What solar costs in Maryland
Berkeley Lab does not have enough reported installations in Maryland to publish a reliable local price, so the figures below use the national median. Treat them as a starting point, not a quote.
The numbers
High electricity prices make solar pay faster, so a red figure in the third box is good news for a solar buyer and bad news every other month of the year.
Holding a quote above $30,000? Installers in Maryland price the same system very differently. Two more bids is the cheapest way to find out where yours sits.
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What the roof makes month by month in Baltimore
A 2.1 to 1 swing across the year, which is fairly typical. Expect to export in summer and import in winter, and check how your utility settles the difference.
Figures are for an 8 kW array at 20 degrees facing south, modelled from NSRDB radiation data at Baltimore.
What different sizes cost in Maryland
| Size | Panels | Price | Output | Year one saving | Payback |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 kW | 10 | $15,000 | 5,128 kWh | $1,098 | 12.2 years |
| 5 kW | 13 | $18,750 | 6,410 kWh | $1,372 | 12.2 years |
| 6 kW | 15 | $22,500 | 7,692 kWh | $1,647 | 12.2 years |
| 7 kW | 18 | $26,250 | 8,974 kWh | $1,921 | 12.2 years |
| 8 kWtypical | 20 | $30,000 | 10,256 kWh | $2,196 | 12.2 years |
| 10 kW | 25 | $37,500 | 12,820 kWh | $2,745 | 12.2 years |
| 12 kW | 30 | $45,000 | 15,384 kWh | $3,294 | 12.2 years |
| 15 kW | 38 | $56,250 | 19,230 kWh | $4,117 | 12.2 years |
| 20 kW | 50 | $75,000 | 25,640 kWh | $5,490 | 12.2 years |
Payback is the same at every size because this table holds the price per watt flat at the national median of $3.75: price and output both grow in step with the system, so their ratio does not change. Real quotes are not quite linear. Permitting, design and connection cost roughly the same on any roof, so a small system usually costs more per watt and a large one less, and pays back correspondingly later or sooner than shown.
Maryland has too few reported installations for a local median, so the price is the national median of what households paid on host-owned systems installed in 2024-2025, compiled by Berkeley Lab. Local quotes can sit well above or below it.
23 programmes in Maryland
The 30% federal credit ended for installations completed after 31 December 2025. These state, utility and local programmes are unaffected by that, and are now the only thing that reduces the price.
| Programme | Type | Run by | Reach | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clean Energy Advantage Loan Program | Loan Program | State | statewide | August 10, 2025 |
| Commercial and Canopy Solar Program | Grant Program | State | statewide | January 14, 2026 |
| Commercial Solar Grant Program | Grant Program | State | statewide | September 30, 2025 |
| Community Solar LMI-PPA Grant Program | Grant Program | State | statewide | October 3, 2025 |
| Decarbonizing Public Schools Program | Grant Program | State | statewide | November 4, 2025 |
| Higher Education Clean Energy Grant Program | Grant Program | State | statewide | November 4, 2025 |
| Interconnection Standards | Interconnection | State | statewide | June 7, 2024 |
| Local Government Energy Modernization Program (L-GEM) | Grant Program | State | statewide | March 23, 2026 |
| Maryland Clean Energy Program (Local Option) | PACE Financing | State | statewide | January 2, 2024 |
| Maryland Solar Access Program | Grant Program | State | statewide | September 30, 2025 |
| Maryland Solar Easements & Rights Laws | Solar/Wind Access Policy | State | statewide | November 5, 2023 |
| Net Metering | Net Metering | State | statewide | April 1, 2026 |
| Property Tax Credit for Nonresidential Solar on Certain Brownfields, Water Retention Ponds, or Quarries | Property Tax Incentive | State | statewide | March 23, 2026 |
| Property Tax Exemption for Solar and Wind Energy Systems | Property Tax Incentive | State | statewide | March 14, 2025 |
| Sales and Use Tax Exemption for Renewable Energy Equipment | Sales Tax Incentive | State | statewide | January 6, 2025 |
| Sales and Use Tax Exemption for Residential Solar and Wind Electricity Sales | Sales Tax Incentive | State | statewide | January 6, 2025 |
| Solar Renewable Energy Certificates (SRECs) | Solar Renewable Energy Credit Program | State | statewide | October 29, 2025 |
| Anne Arundel County - High Performance Building Property Tax Credit | Property Tax Incentive | Local | partial | January 14, 2026 |
| Anne Arundel County - Solar and Geothermal Equipment Property Tax Credits | Property Tax Incentive | Local | partial | January 14, 2026 |
| Baltimore County - Property Tax Credit for Solar and Geothermal Devices | Property Tax Incentive | Local | partial | January 14, 2026 |
| Harford County - Property Tax Credit for Solar and Geothermal Devices | Property Tax Incentive | Local | partial | January 14, 2026 |
| Montgomery County - Property Tax Credit - Renewable Energy (Energy Conservation Devices) | Property Tax Incentive | Local | partial | January 14, 2026 |
| Prince George's County - Solar and Geothermal Residential Property Tax Credit | Property Tax Incentive | Local | partial | January 14, 2026 |
Programme index from DSIRE, N.C. Clean Energy Technology Center, NC State University, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. “Partial” means it reaches only some utilities or counties. A listed programme can still be closed or out of budget, so check its own page before counting on it.
