*BGE, Pepco, Delmarva, and Potomac Edison rates, Maryland’s §7-306 net metering, and the HB 1532 cap timeline are current as of June 2026, per Maryland Public Service Commission filings, the Office of People’s Counsel rate pages, and the enrolled Utility RELIEF Act.
A typical Maryland home that installs solar in 2026 pays the system off in about nine years and save over $70,000 over the next 25. That short payback period and high return is possible because the state pairs one of the country’s higher electricity rates with full-retail net metering.
Your bill averages 22.2¢ per kilowatt-hour all-in, including the fixed charges you keep paying no matter what. Solar offsets the energy (volumetric) portion of that rate, 21.10¢ for a BGE home, and net metering credits every kilowatt-hour you send to the grid at that same energy rate, instead of paying you a fraction of it.
Timing is what makes 2026 different… A new state law closes that full-retail credit to new systems once Maryland reaches a 3,000-megawatt cap or July 1, 2027, whichever lands first, and the state had already passed the halfway mark by mid-2025. Interconnect before the cutoff and your home keeps full-retail credit for the life of the system.
Find out how much you could save in Maryland!
Is Solar Worth It in Maryland Right Now?
Yes, solar is worth it for a typical Maryland home. A 7.78 kW system, sized to cover average use of 929 kWh a month, costs $21,239 before incentives and pays for itself in nine years for a BGE customer. BGE, the state’s largest electric utility, serves most Maryland homes, so that payback describes much of the state.
Maryland’s all-in residential rate of 22.2¢/kWh runs 18% above the national average, so every kilowatt-hour your panels produce offsets an expensive one. Solar offsets the energy portion of that bill, 21.10¢ for a BGE home, and full-retail net metering banks your daytime surplus at that same energy rate, instead of paying you a fraction of it. That is why the per-utility paybacks below run from 9 to 12.8 years off each utility’s lower volumetric rate (21.10¢ for a BGE home), rather than off the 22.2¢ all-in bill average.
*Important Note: The 30% residential tax credit that once softened the upfront cost ended for systems placed in service after December 31, 2025. The payback you see here now rests on rate savings and state policy, with no federal rebate behind it. For the full price breakdown by system size, see what a Maryland solar system costs.
Full-Retail Net Metering and the HB 1532 Window
Net metering does most of the work in Maryland and it is the one benefit with a deadline. How the credit works today, and when it closes, sets the difference between a nine-year payback and an eleven-year one.
How §7-306 Net Metering Pays You Today
Under Maryland’s net metering law, your meter nets what you use against what you generate each month. When your panels make more than you use, the surplus carries forward as a kilowatt-hour credit at full retail. Draw more than you make the next month, and those banked credits cover it at the same rate.
Once a year, at the end of April, the utility cashes out any leftover credit, but at the lower commodity rate rather than the full retail price. That detail is why sizing a system to your real use, rather than overbuilding the roof, protects your return.
The deadline matters because supply is running out. As of July 2025, the Commission’s net metering report put Maryland at 51.23% of the 3,000-megawatt cap that governs full-retail net metering, with a community-solar pipeline of 2,911 megawatts waiting behind it, enough on its own to approach the cap.
Interconnect Before July 2027 to Lock In the Credit
The Utility RELIEF Act, signed in May 2026, ends full-retail net metering for new systems at the earlier of the 3,000-megawatt cap or July 1, 2027. After that, the Public Service Commission must stand up a successor program by February 1, 2027, and it is designed to pay less for exported power. Systems already interconnected are grandfathered in meaning they keep full-retail credit until the system is decommissioned or replaced.
The same law caps residential solar permit fees at $500 and requires utilities to swap your meter within five business days of a complete request. For a homeowner weighing solar this year, the effect points one way. Interconnecting before the cutoff locks in the credit behind that payback. Wait until the successor rate takes effect, and the same system stretches payback toward 11.5 years under the lower export rate.
Solar Payback by Utility: BGE to Potomac Edison
How fast solar pays back depends on which utility bills you, because each one charges a different volumetric rate, the per-kilowatt-hour price your panels offset. The table below applies each utility’s June 2026 residential rate from the Office of People’s Counsel to the same 7.78 kW system producing 11,141 kWh a year at a $21,239 gross cost, before any incentives.
