If your home is in Maryland and doesn’t yet have solar panels installed, and you support sustainable electricity, now’s your chance to get it done. A statewide rebate program offers you up to $1000 off. Here’s all you need to you to take advantage of the incentive and get your solar project started.
A Brief History
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Maryland looks on track to reach its 25% renewable energy portfolio standard in 2020. That means of all the energy sources on the grid, by then a quarter will be clean sources that don’t run out like wind and especially solar.
The state has long been a solar energy leader. With the help of a now-lapsed tax credit program, Maryland reached 258 MegaWatts of solar energy in 2015. Now the state has over 1,000 Megawatts of solar.
How Energy Customers Can Benefit Now
Purchase installation of a 20-kilowatt or smaller solar installation for your Maryland home, and you would currently qualify to apply for your $1,000 rebate. It’s pretty much that simple. Technically it’s called the Residential Clean Energy Grant Program (“R-CEGP”) – so keep in mind the incentive is not for non-profits or businesses. Note: The program is subject to modification or termination at any time, should funding stop or current rebate expenditures be exhausted. It’s also first-come-first-served according to dates of when applications are begun and signed materials are received by the administrators.
Don’t get too excited about the prospect of getting this discount with a third-party owned solar project – power purchase agreements and leases do not qualify you. Under the way the legislation that created the incentive was written, the rebate applicant must be the electric customer who owns the solar panels installation. You can of course still use financing to fund your solar installation with manageable payments that are comparable to or less than your energy bill was before you did solar.
Go solar and get help applying for Maryland’s rebate
There’s no better time to start a solar project than now. Not knocking the great environment for going solar in Virginia, but this incentive is rare in our region and should entice you to at least get a quote. The sooner you get solar, the sooner you invest in a sustainable, fixed-cost energy source you can rely on reducing your electricity bills long into the future.
It’s especially true with this rebate, plus a great market in Maryland for Solar RECs. That’s not to mention a federal tax credit, which for the rest of 2019 remains at 30% of the project cost. It all adds up to some major savings! We are happy to help our clients get all the details they need on closing the loop on incentives – keep in mind your accountant should also be involved for the tax credit.
Keep in mind, depending on the stage where your solar project stands as the year turns from 2019 to 2020 and the federal tax credit ratchets down, you may not be able to take the full 30% and local incentive dollars may run out. For example, the 2020 incentive rate will drop to 26% with larger decreases to follow. So don’t wait, Maryland. Put down your crab boil and your Old Bay steamed shrimp and pick up the phone for a solar energy consultation for your home.
