Lower your bill · Community solar
Subscribe to a share of a solar farm near you and a credit appears on your regular electric bill. Nothing is installed at your home, there is no cost to join, and you can cancel anytime. Income-qualified households get a bigger discount.
Available now for BGE, Pepco, Delmarva Power and Potomac Edison customers.
Your share of the farm is billed separately, at less than the credit is worth. The difference is your savings. Figures are illustrative.
Maryland's community solar program lets households that can't put panels on a roof still benefit from solar. A developer builds a farm in your utility's territory, and households subscribe to a slice of it.
The farm's electricity goes onto the grid. Your utility measures your slice and takes it off your bill as a credit. You pay the farm for that slice at a discount, so the credit is worth more than what you pay.
Check that the organization is on the Maryland Public Service Commission's list, read the discount and cancellation terms, and sign up with a copy of your electric bill. There is no equipment and no visit.
Once the farm is live and your utility links your account, a "community solar credit" line shows up on your regular bill. Your utility, your meter and your service don't change.
The farm bills you for your share at a discount to the credit's value. Credits rise and fall with the sun and the season, and so does your subscription charge, so the discount holds year-round.
BGE, Pepco, Delmarva Power and Potomac Edison customers can subscribe today. SMECO, the co-ops and the municipal utilities are not in the state program yet.
If the electric bill is in your name, you can join. No landlord approval, no roof, no HOA question. If you move within the same utility, your subscription can usually move with you.
Maryland reserves part of every farm for low- and moderate-income households and requires a larger discount for them, often around 25%. On OHEP, SNAP, Medicaid or WIC? You usually qualify. So do many working families based on income alone.
Any organization selling community solar in Maryland has to be registered with the Public Service Commission. Check the list first, then choose whichever route is easiest for you. Utility Advisor receives no compensation for any referral on this page.
Direct route
The Commission publishes the program rules and the registered subscriber organizations. Use it to compare offers and confirm whoever you talk to is legitimate.
Open the PSC program pageYour utility
Each utility explains how the credit appears on its bill and answers billing questions.
BGE · Pepco · Delmarva Power · Potomac Edison
A subscriber organization
One registered option that enrolls BGE, Pepco, Delmarva and Potomac Edison households online with a photo of a bill, and offers the income-qualified discount. Other registered organizations are on the PSC list.
Check availabilityStill unsure? Call (443) 222-1221 and a program volunteer will walk through it with you. Free, no sales pitch.
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