Solar permitting — Calvert County, Maryland
On file: public meetings, local news, known opposition groups.
Chesapeake Bay peninsula; Calvert Cliffs nuclear plant; SMECO territory; limited interior land; Bay Critical A. Permitting: County Board of Appeals/Board of Commissioners: Special Exception or Conditional Use Permi; 150-ft max / 100-…
Key driver: Chesapeake Bay peninsula; Calvert Cliffs nuclear plant; SMECO territory; limited interior land; Bay Critical Area restricts coastal areas; moderate solar market
Permitting process
Local permitting pathway
County Board of Appeals/Board of Commissioners: Special Exception or Conditional Use Permit in applicable zoning district.
Setbacks & buffers
State floor per HB1036/SB931 (eff. Jul 1 2025): ≤100 ft from property lines; ≤150 ft from non-participating residences. No county-specific setbacks above state floor. — NOTE: the distances above are a STATE-level fallback, not a figure read from this county's own ordinance. We hold siting-rule records for this county which may include a stricter local limit we have not yet extracted. Verify against the county's own ordinance before relying on these.
Spacing requirements
None codified
Size restrictions
None codified; managed via CUP/SUP conditions
Penalties & bonding
No penalties or adjustments. Standard CUP/SUP process.
State-level permits & approvals
Local county zoning permit: conditional use or special exception at county level; no uniform statewide solar permitting standard. PPRP (Power Plant Research Program, MD DNR): environmental review for generating facilities ≥70 MW; PSC CPCN required for projects ≥70 MW. Projects <70 MW: county-level permitting only. No statewide preemption of local solar ordinances. Net metering: systems up to 2 MW (residential up to 2× annual load). All MD in PJM territory. Maryland has the largest solar carve-out in the U.S. at 14.5% by 2028 (MD Code, PUC §7-703).
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State policy & grid context
State RPS & clean energy policy
50% by 2030 (14.5% solar carve-out) | Clean Energy Jobs Act (2019) + CESA (2022) | Md. Code Ann. PUA §7-703
State incentive programs
Maryland Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard (RPS): 50% by 2030; solar carve-out 14.5% by 2028 — drives strong SREC demand. Maryland SREC market: PSC-administered; ~$50-80/SREC 2023-2024 for Tier 1 Maryland SRECs. Maryland Solar Access Program (Brighter Tomorrow Act 2024): $750/kW up to $7,500 for income-qualifying residential customers. Maryland Community Solar: community solar program active statewide. Maryland PSC: approval required for utility-owned solar; IPP projects via county/local process. Utility: BGE (Eversource) serves Baltimore metro; Pepco serves Montgomery/PG County; Delmarva Power serves Eastern Shore; SMECO serves Southern MD; Potomac Edison (FirstEnergy) serves western MD.
Grid & interconnection
PJM / SMECO transmission zone
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Battery storage (BESS) P1 State-Default Permitting
No confirmed county BESS ordinance.
Local BESS ordinances & bylaws
County-level battery-storage status, safety requirements, and projects — each linked to a primary source.
Community opposition P1
Organized opposition signals on record for this county — petitions, community groups, and oppositional coverage — each linked to its primary source.
- Calvert County Commissioners Unanimously Pass 6 Month Data Center Moratorium Data center
- Calvert County's data center moratorium may be off the ... Data center
- Calvert Commissioners Put A Data Center Moratorium Vote Back On the Agenda – Sort Of Data center
- Calvert County begins formal process to explore moratorium on data‑center approvals after AWS briefing General
- Calvert County Strikes Down Data Center Moratorium In 2-3 Vote Data center
- Data center moratorium shot down in Calvert on split vote Data center
- How would a data center help Calvert citizens? Data center
- Petition · Pause Data Centers in Calvert County: Support a Moratorium (10,000 Signatures Needed) Data center
- Oppose data centers in Calvert County Data center
- Southern MD county finds itself in the middle of a data center fight Data center
- St. Mary's excluded from data center conversation as Calvert, Charles mull ideas Data center
SitePath maintains the most complete community-opposition dataset available, refreshed continuously from primary sources.
Subscriber intel Subscribers
Researched for this county and available with a subscription:
- Project track record
- Developer intelligence
- Governing board
Energy-related meetings & dockets P1
Halo color matches the energy category tagged on each meeting.
