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Buying solar and what it costs

Solar panel installation process in Maryland

Written by the Soleil Energy Corp Team Last updated Editorial guidelines

Two installers in harnesses and hard hats setting a panel on a brick house roof.

The solar panel installation process in Maryland runs from a roof and electrical assessment through design, permits, installation, inspection and the utility’s permission to operate (PTO). The utility issues PTO after its final review. Panels on the roof don’t mean you can turn the system on.123

What are the steps to install solar in Maryland?

Start with your roof, your electricity use and the proposed design. Settle who will obtain permits and file the utility application before construction begins. After installation the contractor arranges inspection and submits completion documents, and the utility finishes its own requirements.12

Step What happens Who leads Time sourced for this step
1. Assess Roof, shading, structure, electrical service and electric bill reviewed2 Contractor None published
2. Design and contract Layout, equipment, scope, construction dates and permit responsibility put in writing4 Contractor and you None published
3. Permits and utility application Building and electrical permits; interconnection application to the utility15 Contractor Montgomery County: usually 5 to 7 days for adequately prepared applications; eSolar permits issue immediately once paid65
4. Build Roof and electrical work to the approved drawings5 Installer DOE: generally a few days2
5. Inspect Local inspection, corrections if needed5 Contractor and permit office DOE: permits and inspections can take weeks to months, depending on local rules2
6. Utility review and meter work Completion paperwork, final review, meter installed or reprogrammed17 Utility and contractor Maryland Level 1 clocks, below; meter work within 5 business days of a properly completed request8
7. Permission to operate Utility emails PTO1 Utility Within 20 business days of acceptable documents9
8. Handover Commissioning report, equipment documents, monitoring access, service contact4 Installer None published

Soleil Energy describes its residential solar process as Assess, Design, Build, Support.3 The sequence shifts when the roof or electrical service needs work, so settle that scope before treating an installation date as firm. If the roof is the open question, should you replace your roof before solar lays out the tradeoffs.

Three handoffs are easy to misread: a booking confirmation isn’t a passed inspection, an upload receipt isn’t the utility’s acceptance, and an installation date isn’t a switch-on date. Ask for the actual record each time and keep it with your project file.

Who files the permit and the utility application?

Your contract should say who obtains permits, pays the charges and handles utility submissions. The Maryland Energy Administration (MEA) recommends spelling out permitting responsibility in the contract and allocating the permitting costs to you or the contractor.4 Pepco’s public process has the contractor submit the application, with the customer supplying account information and signatures.1

Pepco’s page asks for a recent bill, manufacturer specifications, a single-line electrical drawing and a site plan.1 For a Level 1 system (inverter-based, 20 kilowatts or less), Pepco’s Maryland tariff lists the application fee as “No charge.”10 Rider MCAM-S adds $231 per residential interconnection plus $6.86 per application, effective May 1, 2026, and the tariff says each interconnection customer pays it.10 On the billing side, Pepco’s apply page says its system sends the contractor an invoice, and its forms page says the invoice goes to the contractor or customer.111 So the contractor may be billed first, and you pay nothing directly only if the contractor absorbs the charge. Check that your contract says which. Pepco solar interconnection and permission to operate walks through the Pepco side in more detail.

How long does solar installation take in Maryland?

Separate time on the roof from time waiting on approvals. The U.S. Department of Energy says installation generally takes only a few days, while permits and inspections can take weeks to months depending on local rules. That’s national guidance, not a Maryland estimate or a promised finish date.2

A schedule you can trust names dates for design, permit issuance, utility approval, equipment delivery, construction, inspection, meter work and PTO, and says which item each one waits on. Ask for a fresh estimate after any design change or new roof-work requirement. MEA also recommends putting construction start and end dates in the contract.4

Maryland puts clocks on part of the utility’s work. For an inverter-based system of 20 kilowatts or less, the regulation says the utility must tell the applicant within 5 business days of receiving the request whether it is complete, then verify within 15 business days after that whether the system can be interconnected safely and reliably.9 Unless the utility determines and demonstrates that the system can’t be connected safely or reliably, the rule says it shall approve the request and send a PTO notice within 20 business days of receiving acceptable documents. Four conditions apply: approval by local electric code officials, a certificate of completion returned to the utility, a completed or waived witness test, and a signed interconnection agreement.9 Those clocks cover the utility’s steps only, and some work overlaps, so don’t add the periods together to guess a finish date.

