State Solar Incentives Bill requires county to approve permitting software – Conduit Street

On Sine Die, the House added provisions to the Brighter Tomorrow Act that required counties to adopt specific solar permitting software. This version was ultimately adopted by both chambers and signed by the governor.

There was much discussion on the topic of solar energy during the 2024 legislative session, with several resulting pieces of legislation being debated but ultimately failing. The only solar bill that did pass was the Brighter Tomorrow act (SB783/HB1435). Most of this bill concerned financial incentives to promote solar energy development. One provision amended in Sine Die requires provinces and municipalities to adopt permitting software for residential solar energy systems. This provision represented a significantly narrower version of HB1265/SB1054, which, among other things, would have created a single source purchase for Solar APP or Solar APP plus.

Mandate within Brighter Tomorrow

The bill requires all counties to adopt the following by August 1, 2025:

SOLAR PERMIT SOFTWARE FOR FEATURES THAT SUPPORT THE MAINTAINING AND APPROVAL OF RESIDENTIAL BUILDING PERMITS FOR:

(1) RESIDENTIAL SOLAR ENERGY SYSTEMS;
(2) RESIDENTIAL ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEMS;
(3) UPGRADES OF THE MAIN ELECTRICAL PANEL; AND
(4) MAIN ELECTRICAL PANEL LOWERS.

The bill defines “solar permitting software” as:

(I) THE MOST RECENT VERSION OF A WEB-BASED PLATFORM DEVELOPED BY THE NATIONAL RENEWABLE ENERGY LABORATORY, WHICH PROVIDES A STANDARD PORTAL FOR RECEIVING AND PROCESSING PERMIT INFORMATION FOR RESIDENTIAL SOLAR ENERGY SYSTEM AND RESIDENTIAL ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEM; OR

(II) AUTOMATED SOFTWARE PROVIDING FUNCTIONS TO SUPPORT THE TRACKING AND APPROVAL OF RESIDENTIAL BUILDING PERMITS FOR RESIDENTIAL SOLAR ENERGY SYSTEMS, RESIDENTIAL ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEMS, MAIN ELECTRICAL PANEL UPGRADES AND MAIN ELECTRICAL PANEL DEVICE

Counties are exempt from adopting the software as long as they do not require a permit for residential rooftop solar or if the permitting software is no longer updated (as determined by the administration). In addition, the Maryland Energy Administration (MEA) is required to suspend or delay mandatory adoption if there are insufficient resources to support a county or municipality in adopting such software.

Implementation of mandatory adoption

As part of the federal government’s commitment to renewable energy, MEA has been awarded approximately $2 million to cover the necessary costs for local governments to adopt Solar APP or Solar APP Plus (an application developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and private partners). Both applications should be implemented at no cost to the provinces and meet the requirements of the legislation. The government estimates the $2 million reward should be enough to fund all provinces and affected municipalities, based on adoption data and figures from other states.

If a province wishes to adopt software other than the Solar APPs, it may seek an alternative supplier, as long as it meets the requirements under 1–1319; (B)(5)(II) (see II in the quoted text above).

Read the full Brighter Tomorrow Act.