Utility | Volumetric Rate (¢/kWh) | Year-1 Bill Savings | Simple Payback |
|---|---|---|---|
Delmarva (Eastern Shore) | 21.51¢ | $2,396 | 8.9 years |
BGE (central Maryland) | 21.10¢ | $2,351 | 9.0 years |
Pepco (DC suburbs) | 19.76¢ | $2,201 | 9.6 years |
Potomac Edison (western Maryland) | 14.88¢ | $1,658 | 12.8 years |
Three of the four utilities reach payback within a year of each other, from 8.9 to 9.6 years. Potomac Edison is the outlier. Its western-Maryland customers pay the lowest rate in the state, 14.88¢/kWh, so each solar kilowatt-hour offsets less and payback runs to 12.8 years. The 25-year net follows the same order: $71,900 on Delmarva and $70,100 on BGE, down to $43,200 on Potomac Edison.
When Solar Panels Are Worth It in Maryland
Solar pays best when a home’s electricity use is high, its roof is sound, and the owner plans to stay. In Maryland, the strongest cases share a few traits.
Situation | Why It Works in Maryland | What It Means for You |
|---|---|---|
High summer AC bills | Humid Maryland summers drive heavy cooling load, so more grid power gets replaced | A larger system earns its keep, and savings grow as rates rise |
Staying 10 years or more | That payback leaves 15-plus years of warrantied production as profit | Owning beats leasing when you hold the home |
Served by BGE, Pepco, or Delmarva | These three deliver 8.9 to 9.6-year paybacks at today’s rates | Solar clears its cost well inside a typical stay |
Interconnecting before mid-2027 | Full-retail net metering is grandfathered for the system’s life | You lock in the credit that drives the payback |
Roof under 15 years old | No need to remove and reset panels for a re-roof | No hidden roof cost eats into the return |
Energy bill savings are not the only return. A typical system earns 11 Maryland solar renewable energy credits a year, the tradable certificates utilities buy to meet the state’s 14.5% solar requirement. At recent trading prices that is $440 in a year, but SREC prices swing widely and have trended down, so count it as variable upside you cannot bank on. Maryland also waives sales tax on the equipment and exempts the added home value from property tax. The exact details for each of these programs can be found in Maryland’s solar incentives and exemptions.
When Maryland Solar Isn’t Worth It
Solar is not the right call for every Maryland home, and two of these cases turn on timing and territory. The biggest timing risk is interconnecting after the full-retail window closes. A system that comes online under the post-2027 successor rate earns less for its exported power, and payback stretches with it.
Net Metering Basis | Year-1 Bill Savings | Simple Payback | 25-Year Net |
|---|---|---|---|
Full retail today | $2,473 | 8.6 years | $74,800 |
PSC successor after 2027 (lower export) | $1,840 | 11.5 years | $50,000 |
*(Statewide all-in basis, directional; the per-utility payback above uses each utility’s lower volumetric rate.)
Both rows model the same system and the same gross cost on the statewide all-in rate. The only change is how exported power is paid, at full retail today or at the lower rate the successor program is expected to set. That gap of nearly $25,000 over 25 years is the concrete reason to interconnect while full retail is still open.
Western Maryland’s 12.8-Year Payback on Potomac Edison
Potomac Edison’s residential rate of 14.88¢/kWh is the lowest in the state, which helps your current bill and hurts solar. At that rate the same system takes 12.8 years to pay back, against 8.9 to 9.6 years elsewhere. If you live in Garrett, Allegany, Washington, or Frederick County, solar can still work for a high-use household staying long term, but the payback is years longer, and a smaller system or community solar may serve you better.
Short Stays, Aging Roofs, and Low Use
Three more situations argue for waiting. If you may move within five years, the system will not have paid for itself, and buying rarely makes sense; a transferable lease or waiting fits better. If your roof is within a few years of replacement, replace it first, since removing and resetting an array runs $1,500 to $5,000. A home using under 250 kWh a month has too small a bill for the savings to cover the fixed costs of permitting and interconnection. In all three cases, community solar gives renters and low-use homes a share of the savings with no install and no long-term contract.