The Level 1 text above is what the Library of Maryland Regulations showed on October 25, 2026. The Public Service Commission published a proposal to amend the chapter in the Maryland Register on September 18, 2026. It said the proposal would replace emergency regulations that expired October 10, 2026, or sooner if permanent ones were adopted. The October 16 Register still listed the proposal as not adopted.12 If a utility letter quotes a deadline, ask which version of COMAR 20.50.09 it rests on.

How long does a solar permit take?

It depends on the permit route and how complete your application is. Montgomery County’s residential solar page says adequately prepared applications are usually issued within 5 to 7 days. Its eSolar route issues the building permit electronically once it’s paid online. A separate electrical permit is still required, and the county issues it after the building permit.65

Permit route What the county says Limit to remember
Montgomery County standard residential solar Adequately prepared applications are usually issued within 5 to 7 days5 The page doesn’t say whether those are business days. Unpaid fees and unmet requirements hold up issuance.5
Montgomery County eSolar Permits are issued immediately and electronically once paid online6 Residential main structures and qualified contractors only; a separate electrical permit is still required6

These are county examples, not estimates for every Maryland address. Montgomery’s eSolar page excludes commercial properties and townhouses four stories above grade and over, ballasted roof systems, and municipalities and historic properties with site restrictions.6 The permit office for your address can tell you which route applies. Our Montgomery County permit guide covers the local process, and the Prince George’s County permit guide covers that county.

Chapter 353 of 2026 also sets a future deadline: county and municipal solar permitting software by August 1, 2027, with exceptions for jurisdictions that don’t require permits or whose software is no longer maintained, plus a funding-related delay or suspension provision.8 That date doesn’t change today’s permit route for your home.

Is meter work the same as permission to operate?

No. Maryland law now puts a 5-business-day clock on the utility’s meter disconnection and reconnection for a residential solar or storage system, counted from a properly completed request. Permission to operate is a separate step under COMAR 20.50.09.09, so track the meter request and the PTO notice separately.89

The meter rule is Local Government Article section 1-1320(f), as enacted in Chapter 353. It applies to an electric company other than a municipal electric utility, which may authorize qualified outside personnel to do the work. Section 4 of the Act, which holds that provision, took effect July 1, 2026. The same subsection says it doesn’t change the Public Service Commission’s small-generator interconnection standards.8

When you chase a delay, ask the utility when it received a properly completed meter-work request, since that’s what starts the 5-day count. BGE’s 2019 brochure draws the same line for its own territory: you may begin operating after BGE confirms the net meter is installed and you’ve received the Permission to Operate email. Pepco’s process also ends with a final review and a PTO email.71 Until you have the PTO notice in hand, keep the system off.

What if the project stalls?

Unresolved roof work, design corrections, undelivered equipment, incomplete submissions and inspection corrections can all hold up later steps. Start by finding the missing approval or document, then work out who has to act next and when they received a complete submission. A revised schedule tied to that dependency is more useful than another general completion estimate.25

Example: a roof problem turns up after the preliminary panel layout is done. Before panel installation is scheduled, the contractor settles the roof scope and says whether the layout or submitted plans need revising. This example describes no real project.

For an installed system waiting on PTO, send the contractor a specific request:

Please send the local inspection result, the utility completion-submission reference, and confirmation of any outstanding documents. Please also confirm the meter-work status, who owns the next action, and the utility’s current status for operating permission.

If the next action belongs to the utility, contact it with your account and application reference. Pepco’s public process lets customers and contractors follow progress on an application dashboard.1

How should you plan your install?

Get a written schedule that names who owns each step and which record proves it’s done. Plan for short roof work and slower approvals, as the DOE guidance suggests.2 Keep net metering questions separate from a contractor’s proposed start date.

Maryland net metering after the deadline explains what changes. Check Soleil’s service area before you request an assessment, since this overview doesn’t cover every address.

To talk through your home’s roof and solar plans, book a free consultation or call (301) 953-4140.

