Maryland: Residential Clean Energy Grant Program

Maryland's Residential Clean Energy Grant Program, administered by the Maryland Energy Administration (MEA), provides financial incentives to homeowners that install solar water-heating systems or solar-electric (PV) systems. In order to be eligible, the property must be the applicant's primary residence.

The current Solar Energy Grant Program provides incentives as follows (effective for applications received on or after July 1, 2012):

• Solar water heating: $500 flat incentive for systems from with a panel area of 10 - 100 square feet;
• Solar PV: $1,000 flat incentive for systems with a capacity of up to 20 kilowatts (kW)

Solar water-heating collectors must meet the Solar Rating and Certification Corporation's (SRCC) OG-100 Certification. PV system hardware must be in compliance with all applicable performance and safety standards, including: Underwriters Laboratories (UL) 1741, "Standard for Static Inverters and Charge Controllers for Use in Photovoltaic Systems" and UL 1703, "Standard for Safety: Flat-Plate Photovoltaic Modules and Panels." The system must be installed in compliance with applicable requirements of local electric codes and the National Electric Code (NEC). Systems must be installed in compliance with IEEE Standard 929-2000, "Recommended Practice for Utility Interface of Photovoltaic Systems."

Note that these grants may be subtracted from adjusted gross income for state income tax purposes. In other words, program recipients do not have to pay state taxes on the amount of the grant received. See H.B. 590, enacted in May 2007. For applications and more information on the program, including a Q&A section, please see the program web site.