Maryland solar is a timing question. Today every kWh you send to the grid cancels a kWh you buy, and the state rebate is open. Simple payback before incentives is about 9.4 years statewide and 9.3 years at BGE, the largest utility. Income-qualified homes may get up to $7,500 from the Solar Access Program, which shortens their payback. Both deals close to new homes in mid-2027 or sooner.
Maryland, simple payback before incentivesAbout 9.4 years
BGE, the largest utilityAbout 9.3 years
Typical owned 10.76 kW Maryland system at $30,128 cash (EcoGen Solar Cost Index, September 2026) on BGE: about 9.3 years before incentives, at BGE’s EIA price less its fixed charges, 20.964¢, with every banked kWh used later at that price; no upkeep or price rises counted. See the math.
- State rebate: up to $7,500, under an income limit, reserved before any panels go up.
- Switch-on date: 1-for-1 credits close to new homes on July 1, 2027, or sooner.
- Your price per kWh: from your own bill, not the 21.03¢ state average.
2026 rules: new home systems get no 30% federal homeowner credit (IRS). Maryland’s full 1-for-1 net metering closes to new customers on July 1, 2027, or sooner if the state reaches 3,000 MW.
How we checked this guide
Rebate rules come from the Maryland Energy Administration (MEA), net metering rules from state law and the Public Service Commission, and the electricity price from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Where we had to assume a number, the page says so.
The writer and checker shown above are EcoGen staff. EcoGen is paid when homeowners request quotes, which is explained beside the quote form. Read our editorial standards.
Why timing matters more in Maryland this year
Maryland has two strong deals for homeowners: bill credits that count a kWh (kilowatt-hour, the unit your bill counts) you send out the same as one you buy, and a state rebate. Both close soon.
- Net metering: a law approved on May 12, 2026 closes full 1-for-1 credits to new customers on July 1, 2027, or earlier if net-metered systems reach 3,000 MW. The state counted about 51% of the limit installed on June 30, 2025. Homes already in keep it.
- What comes next: the Public Service Commission must approve a successor program by February 1, 2027, with a draft due October 27, 2026. The law says it should offer less than today’s.
- The rebate: $750 per kW of system size, up to $7,500. Requests close May 31, 2027, or sooner if the $10 million budget is used up (5.79% was requested by September 25, 2026).
So the answer is yes for many homes, if the paperwork and the switch-on date line up.
Six things that tip a Maryland roof one way or the other
Read each row across: what helps the payback, and what should make you stop and ask.
The rebate
Worth a closer look
Income under the limit ($195,375 for four people) and the reservation approved before the install.
Pause and check
Panels go up before the reservation is approved, or the contractor is not on this year’s list.
Check next: the contractor’s place on the MSAP Participating Contractor List.
Switch-on timing
Worth a closer look
Permission to operate comes well before July 1, 2027, so the system keeps 1-for-1 credits.
Pause and check
A crowded install calendar pushes your switch-on close to the cutoff.
Check next: the install and interconnection dates in writing.
System size
Worth a closer look
Sized to the power your home uses in a year, so banked credits get used.
Pause and check
Sized far past your use; extra credits pile up unused or are paid out at the lower supply price.
Check next: your last 12 months of kWh next to the system’s yearly output.
Price and financing
Worth a closer look
Near the Index’s $30,128 for 10.76 kW ($2.80 per watt), cash or a low-fee loan.
Pause and check
A dealer fee, or a quote that still subtracts the federal tax credit.
Check next: the cash and financed prices side by side.
Roof and time in home
Worth a closer look
A sound roof with years left, and plans to stay past payback.
Pause and check
A roof due for replacement, heavy shade, or a likely move within a few years.
Check next: the roof’s age, a shade report and your likely moving date.
Maryland payback, worked out
Simple payback is the number of years your savings take to cover what you paid: the net cost divided by the yearly savings. Here is the typical Maryland system on BGE, before incentives.
- Cash price
- $30,128
- Confirmed incentives
- $0
- Year-one production
- 15,408 kWh
- Used at home / exported
- 40% / 60%
- BGE price (EIA, 12 months, less fixed charges)
- $0.20964/kWh
- Export credit
- $0.20964/kWh
- Upkeep and price rises
- Not counted
- Used-at-home value
15,408 × 40% × $0.20964$1,292/yr - Export value
15,408 × 60% × $0.20964$1,938/yr - Yearly savings
$1,292 + $1,938$3,230/yr - Simple cash payback
$30,128 ÷ $3,230about 9.3 years
Inputs: the EcoGen Solar Cost Index typical Maryland system (10.76 kW, $30,128 cash, September 2026; about 1,432 kWh per kW a year) with no incentive subtracted. The price is BGE’s 22.132¢ EIA average from August 2025 to July 2026 less its $10.32 a month in fixed charges: 20.964¢. Every banked kWh is used later at that price (BGE lets you carry credits forward with no end date), so the 40/60 split does not change the result. No upkeep and no price rises are counted, and SREC income is left out. This is simple payback before incentives from our per-utility figures of October 19, 2026.