Solar savings and incentive eligibility depend on your roof, your usage, your utility, and your tax situation. Incentive programs change and some have limited funding. We are not tax advisors — we will review your bill with you and tell you what you may qualify for. Confirm any tax credit with a qualified tax professional.

Sources (12)

  1. Pepco, “Interconnection Application Process,” current page (undated; it loads its content with JavaScript), read October 25, 2026. https://www.pepco.com/SmartEnergy/MyGreenPowerConnection/Pages/HowtoApply.aspx ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9 ↩10

  2. U.S. Department of Energy, “Walk Me Through It: A Step-By-Step Guide for Consumers Going Solar,” published August 4, 2021 and last modified May 15, 2026; page read October 25, 2026. https://www.energy.gov/cmei/systems/articles/walk-me-through-it-step-step-guide-consumers-going-solar ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8

  3. Soleil Energy, “Residential solar,” current page (undated), read October 25, 2026. https://soleilenergycorp.com/renewable-energy/residential-solar/ ↩ ↩2

  4. Maryland Energy Administration and Clean Energy States Alliance, “A Maryland Consumer’s Guide to Solar,” January 2018 (contract contents and permitting responsibility, pages 35 to 36; commissioning report, page 38); PDF read October 25, 2026. https://energy.maryland.gov/residential/Documents/A%20Maryland%20Consumers%20Guide%20to%20Solar%20LR72dpi.pdf ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  5. Montgomery County Department of Permitting Services, “Residential Solar Permit Process,” current page (undated), read October 25, 2026. https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/department-permitting-services/all-permits/residential-permits/residential-solar-permit-process ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8

  6. Montgomery County Department of Permitting Services, “eSolar Residential Rooftop Solar Panels,” current page (undated), read October 25, 2026. https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/department-permitting-services/all-permits/residential-permits/esolar-residential-rooftop-solar-panels ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5

  7. Baltimore Gas and Electric, “Connecting Solar Energy Systems,” brochure, copyright 2019; PDF read October 25, 2026. Used for BGE’s own sequence of inspection documents, net meter installation and the Permission to Operate email. https://www.bge.com/cdn/assets/v3/assets/blt71bfe6e8a1c2d265/bltd6eb652ad678bdf4/64f6f1232e41a9000df78435/BGEInterconnectionBrochure_r2.pdf?branch=prod_alias ↩ ↩2

  8. Maryland General Assembly, Chapter 353, Acts of 2026 (House Bill 1532), signed May 12, 2026, Local Government Article section 1-1320(c) through (f); Section 22 sets July 1, 2026 as the effective date of Section 4; PDF read October 25, 2026. https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/chapters_noln/Ch_353_hb1532E.pdf ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  9. Code of Maryland Regulations 20.50.09.08 and 20.50.09.09, “Level 1 Review,” Library of Maryland Regulations, current text read October 25, 2026. https://regs.maryland.gov/us/md/exec/comar/20.50.09.09 ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  10. Pepco, Maryland Electric Tariff, Rider MCAM-S (pages 64 to 64.2) and Small Generator Interconnection Standard (page 65), issued and effective May 1, 2026; PDF read October 25, 2026. https://www.pepco.com/cdn/assets/v3/assets/bltbb7c204688a1a6a8/blte8a580e4cc79e2c4/6abad89015d5b7d18eb100f3/9232_AND_9761_Pepco_MD_CURRENT_CLEAN_Admin_Ch_.pdf?branch=prod_alias ↩ ↩2

  11. Pepco, “Maryland Applications and Forms,” current page (undated), read October 25, 2026. https://www.pepco.com/smart-energy/my-green-power-connection/developers-contractors/applying-for-interconnection/maryland-applications-and-forms ↩

  12. Maryland Register, Volume 53, Issue 19, September 18, 2026, Notice of Proposed Action 26-143-P; and Volume 53, Issue 21, October 16, 2026, Table of Pending Proposals (states none of the listed proposals has been adopted); pages read October 25, 2026. https://dsd.maryland.gov/mdrissues/5319/assembled.aspx and https://dsd.maryland.gov/mdrissues/5321/assembled.aspx ↩

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