Maryland solar rebates and incentives: 2025 guide

Maryland has some of the most generous solar incentives in the country, with big rebates, clean-energy credits you can sell for cash, and tax exemptions. And with the relatively high cost of grid electricity, going solar in Maryland adds up to big savings.

If you're considering going solar in Maryland, we have good news: Some great incentives can substantially improve your return on investing in solar panels.

Residential Clean Energy Credit

The Residential Clean Energy Credit, formerly known as the federal investment tax credit (ITC), can reduce your solar panel system's cost by 30%. Your entire system, including all the equipment, labor, permitting, and sales tax, qualifies for the ITC. 

When you file your taxes, you can claim this incentive as a credit towards your federal tax bill. Just keep in mind that to qualify for the ITC, you need to purchase your system either with cash or a solar loan–if you lease your system, you won't be eligible. 

You also need a high enough tax bill, though you can roll over any remaining credit year-to-year until the end of 2034 when the ITC expires. The only time you might be eligible for a direct payment for the ITC is if you're a tax-exempt entity, like a nonprofit organization. 

Maryland Residential Clean Energy Rebate Program 

The Maryland Energy Administration (MEA) offered a $1,000 rebate to Maryland homeowners who installed solar panels and applied for interconnection before November 20, 2024. While this program is no longer active, you can apply for the new solar grant in Maryland.

Maryland Solar Access Program

As part of the Brighter Tomorrow Act of 2024, the Maryland Solar Access Program offers grants of $750 per kW of installed capacity up to $7,500 for low and moderate-income households. The program is designed to make solar energy more accessible and offers grants on a first-come first-serve basis through a two-step process. 

To apply, first submit your initial application to reserve funds, then verify that your solar panel system is fully installed and operational within 180 days of fund reservation. Grants are only available for installations by MEA approved contractors. You can find an updated list of contractors on MEA’s website. If the installation isn't completed within the given timeframe, you won’t receive the reserved funds.

Solar Renewable Energy Certificates (SRECs)

Under this program, you are granted one Maryland SREC for each megawatt-hour (MWh) of clean electricity your panels produce, which you can then sell in the SREC market. Most solar owners use a broker to handle the confusing part—selling the SRECs to the utility companies. The broker would pay you directly for the SRECs.

In the last few years, the market price of a Maryland SREC has been about $55. So a 5 kW solar array that generates about 6 MWh annually (based on typical production in the Mid-Atlantic) could earn an extra $330 each year through SRECs.

In addition to the great rebates and incentives above, Maryland also provides a sales tax exemption and some counties offer a solar property tax exemption. The solar sales tax exemption ensures that you won't have to pay a sales tax on your system, while the solar property tax exemption means you don't need to pay a higher property tax for adding solar panels to your house in eligible counties.

If you connect your solar panel system to the grid in Maryland, you can benefit from net metering—which is really the ultimate incentive for rooftop solar. 

Under net metering, the sun doesn’t need to shine all the time to get massive value from your solar panels. Your utility company (PEPCO, Potomac Edison, Delmarva, BGE, or one of the municipal / rural not-for-profit companies) essentially works like a bank account for all the energy your solar panels produce in a given month.

When the sun shines, your home’s electrical system first takes as much power as it needs from the solar panels. If the panels make any excess energy, it gets sent back onto the grid, and the utility credits that excess to your energy bill. 

When the sun isn’t shining and you need grid electricity to power your home, your electric company just starts drawing against your credits. You won’t pay for electricity until those credits run out.

A few nuances to keep in mind about Maryland’s version of net metering:

• Credits are calculated in kWh or dollars. It’s possible that with solar panels in Maryland you’ll no longer need to pay cash for electricity, but you will still need to pay cash monthly for any “fixed fees” like meter connection costs. 

• You can cash out excess credits, or roll them forward indefinitely. If you want to cash out your credits, Maryland’s “true up” reconciliation date is in April, so if you have any extra energy credits on your account at that point, you can trade them in for a cash credit to your utility account—though it’s paid out at a lower rate than the retail cost of electricity. As of 2025, solar customers can also opt to carry forward their energy credits indefinitely.

Maryland doesn't offer any state-specific battery incentives at this time. The state previously offered a state tax credit up to $5,000 or 30% of the cost of the system, but funds ran out in 2024. A new battery incentive program is set to launch in the summer of 2025. 

So if you’re interested in a solar battery as a backup power source, consider applying when the new program is available. It should be said that solar batteries don’t make much financial sense for Maryland residents because the net metering policy is already so favorable to consumers—there’s no cash advantage to hoarding your own solar power, because the utility gives you full credit for its retail value—and the virtual power plant programs in Maryland are limited.