A new way to purchase green power is coming to Maryland, thanks to a partnership that will result in the installation of solar panels on the rooftops of self-storage facilities in Maryland and two other states.
The arrangement between Public Storage and Solar Landscape, announced this month, is designed to produce 87.53 megawatts of clean energy for up to 10,000 low- and moderate-income households in Maryland, Illinois and New Jersey.
“The ability to go in on a solar array at a separate location, the benefits from the electricity that’s generated there and have it charged against your electric bill, is a way for many, many more people…to purchase and participate in generating more solar energy, “ said State Del. Luke Clippinger, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee who represents Baltimore. “The more we do, it helps the state and helps us meet our goals for renewable energy targets here in Maryland.”
Residential subscribers to community solar are expected to buy into such nearby solar projects and ultimately reduce both their utility bill and carbon footprint.
Clippinger has become a strong proponent of community solar in Maryland, helping to develop a pilot program in 2014 that now has led to a new state law, effective July 1, 2023, which makes Maryland’s community solar program permanent. It lays out a structure and incentives for the development of more community solar projects in Maryland.
Clippinger said recent projects like the Public Storage and Solar Landscape partnership may be only the beginning of what the community solar movement may be capable of in the state.
“There are a lot of developers who are very excited that this (law) was made permanent, because it opens the door to more projects in Maryland, so that’s good for them,” he said.
Brendon Shank, executive vice president of engagement for Solar Landscape, is also bullish on his company’s partnership with Public Storage, and the community solar movement overall.
“That’s really the beauty…it gives people a chance to use solar who felt they’d never be able to use it before.because they live in a condo, or an apartment building,” he said. “Or maybe they don’t have the financial resources to put solar panels on their home.”
Solar Landscape is working with Public Storage in six different counties on the project–Baltimore, Anne Arundel, Carrol, Howard, Montgomery, and Prince George’s.
Public Storage will generate revenue from leasing roof space on its facilities’ roofs to Solar Landscape.
Solar Landscape derives most of its financial benefit through state and federal tax incentives for constructing solar arrays, but it also derives a small amount of revenue from a fee on electricity, Shank said. Maryland consumers of community solar benefit from a reduced electrical cost compared to standard use electric energy rates, which is mandated by the new law.
Marylanders also can enjoying the results of less-destructive energy impacts on the environment. Unlike solar arrays built on fields or farms, rooftop arrays do not destroy natural habitat, and provide cleaner energy than fossil fuels.
Shank said the potential for more rooftop solar is “ginormous.”
“Commercial rooftops have a lot of benefits,” he said. “A lot of times when people propose solar farms they’re way far out – 60, 80 miles (from urban areas). It puts a tremendous burden on the grid. So when you do it at the commercial warehouse level it means you are generating power to the people who are actually going to be using that power.”
Clippinger also acknowledged the benefits of rooftop arrays.
“The challenge for all renewable projects is that you have to be able to take the energy you generate and put it on the grid,” he said. “For a large storage facility, or a large supermarket, or anybody who has a big roof, it’s often a great place to look at a community because they have that ability to connect it back to the grid. The more that people can use rooftops the easier it is to get on the grid.”
But he also acknowledged a challenge of rooftop solar arrays – they are usually much more expensive than ground solar projects.
And the messaging and reputation from some solar firms has put doubt in some consumers’ minds. The solar company Solar City had been the subject of multiple lawsuits and investigations across the United States for financial indiscretions. And there have been other solar energy-oriented schemers too.
“The underhanded tactics in some cases to get people signed up – I think we as a state have learned from that,” Clippinger said. “That has created some reticence out there where people find this to be confusing at times”
Clippinger said organizations like Solar United Neighbors work to inform the public on what’s commercially available, and how it works.
“I think community solar will hopefully be easier for people to understand, particularly because it doesn’t (make them) put (up) a panel. It’s just making it easier for them to plug into projects around the state.”
He has learned the benefits of solar energy firsthand, and no longer has to pay much for plugging into the grid himself. With solar panels on his home, he pays little to nothing for electricity anymore, he said.
Projects like the Public Storage and Solar Landscape may soon help discover how far the community solar movement can take Maryland, Clippinger said.
“It’s naturally going to be cheaper, because, while it costs money to build the solar array, your cost savings rise as you have an economy of scale that works,” he said.