How Maryland ranks
Closest on payback: Michigan (12.1 yrs), New Mexico (12.1 yrs), Pennsylvania (12.2 yrs), Vermont (12.3 yrs).
Solar in Maryland, answered
How much do solar panels cost in Maryland?
An 8 kW system in Maryland, roughly 20 panels, costs about $30,000 before incentives. That is based on $3.75 per watt, the national median from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory for 2024-2025, because too few Maryland installations are reported to publish a local figure. There is no longer a federal tax credit to subtract from that figure.
Is there still a 30% solar tax credit in Maryland?
No. The federal Residential Clean Energy Credit under Internal Revenue Code section 25D was terminated by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act for expenditures made after 31 December 2025, and it did not step down first. A Maryland homeowner buying a system with cash or a loan today receives no federal tax credit. Under a lease or power purchase agreement the credit survives as section 48E but belongs to the company that owns the equipment, not to the household. Maryland still has 23 state, utility or local programmes covering rooftop solar.
How long do solar panels take to pay for themselves in Maryland?
About 12.2 years in Maryland. An 8 kW system costs roughly $30,000 and saves about $2,196 in its first year at the state's average residential rate of 21.41 cents per kilowatt-hour (EIA, July 2026). That calculation includes no federal tax credit, because the residential credit ended after 31 December 2025.
How much electricity does a solar panel produce in Maryland?
Each kilowatt of panels in Maryland produces about 1,282 kilowatt-hours a year, modelled at Baltimore facing south at a 20 degree tilt using NSRDB radiation data. An 8 kW system therefore makes roughly 10,256 kilowatt-hours a year. The national average is about 1,332 kilowatt-hours per kilowatt installed.
Is solar worth it in Maryland?
It depends less on sunshine than on your electricity price. In Maryland power costs 21.41 cents per kilowatt-hour (EIA, July 2026), which makes an 8 kW system pay for itself in about 12.2 years and clear roughly $40,220 over 25 years. Solar from your own roof works out at 12.4 cents per kilowatt-hour over its life, against 21.41 cents from the utility.
How many solar panels do I need in Maryland?
A typical Maryland installation is about 20 panels, which is 8 kW at the 400 watt module that is now standard and needs roughly 440 square feet of roof. To size it to your own use, divide your annual kilowatt-hours by 1,282, which is what each kilowatt of panels produces in Maryland each year.
Do solar panels work in winter in Maryland?
Yes, but output falls sharply. In Baltimore a kilowatt of panels makes about 137 kilowatt-hours in Jul and about 64 in Dec, a swing of 2.1 to 1 across the year. A system sized to cover your annual consumption will therefore run a surplus in summer and leave you buying power in winter, so how your utility settles that difference matters as much as the size of the array.
Three competing quotes beat any amount of comparing panel brands
Sales cost and margin are over a third of an installed price in Maryland, and they are the part that competition removes. A single quote from whoever reached you first is how people end up in the top quarter of what their neighbours paid.
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Berkeley Lab publishes installed prices once a year, the EIA updates electricity rates every month, and Congress changed the tax treatment of all of this in 2025. One email when something on this site actually changes, and nothing else.
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