Now the same system at the other large utilities. The price stays the same; each utility’s price per kWh changes the savings.
| Scenario | Incentives | Net cost | Yearly savings | Simple payback |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BGE | $0 | $30,128 | $3,230 | about 9.3 years |
| Pepco | $0 | $30,128 | $3,401 | about 8.9 years |
| Delmarva Power | $0 | $30,128 | $3,330 | about 9.0 years |
| Potomac Edison | $0 | $30,128 | $2,451 | about 12.3 years |
Both cases are fairly short because Maryland credits exports at the full price for now. But each utility charges its own price. From August 2025 to July 2026, BGE averaged 22.13¢, Pepco 23.12¢, Delmarva Power 22.56¢, Potomac Edison 16.47¢ and SMECO 18.48¢ (EIA), and those averages spread fixed charges over every kWh. A price one-tenth lower stretches the payback by about one-eighth, so use the price on your own bill. Weighted by customers, Maryland’s figure is 9.4 years before incentives.
Try it with your own Maryland quote
The tool starts with the BGE case before incentives. Enter your quote, any rebate you are sure to get and the price per kWh on your bill, then press Calculate. Nothing is sent anywhere.
Example result
about 9.3 years
simple cash payback
- Used-at-home value
- $1,292/yr
- Export value
- $1,938/yr
- Owner costs
- −$0/yr
- Yearly savings
- $3,230/yr
- Net cost
- $30,128
Starts with the BGE case before incentives. Flat first-year values; rates, panel wear and repairs will change the result, and SREC sales would shorten it.
How Maryland counts the power you send to the grid
Solar power you do not use right away goes to the grid and is banked as kWh. At night or in winter, each banked kWh cancels one you would have bought, so our example credits exports at the full price.
Used at home: 6,163 kWh. Each one replaces power you would have bought, so it saves the price per kWh ($0.20964 here).
Sent to the grid: 9,244 kWh. These earn whatever your utility pays for exports ($0.20964 here). Here that matches the price you pay, but check your utility’s rule.
How long credits last depends on your utility. BGE, Pepco, Delmarva Power and Potomac Edison customers can carry credits forward with no end date, or choose to have leftovers paid out after the April billing cycle at the lower supply price. Co-op and city utility customers get the 12-month option. Our example assumes you carry credits forward and use them all. An oversized system earns less on its extra power. State rules cap a net-metered system at 200% of your yearly use.
Replacing more than 80% of a grandfathered system’s panel capacity ends its old deal; roof work and repairs do not. Maryland homes paid an average of 21.03¢ per kWh from August 2025 to July 2026 (EIA).
Get Maryland quotes while both deals are open
Ask each installer if it is on this year’s rebate list and when your system would be switched on.
Solar providers that serve your area may contact you, and they pay EcoGen for the introduction. How we make money.
Buying, financing or leasing: who keeps the rebate and SRECs
A solar renewable energy credit (SREC) is a certificate issued for every 1,000 kWh your system makes, about about 15 a year here. A market sets the price, so our example leaves it out.
| Option | Who owns the panels | Upfront | Ongoing | Check before signing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash | You | Full price | None to a lender. | Who applies for the rebate and who receives it: you, or the contractor as a lower price. |
| Loan | You | Often $0 | Loan payment, plus your remaining utility bill. | A dealer fee can cancel the rebate. MEA needs the signed loan agreement before it pays. |
| Lease | Solar company | Often $0 | Monthly lease payment, plus your remaining utility bill. | The company usually keeps the SRECs. The rebate needs a provider on MEA’s list, and the deal must benefit you. |
| PPA | Solar company | Often $0 | A price per kWh for the power the panels make. | Same as a lease. Compare the PPA price and its yearly increase with your utility price. |
Every buyer pays no 6% sales tax on solar equipment and no property tax on it. Some places add a property tax credit, such as up to $5,000 in Baltimore City. See our Maryland incentives guide and solar financing guide.
Six answers a Maryland solar quote owes you
Line up two or three quotes, and look up each contractor’s Maryland Home Improvement Commission license number. A quote that cannot answer these lines has a payback you cannot check.
- Rebate in writing. The contractor’s MSAP list status, who receives the rebate, and no work before MEA approves the reservation.
- Switch-on date. The expected permission-to-operate date, measured against July 1, 2027.
- Your utility price. The per-kWh price from your bill and the yearly kWh the quote assumes you use.
- SREC handling. Who registers the system for SRECs and who keeps them.