- 2026-08-31 OtherData Center
Data Center moratorium to be discussed
- 2026-08-18 County BoardData Center
Calvert County Planning & Zoning Department proposed a six-month moratorium on data center projects.
- 2026-08-10 OtherData Center
Review and approval of a public comment statement regarding a data center moratorium.
- 2026-07-21 County BoardData Center
Calvert County discussed a data center project, but no specific action was taken.
- 2026-07-13 Utility BoardData Center
Data Center Updates… November Meeting g.
- 2026-06-16 County BoardData Center
The Planning Commission approved a special-use permit application for a proposed data center in Calvert County.
- 2026-06-16 County BoardData Center
The Calvert County Board of Commissioners discussed and voted on a petition in support of a temporary moratorium on new data center development in Calvert County.
- 2026-06-02 County BoardData Center
The Planning Commission voted to approve a special-use permit application for a 150 MW solar farm
- 2026-05-27 OtherData Center
County officials considered the final draft of a data center development proposal.
- 2026-05-27 OtherData Center
The county approved the final draft of the data center development proposal.
- 2026-05-18 OtherData Center
Planning Commission discussed recommended additions and removals for a data center project
- 2026-05-18 OtherData Center
Review of TA #26-23 and Planning Commission Recommendations for Data Center Development
- 2026-04-27 OtherData Center
Data center development was discussed.
- 2026-04-21 OtherData Center
Planning Commission approved the proposed Text Amendment #26-23 - Data Center Conditions
- 2026-04-15 OtherData Center
The Calvert County Planning Commission and Environmental Commission will hold a joint special meeting to discuss a data center project.
- 2026-04-15 Planning CommissionData Center
Calvert County's Environmental Commission presented its recommendations for a data center project.
- 2026-04-15 Planning CommissionData Center
Calvert County's Environmental Commission presented its recommendations for a data center project.
- 2026-04-07 County BoardData Center
The Planning & Zoning department proposed a moratorium on data center projects.
- 2026-04-02 OtherData Center
Data Center project recommendation discussed
- 2026-04-02 OtherData Center
The Commission agreed the letter for a data center project is well put together.
- 2026-03-30 OtherData Center
Calvert County officials discussed a data center project
- 2026-03-30 OtherData Center
The County Admin approved a special-use permit application for a 150 MW solar farm.
- 2026-03-24 County BoardData Center
County officials discussed data center development and transparency concerns.
- 2026-03-24 County BoardData Center
The Department of Economic Development presented a proposal for a data center and regional park in Calvert County.
- 2026-03-18 Planning CommissionData Center
Calvert County Planning Commission discussed proposed text amendments to the zoning ordinance related to data center development.
- 2026-03-17 County BoardData Center
County officials discuss the status of a data center project and potential undocumented discussions.
- 2026-03-10 County BoardData Center
The Board will consider a proposed data center zoning amendment.
- 2026-03-09 County BoardData Center
The Board of County Commissioners will accommodate public comment on a proposed text amendment to the Calvert County Zoning Ordinance regarding Data Center Conditions.
- 2026-03-03 County BoardData Center
The Maryland Historical Trust approved a permit application for a data center project in Calvert County
- 2026-03-02 OtherData Center
The Planning Commission voted to deny a special-use permit application for a 150 MW solar farm.
Full records for this county are part of a SitePath subscription.
State PSC dockets P1
No tracked activity yet — coverage expands weekly.
Local news P3
- 2026-08-27 Data Center Backlash Is Reaching The Ballot Box
- 2026-08-19 Calvert County Commissioners Unanimously Pass 6 Month Data Center Moratorium
- 2026-08-16 Data Centers Wish List
- 2026-06-24 Data Center Elections Republicans
- 2026-05-05 Maryland County Moratorium Data Centers
- 2026-04-21 Maryland Ratepayer Energy Bill Nuclear Subsidy
- 2026-04-19 Constellation Energy Ceg Asserts Dominance 211523753
- 2026-04-17 Constellation Energy Ceg Asserts Dominance On Clean Energy With Calvert Cliffs Clean Energy Upgrades 1740049
- 2026-03-10 Marylands Main Energy Producer Is Growing But Concerns About Nuclear Energy Remain
- 2026-03-09 Marylands Main Energy Producer Is Nuclear And Growing But Concerns About Nuclear Energy Remain
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