MRSC
THE UNIQUE VALUE OF ROOFTOP SOLAR
Rooftop solar is helping Maryland meet its energy goals — while providing Marylanders with the most control over their energy usage.
Fundamentally different from large utility-scale and community solar projects, rooftop solar reduces energy demand at the source, directly benefiting homeowners and lowering system-wide costs over time. Any policies should reflect this by creating distinct frameworks for customer-sited energy resources, ensuring fair compensation and continued accessibility for Maryland residents.
HOW ROOFTOP SOLAR
SUPPORTS MARYLAND
Rooftop solar protects ratepayers and helps lower consumers’ bills, boosts the local economy through long-term job creation, and plays a critical role in quickly meeting our increasingly growing power demand.
Energy Affordability and Ratepayer Relief
Rising electricity costs — driven in large part by increasing demand from data centers, electrification efforts, and industrial use — are impacting consumers across the U.S. Residential electricity prices have increased significantly — nearly 40% between 2020 and 2024 — making solar a hedge against future rate spikes.
Maryland homeowners can use rooftop solar to manage their electricity bills and save money on their overall electricity costs.
By bringing online more distributed solar and additional solar paired with battery storage, we can reduce peak demand and wholesale power costs, lowering household utility bills for all Marylanders.
Economic Impact
By supporting the growth of the rooftop solar industry in Maryland, we’re also supporting local, stable, full-time jobs that can’t be outsourced. Many Maryland rooftop solar companies are locally grown companies, such as a roofing company that expanded to offer solar to meet its customers’ growing needs, or an HVAC company that now offers solar as an additional business line. We’re talking about locally owned solar businesses that employ members of the same community where rooftop systems are being installed.
Grid Reliability, Resilience, and Infrastructure Pressure
Rooftop solar, paired with battery storage, is a near-term solution that can help us meet Maryland’s growing electricity demand today — compared with the long build timelines for centralized generation:
-
Residential Rooftop Solar: Online in 3 to 6 months
-
Community and Utility-Scale Solar: Online in 3 to 5 years – or more
In some regions across the U.S., residential rooftop solar has become the cornerstone of the solar industry. Consider New Jersey, where almost 200 MW of residential solar is added each year. Here in Maryland, that number is closer to 80 MW per year. Our potential for growth can’t be overstated.
The quickest, most efficient, and cost-effective way to create new power generation in Maryland is distributed solar energy. Rooftop solar supports overall grid resilience, especially during periods of peak demand, for all Marylanders.
The bottom line: Rooftop solar in Maryland is not just a clean energy solution — it’s a consumer affordability tool, a local economic engine, and a critical component of a more resilient and reliable electric grid.