Solar panel concerns alleviated at Charles commissioners' meeting

Concerns of Charles County having to share an undue burden of helping other jurisdictions find space for solar panel farms were at least somewhat alleviated at the April 9 county commissioners’ meeting.

The Maryland Renewable Portfolio Standard has set a goal for the state to have 14.5% of its energy coming from solar by 2030, prompting concerns from Commissioner Gilbert “BJ” Bowling (D) on counties with less available rural land outsourcing to Charles County to meet their quotas.

Jason Groth, the acting director of the Charles County Department of Planning and Growth Management, Kelly Robertson-Slagle, director of the economic development department, and Planning Director Charles Rice all joined Bowling for a discussion on the issue.

“Staff has been working behind the scenes with the Maryland Association of Counties, as all the other counties in Maryland have been doing on this issue,” Rice said Tuesday. “The session just ended last night, and it’s our understanding from MACO that really only one of the bills that dealt with solar passed.”

Rice said that Senate Bill 783 passed, which only deals with incentivizing smaller-scale solar projects.

“All the bills that dealt with taking away local authority and mandating a certain amount in each jurisdiction did not pass,” Rice said. “What’s likely to happen next year is some of these bills come back in a different form, certainly something that we need to keep monitoring.”

“As far as a game plan or strategy from economic development, I can let you know what we are doing,” Robertson-Slagle said. “Any of our new commercial development clients that are looking at new construction or redevelopment, one of top things that we talk about are exactly that — renewable energy.”

Robertson-Slagle said new developments are encouraged to use solar and are talked to about incentives for their use. She admitted that it would cost a little more to new developments upfront, but it would benefit them and the county long-term, as the installation would help reach over-arching goals.

The Federal Business Energy Investment Tax Credit allows 30% tax credit for installed solar energy systems placed in service after Dec. 31, 2019.

Maryland also has a solar credit system that is associated with the amount of kilowatts a system generates over the course of the year. One kilowatt-hour is equal to one “renewable energy credit,” and those credits hold real monetary value and can be sold or traded to meet a supplier’s annual compliance obligations, according to the Maryland Energy Administration.

There is also a sales tax exemption for the purchase of solar panels.

“We’re not just looking at farmland. Solar panels can go a lot of different places,” Robertson-Slagle said.