make ownership worth considering.

What did not pass in 2026

Not every proposal became law. The Affordable Solar Act (HB 345/SB 341), proposed to take effect on October 1, 2026, represented Maryland's most comprehensive effort to expand solar capacity and address ratepayer affordability, aiming to increase solar generating capacity in the state by 4,000 megawatts above capacity in operation as of January 1, 20287. It did not pass7.

The practical takeaway for a Maryland household or small business is that the permanent program and the consolidated billing rules are the operative framework right now. If you want to compare a subscription against an owned system on your own numbers, start here.

Questions people ask

Is there still a community solar program in Maryland?

Yes. The Community Solar Pilot Program ended on December 31, 2024, and House Bill 908, passed in 2023, amended PUA 7-306.2 to establish a permanent Community Solar program in its place1.

How does the community solar credit show up on my Maryland bill?

Under the consolidated billing rules, electric companies must provide a single bill showing subscription charges and how community solar credits are applied, and must remit subscription charges to providers minus a Commission-approved administrative fee2. The net-crediting approach applies your credit first to the subscription fee and then to your utility charges2.

How much do you save with community solar in Maryland?

For a low- and moderate-income subscriber in consolidated billing, the savings rate must be greater than or equal to 10 percent3. For a non-LMI subscriber, the required rate is greater than or equal to 0, so the discount depends on the contract you sign3.

Can I cancel a Maryland community solar subscription?

A subscription coordinator may not charge or collect a termination fee for the downsizing or cancellation of a subscriber's allocation4. A subscriber organization also may not enroll a residential customer through a process that does not require the customer's consent4.

Can I subscribe if I already have rooftop solar?

Yes, provided all of your subscriptions, community solar and rooftop combined, do not exceed 200 percent of your baseline annual energy usage1.

Sources

  1. Community Solar Program - Maryland Public Service Commission - psc.maryland.gov
  2. Public Service Commission adopts consolidated billing rules for Maryland community solar - citizenportal.ai
  3. Proposed Regulations In COMAR 20.62 Community Solar Energy Generation Systems - psc.maryland.gov
  4. .08 Contracts for Customer Subscription in a Community Solar Energy Generation System. - regs.maryland.gov
  5. Title 20 PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION - psc.maryland.gov
  6. Maryland Public Service Commission Invites Comments on Proposed Solar Project in Caroline County, Maryland - Maryland Public Service Commission - psc.maryland.gov
  7. Maryland Lawmakers Weigh Sweeping Solar Expansion with the Affordable Solar Act - bakerdonelson.com
  8. COMMISSIONERS ___________ W. KEVIN HUGHES CHAIRMAN HAROLD D. WILLIAMS - psc.maryland.gov
  9. PSC Sets Public Hearing on Proposed Cecil County Solar Project - Maryland Public Service Commission - psc.maryland.gov
  10. PSC Invites Comments on Proposed Solar Project in Cumberland - Maryland Public Service Commission - psc.maryland.gov
  11. Community Solar LMI-PPA - Maryland Energy Administration - energy.maryland.gov
  12. Wes Moore, Governor Aruna Miller, Lt. Governor Paul G. Pinsky, Director - energy.maryland.gov
  13. Maryland Community Solar Laws and Operation - mdsolar.org
  14. md-community-solar-faq.pdf - firstenergycorp.com
  15. Maryland Code, Public Utilities § 7-306.2 - codes.findlaw.com
  16. Revisions to COMAR 20.62 Community Solar Energy Generation Systems - prquinlan.com
  17. 2024 Maryland Statutes - law.justia.com
  18. Commission on Electric Utility Regulation Shared Solar - Dominion - apps.dlas.virginia.gov
  19. Virginia expands shared solar, streamlines permitting in affordability push - pv magazine USA - pv-magazine-usa.com
  20. Shared Solar Program - dominionenergy.com

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