- No federal credit subtracted. The homeowner credit is gone for systems installed after December 31, 2025.
- Cash and financed prices. Both totals side by side, with any dealer fee shown.
Compare Maryland solar quotes
Ask each installer for the rebate, the reservation step and the switch-on date in writing. Enter your ZIP code to request quotes from solar providers that serve your area.
How EcoGen is paid
EcoGen America does not sell or install solar. When you request quotes, we pass your request to solar providers serving your area, and they pay us for the introduction. Providers can include installers, solar marketplaces and lead exchanges, and more than one may contact you. You never pay us. This is not an application to the Maryland Solar Access Program.
Keep reading on Maryland solar
- Maryland solar guide: utilities, incentives and installers in one place
- Maryland solar companies: compare local installers before you request quotes
- Maryland solar incentives: the rebate, bill credits and closing dates
- What solar costs in Maryland
- Free solar panels in Maryland: what a lease or PPA keeps
- Are solar panels worth it? The national guide and payback calculator
All 51 state guides
Maryland solar payback questions
Are solar panels worth it in Maryland without the federal tax credit?
They can be. The homeowner credit is gone for systems installed after December 31, 2025, and Maryland has no state income tax credit for solar. Full 1-for-1 bill credits, the state rebate and two tax exemptions carry the case now.
How long until solar pays for itself in Maryland?
Simple payback before incentives is about 9.4 years statewide and 9.3 years at BGE for a typical 10.76 kW owned system. A lower price on your bill or a pricier quote stretches it. SREC sales would shorten it.
What happens to net metering after the 2026 law?
Full 1-for-1 credits close to new homes on July 1, 2027, or sooner if net-metered systems reach 3,000 MW. A home under a net metering contract on that date keeps it. A successor framework is due by February 1, 2027, and the law intends it to pay less.
Who can get the Maryland solar rebate?
Homeowners with household income at or below 150% of the state median: $195,375 for four people. It pays $750 per kW, up to $7,500, through a listed contractor, reserved before the install. Requests close May 31, 2027 or when the budget runs out.
How much are Maryland SRECs worth?
No official price exists; a market sets it. A typical 10.76 kW system makes about about 15 a year. As a guide, a supplier that comes up short pays $45 per SREC in 2026 and $35 in 2027. On a lease or PPA, the company usually keeps them.
Does a solar battery make financial sense in Maryland right now?
Not for bill savings while 1-for-1 credits last, since exports already offset power at the full price. Its main value is backup during an outage. If you want one anyway, a state grant can cover up to 30% of the installed cost, capped at $5,000.
Is community solar a better option for renters?
Often, yes. Renters and homes with shaded roofs can subscribe to a local community solar project instead of installing panels. Low- and moderate-income subscribers receive at least 10% savings. There is no system to buy and no roof work, so the payback math on this page does not apply.
Sources, method and corrections
The example uses the EcoGen Solar Cost Index typical Maryland system (September 2026), the EIA statewide price and no incentive. The price is BGE’s own EIA average less its fixed charges, from our per-utility figures of October 19, 2026. Every banked kWh is used later at that price, so the 40/60 split does not change the result. No upkeep and no price rises are counted. Simple payback uses flat first-year values and leaves out SRECs. The calculator sends nothing.
Updated October 19, 2026: per-utility paybacks before incentives, with BGE’s price less its fixed charges and no owner-cost allowance. Earlier in October: BGE’s own average price in the example, each large utility’s average price, and how long each utility lets you keep credits. Earlier: September 2026 Index figures.
Spotted an error? Tell us through our corrections and feedback process.
- MEA: Maryland Solar Access Program
- MEA: FY27 MSAP Funding Opportunity Announcement (rebate rules; read October 5, 2026)
- Maryland State Government Code 9-2016 (the rebate law)
- Maryland Public Utilities Code 7-306, with 2026 enactments (net metering)
- Chapter 353 of 2026 (House Bill 1532) (successor program)
- Maryland PSC: 2025 net metering report (capacity count)
- Maryland PSC: Public Conference 78 notice (successor draft date)
- Maryland PSC: SREC certification
- Maryland Public Utilities Code 7-705 (solar compliance fee)
- Maryland Tax-General 11-230 (sales tax exemption)
- Maryland Tax-Property 7-242 (property tax exemption)
- Maryland PSC: Community Solar Program
- U.S. EIA: average residential electricity price by state (August 2025 to July 2026)
- U.S. EIA: Form EIA-861M sales to ultimate customers (BGE, Pepco, Delmarva Power, Potomac Edison and SMECO averages, August 2025 to July 2026)
- IRS: Residential Clean Energy Credit
- EcoGen Solar Cost Index, September 2026: Maryland (system size, price, production)
