Is solar worth it in Maryland in 2026?

How Maryland pays for your solar power

Net metering at the retail rate. Maryland utilities net solar output against use each billing period; extra kWh carry as credits, and any left over is paid at the generation rate or banked. A 3,000 MW statewide cap is in play.

In the calculator, 40% of your solar output is used at home at the retail price and the rest is exported at about 100% of retail, so each solar kWh is worth 100% of the retail price on average. Change it if your utility pays more or less. Method

State or utility incentive	What it is worth
Maryland Solar Access Program (FY27), income-eligible households	$750 per kW DC, up to $7,500; portal open July 29, 2026 to May 31, 2027, up to $10M
Small Solar Energy Generating System Incentive (SRECs)	Enhanced SRECs for 15 years for systems interconnected July 2024 to January 2028, then regular SRECs

How exports are credited

Maryland has statewide net metering under Public Utilities Article 7-306, and the Public Service Commission (PSC) reports on it each year. The PSC’s 2025 report describes it this way: electricity is measured as the net of energy used and produced in a single billing period, and a customer “pays only for energy used, netted against any generated energy the customer produces.” Credits carry to later bills, so the grid works like storage. The customer still pays the monthly utility customer charge whatever the system produces.

What happens to leftover credits depends on a choice the customer makes. Since October 1, 2023 (Senate Bill 143), a customer-generator can bank surplus indefinitely instead of being paid each year. A customer who does not bank it is paid for the dollar value of net excess generation at the end of April, and the same payout applies when an account closes. That payout is valued at the generation or commodity portion of the rate averaged over the previous 12 months, which is lower than the full retail price. The PSC reports about $8.9 million of these payouts to residential and commercial customers in the 12 months ending April 30, 2025.

The program has a statewide ceiling of 3,000 MW, raised from 1,500 MW on October 1, 2021. As of June 30, 2025, installed net-metered capacity was about 1,537 MW (51.23% of the cap). The PSC warned that pending community solar projects alone (about 2,911 MW in the pipeline) could exceed 3,000 MW, and asked the General Assembly to act. No change to the cap or to the credit rules was found for this page as of October 7, 2026, but new rules are possible, so check the utility before signing.

State incentives in 2026

The Maryland Solar Access Program, run by the Maryland Energy Administration (MEA), pays income-eligible homeowners $750 per kW DC, up to $7,500. The FY27 round opened July 29, 2026 and takes applications until 3:00 p.m. ET on May 31, 2027, or until the budget (up to $10 million) is spent. Household income limits apply, for example $136,785 for one person and $195,375 for four. The rebate must be reserved before installation, and the installer must come from MEA’s participating contractor list.

A one-time Bridge Fund (up to $1,000 per kW, $15,000 maximum) was created to offset the loss of the federal credit, but it closed to new applications on June 1, 2026 and was limited to earlier applicants.

The MEA’s residential clean energy rebate of earlier years was not listed among current programs on the pages opened, so it is treated as closed.

Solar renewable energy credits (SRECs) are administered by the PSC. Systems interconnected between July 2024 and January 2028 qualify for enhanced credits under the Small Solar Energy Generating System Incentive Program for 15 years, then regular SRECs. Check current SREC prices before counting on them.

The federal 30% residential credit ended for systems installed after December 31, 2025.

What it means for payback

Because credits offset kilowatt-hours month by month, most of a well-sized system’s output is worth close to the retail rate. The weaker spot is surplus: a system that produces far more than the home uses ends the year with credits worth the lower generation rate, unless the owner banks them. Sizing near annual use protects payback. Rebates apply mainly to households under the income limits; others rely on net metering and SRECs.

Other rules worth knowing

Eligible customer-generators can own the system, lease it or contract with a third party that owns it, as long as it sits on the customer’s premises or contiguous property and mainly offsets the customer’s own use. The cap and the pending community solar queue mean the rules for new customers could change after the legislature’s next move.