Cash, Loan, Lease, and PPA After 2025
Your financing choice affects how much you keep over the system’s life, and 2026 reshuffled the options. With the federal residential credit gone, the gap between owning and leasing looks different than it did a year ago.
Buying With Cash or a Loan
Paying cash earns the most. You own the system, keep every net-metering credit and SREC, and bank decades of lower bills after that payback. A loan works when the monthly payment falls below what you pay BGE or Pepco now, though dealer fees baked into $0-down loans, commonly 20% to 30% of system cost, eat into the return. The 30% federal credit is no longer there to cushion the upfront price, so out-of-pocket cost is higher than in 2025, but ownership still delivers the strongest 25-year return.
Leasing or a PPA After the Federal Credit Ended
A lease or power purchase agreement puts no money down and hands the system to a company that owns it. Both are legal in Maryland. You give up lifetime savings in exchange for lower commitment and no upfront cost, and the company keeps the net-metering value and the SRECs.
If you lease or sign a PPA, the provider, not you, keeps any federal commercial credit that still applies to their system and may pass some of that value through as a lower monthly payment. Watch the escalator clause, which raises many PPA payments by 2% to 3% a year and can outrun your utility’s rate over time. For how these deals are marketed and where they go wrong, see how $0-down solar deals work.
How To Know If Solar Is Worth It for Your Own Home
Before you request a single quote, you can size up your own case with four questions.
- What is your monthly bill? Homes over $150 a month see the clearest returns, and the typical Maryland bill of $206 sits above that line. Under $80, savings come slowly.
- Who is your utility? BGE, Pepco, and Delmarva customers get 8.9 to 9.6-year paybacks. Potomac Edison’s lower rate pushes payback past 12 years.
- How long will you stay? Solar pays back over many years. Staying ten years or more lets the system pay off and then profit. Under five, lean toward a lease or wait.
- How old is your roof? Under 15 years is ideal. Within a few years of replacement, re-roof first to avoid a $1,500 to $5,000 removal-and-reset cost.
One more factor is backup power. A battery earns nothing on arbitrage under today’s full-retail netting, since your exports already get the retail rate. Its value is keeping essential circuits running during an outage, at $15,000 or more installed for a 13.5 kWh unit. That changes after 2027, when lower export rates make stored power worth holding rather than selling.
How to Verify a Maryland Installer’s MHIC License & Master Electrician
The installer decides whether you capture the savings above, and Maryland sets licensing rules you can check yourself. Every solar contractor must hold a Maryland Home Improvement Commission (MHIC) license, and the grid connection must be done by a licensed master electrician. Ask for the MHIC number and verify it before you sign.
Look for NABCEP-certified staff, a workmanship warranty of at least ten years, and a real track record with your county’s permitting and your utility’s interconnection, where interconnection delays cause most of the wait. For vetted options, see the top solar installers in Maryland.
Should You Go Solar in Maryland?
For a homeowner on BGE, Pepco, or Delmarva, with a sound roof and plans to stay, solar in Maryland is worth it, and interconnecting before the net-metering window closes makes the case stronger. The nine-year payback, full-retail credit, and $70,000 25-year return hold up without the federal credit that disappeared in 2026.
For others, the better move is to wait. Western-Maryland homes on Potomac Edison, households using under 250 kWh a month, owners planning to move soon, and roofs near the end of their life all have reason to hold off or look at community solar. Solar here rewards the homeowner who sizes the system to real use and locks in today’s net metering while it lasts.
See Your Own Maryland Solar Payback
Enter your ZIP code and your average monthly bill to model your own payback, by utility, on a system sized to your home, before and after the 2027 net-metering change. You will see the case for your own address rather than a statewide average, so you can decide before the window closes.
Find out how much you could save in Maryland!
