Maryland runs one of the more generous residential solar rebates in the country, and the FY27 round of the Maryland Solar Access Program is open. A qualifying household can receive $750 per kilowatt DC of installed solar, up to a maximum of $7,500 per home.
The part that catches people out is the sequence. This is not money you collect after the fact by filing a form — the rebate has to be reserved and approved before installation begins, and the payment request comes later, after the system is installed and interconnected. Install first and you have given up the rebate. Everything below is about getting that order right.
How the $7,500 is actually calculated
The rebate is $750 for every kilowatt DC of solar capacity you install, capped at $7,500 per home. The cap is reached at a 10 kW DC system, so a larger array does not earn a larger rebate.
DC capacity is the nameplate rating of the panels themselves, not the AC output of the inverter, and the two numbers are not the same. When you are comparing quotes, check which number a proposal is quoting before you assume what the rebate will be. A system sized to your usage rather than to the cap is usually the better buy anyway — the rebate should shape the decision, not make it.
- $750 per kW DC The rate applied to the system’s DC nameplate capacity.
- $7,500 maximum per home Reached at 10 kW DC. Capacity above that earns nothing further.
- One rebate per home The program is per property, not per person or per system.
Reservation first, payment later — the sequence that matters
This is the single most important thing on this page.
First, a rebate reservation is submitted and must be approved before any installation work begins. The reservation holds program funds against your project. Second, the system is installed and interconnected with your utility. Third, a payment request is submitted, and the rebate is paid according to the program’s process once the qualifying installation is verified.
Two consequences follow. Starting installation before your reservation is approved disqualifies the project. And because funds are finite and the reservation is what holds them, the practical race is to get the reservation in — not to get panels on the roof quickly.
We cannot promise you will be approved, and neither can anyone else. What we can do is make sure the sequence is followed and nothing is started out of order.
Who qualifies
The program applies income eligibility rules, so this is not a rebate available to every Maryland household regardless of circumstance. Qualification generally turns on the property being your home, on household size, and on household income falling within the program’s limits.
Income limits are set by the program and are tied to household size — a larger household is allowed a higher income and still qualifies. Because those thresholds are set by the Maryland Energy Administration and can change between program years, we check the current figures for your household size rather than printing a number here that could be out of date by the time you read it.
- You own and live in the home This is a residential program for the homeowner’s own property.
- Household size is part of the test The income limit scales with how many people live in the home.
- Income falls within program limits Eligibility is income-qualified. We check the current threshold with you.
- The property is in Maryland Statewide, administered by the Maryland Energy Administration.
Buying, leasing, or a power purchase agreement
The program’s rules accommodate qualifying purchase, lease and power purchase agreement structures. That matters, because a rebate that only worked for cash buyers would be out of reach for most of the households it is meant to help.
The trade-off is worth understanding before you choose. When you buy the system, the rebate reduces what you pay for an asset you own. When the rebate is handled through a contractor or developer structure, as it commonly is under a lease or PPA, the program applies economic benefit requirements — meaning the value has to reach you rather than stopping at the company. Ask any provider, including us, to show you in writing how the rebate value appears in your specific agreement.
Which structure is right depends on your tax situation, how long you plan to stay in the house, and whether you want to own the equipment. We will walk through all three with your actual numbers rather than steering you to one.
The participating-contractor requirement, explained plainly
Programs like this one are administered through an eligible or participating contractor structure. In practice that means the paperwork, the reservation and the payment request move through a channel the program recognizes, rather than being filed by a homeowner acting alone.
You do not need to work this out yourself. Sunny Sky can help you review your options and determine the appropriate next steps, including what the program requires of the installation and how your project would be submitted. What we will not do is tell you that approval is assured — no one is in a position to say that.
If the rebate is not available to you
Plenty of Maryland households are over the income limit, or find the program’s funds committed for the year. That does not mean solar stops making sense at your house.
Maryland has among the higher electricity rates in the mid-Atlantic, and the case for solar rests first on what you currently pay for power and what you would pay instead. The federal picture, net metering, and whether you add storage all move the number more than most people expect. If the Solar Access Program is not a fit, the review simply continues as a standard solar and battery assessment — same call, same twenty minutes, no wasted trip.
Frequently asked questions
How much is the Maryland solar rebate?
$750 per kilowatt DC of installed solar capacity, up to a maximum of $7,500 per home, under the FY27 Maryland Solar Access Program. Income eligibility applies.
How is the $7,500 calculated?
Multiply your system’s DC capacity in kilowatts by $750. A 10 kW DC system reaches the $7,500 cap; capacity beyond that does not increase the rebate. Note that DC nameplate capacity is not the same as the inverter’s AC rating.
Is the rebate paid before installation?
No. The rebate is reserved before installation and paid after it. The reservation must be approved before any installation work begins; the payment request follows the qualifying installation and interconnection, and the rebate is paid through the program’s process. It is not cash handed over upfront.
Can a lease qualify?
The program’s rules accommodate qualifying lease structures. Where the rebate is handled through a contractor or developer structure, economic benefit requirements apply, so ask to see in writing how the rebate value reaches you within the lease terms.
Can a PPA qualify?
Yes — qualifying power purchase agreement structures are accommodated, on the same basis as a lease. The same economic benefit requirements apply, and the same advice holds: get the treatment of the rebate in writing before you sign.
What income limits apply?
The program is income-qualified and the limit scales with household size. The thresholds are set by the Maryland Energy Administration and can change between program years, so we check the current figure for your household size rather than quoting one that may have moved.
Do I need an approved participating contractor?
The program operates through an eligible or participating contractor structure, so the reservation and payment request move through a channel the program recognizes. Sunny Sky can help you review your options and determine the appropriate next steps.
Can I install before reservation approval?
No. Installation must not begin until the rebate reservation is approved. Starting early is the most common way a household loses a rebate it would otherwise have received.
What if I do not qualify for the Solar Access Program?
Solar can still be worth doing. The review continues as a standard assessment of your bill, your roof and your options, including storage. The rebate improves the case where it applies; it is not the only reason the case exists.
Related pages
- Residential solar installation
- How whole-home battery backup works
- Ways to lower your electric bill
- New Jersey’s proposed home battery program
- New York’s home battery incentive
- Do I need a new roof before solar?
- Where we work
- Common questions about solar and storage
Official program sources
Find out where your household stands
The review is free and takes about twenty minutes. We look at your Maryland ZIP code, your household size and income range against the program’s current limits, your electric bill, and how much solar your roof can actually carry — then walk through purchase, lease and power purchase agreement side by side.
If the program is not a fit, we keep going and look at solar and storage on their own merits. No obligation, and we do not sell your information.