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, solar panels are worth it for most homes in Maryland. The 30% residential credit ended for systems placed in service after December 31, 2025, but Maryland’s high electricity rate, full-retail net metering, and the sales- and property-tax exemptions still produce a nine-year payback for the typical home. Solar offsets each utility’s energy rate, 21.10¢ for a BGE home, so that payback runs off the volumetric rate rather than the 22.2¢ all-in bill average. The savings now rest on state policy and rate exposure instead of a federal rebate.
Nine years for a typical BGE home, and 8.9 to 9.6 years across BGE, Pepco, and Delmarva. Western-Maryland customers on Potomac Edison’s lower rate wait 12.8 years. After payback, a system keeps producing under warranty for 15 years or more.
The Utility RELIEF Act ends full-retail net metering for new systems at the earlier of a 3,000-megawatt cap or July 1, 2027. A successor program, due from the Public Service Commission by February 1, 2027, will pay less for exported power. Systems interconnected before the cutoff are grandfathered at full retail for the life of the system.
Not for bill savings. Under full-retail net metering your exports already earn the retail rate, so a battery returns nothing on arbitrage today. Its value is backup power during an outage, at $15,000 or more installed. After the 2027 export change, stored power gains value, but backup stays the main reason to add one.
A typical 7.78 kW system earns 11 solar renewable energy credits a year. At recent trading prices that is $440 in a year, but SREC prices swing widely and have trended down, so count it as variable upside that may not recur. On a leased or PPA system, the provider usually keeps the credits.
For many renters, yes. Maryland’s community solar program lets renters and homeowners with shaded or unsuitable roofs subscribe to a local project and take 5% to 25% off their bill, with no install and no long-term contract. At least 40% of each project is reserved for low- and moderate-income households. It is the better option when rooftop solar does not fit.
Yes. Potomac Edison’s 14.88¢/kWh rate is the lowest of Maryland’s major utilities, so each solar kilowatt-hour offsets less. Payback runs 12.8 years there, against 8.9 to 9.6 years on Delmarva, BGE, and Pepco. A high-use household staying long term can still come out ahead, but the margin is smaller.
*Methodology & Data: Cost and payback figures on this page come from EcoGen’s Solar Cost Index and Solar Payback Methodology. The Cost Index sets the per-watt and system-cost numbers from current marketplace quote data, benchmarked against Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s Tracking the Sun, the NREL cost benchmark, and SEIA/Wood Mackenzie. The Payback Methodology builds the year-one and 25-year ranges from each utility’s volumetric rate. Maryland’s competitive online quote level of $2.73 per watt sits below the typical transacted price national installers report, so a real quote may run higher.
References & Research Sources:
EcoGen America reviewed Maryland utility commission materials, net energy metering reports, state legislation, utility rate resources, federal tax guidance, renewable energy portfolio standard research, and solar production modeling tools for this article. Sources were accessed July 13, 2026, unless another publication, release, effective, or update date is listed below.
- Maryland Public Service Commission (PSC). U.S. EIA Corrects Maryland Electricity Price Data. Public Service Commission news release regarding corrected residential electricity price data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Published June 3, 2026. Accessed July 13, 2026.
- Maryland Public Service Commission (PSC). Net Energy Metering in the State of Maryland. Public Utilities Article § 7-306(j) report. Revised November 20, 2025. Accessed July 13, 2026.
- Maryland General Assembly. House Bill 1532: Continuing the Next Generation Energy Act; Utility RELIEF (Reducing Energy Load Inflation for Everyday Families) Act. 2026 Regular Session enrolled bill. Accessed July 13, 2026.
- Maryland Office of People’s Counsel (OPC). Utility Rates and Basics. Consumer utility rate resource, including links to Maryland utility rate pages and electric and gas rate reports. Updated March 2025. Accessed July 13, 2026.
- Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Residential Clean Energy Credit. Federal Section 25D tax credit guidance. Page last reviewed or updated July 4, 2026. Accessed July 13, 2026.
- Maryland Department of Legislative Services. Introduction to the Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard. Office of Policy Analysis report on Maryland’s renewable energy portfolio standard. Published September 2025. Accessed July 13, 2026.
- National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). PVWatts Calculator. Solar photovoltaic energy production modeling tool. Accessed July 13, 2026.
