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Solar permitting — Harford County, Maryland

FIPS 24025

On file: public meetings, known opposition groups.

D
Harford County, MD
Risk score 65/100 · Full scorecard →
Compliance: HighTrajectory: StableSaturation: High

Conservative suburban county north of Baltimore; APG proximity complicates some siting; agricultural portions. Permitting: County Board of Appeals/Board of Commissioners: Special Exception or Conditional Use Permi; 250-ft…

Key driver: Conservative suburban county north of Baltimore; APG proximity complicates some siting; agricultural portions have solar potential; active but carefully managed 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

Ch. 267 §267-85.2: ≥150 ft from any property line (for CSEGS in R/B/CI/LI/MO zones); ≥250 ft from any off-site dwelling unit; ≤15 ft panel height; glare-mitigating technology required on all panels; Type "E" buffer (§267-30) between CSEGS and public roads and off-site residences. GI district (large-scale): district setback standards apply. STATE OVERRIDE (HB1036/SB931, eff. July 1 2025): county setbacks for ≥1 MW solar capped at ≤100 ft from property lines and ≤150 ft from residential dwelling — Harford's ≥150 ft property line setback exceeds state max for ≥1 MW projects; PSC CPCN projects use PSC conditions.

Spacing requirements

None codified

Size restrictions

CSEGS in R/B/CI/LI/MO: ≤15 ft height. Max 3 CSEGS on one parcel. BESS (battery energy storage): no specific Harford County ordinance — state PSC oversight applies per HB1036/SB931. Large-scale solar (GI district): no specific MW cap; subject to standard GI district regulations. Board of Appeals process for Special Exception; applicant bears full burden of proof.

Penalties & bonding

Total penalty: +15 | Hostile ordinance flag: +15

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).

Full permitting requirements

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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 / BGE (Exelon) transmission zone

Full state policy & grid detail

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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.

SitePath maintains the most complete community-opposition dataset available, refreshed continuously from primary sources.

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Energy-related meetings & dockets P1

solar · bess · data center · transmission

Halo color matches the energy category tagged on each meeting.

  • 2026-08-25 Other
    Solar

    Planning Commission discussed a proposed 2 MW solar photovoltaic generating facility.

  • 2026-08-25 Other
    Solar

    Planning Commission discussed a proposed 2 MW solar photovoltaic generating facility.

  • 2026-08-25 Other
    Solar

    Planning Commission considered a proposal for a 2 MW solar photovoltaic generating facility.

  • 2026-08-11 Other
    Solar

    Proposed 2MW Community Solar project was discussed.

  • 2026-08-11 Other
    Solar

    Planning Commission discussed a proposed 2MW Community Solar project.

  • 2026-08-11 Other
    Solar

    Proposed 2MW Community Solar project was discussed.

  • 2026-08-05 Other
    Solar

    Development of a 2.0 MW AC Community Solar Energy Generating System (CSEGS) Facility on 53.85± acres in Harford County.

  • 2026-08-05 Other
    Solar

    Development of a 2.0 MW AC Community Solar Energy Generating System (CSEGS) Facility

  • 2026-08-05 Other
    Solar

    Development of a 2.0 MW AC Community Solar Energy Generating System (CSEGS) Facility

  • 2026-06-10 Other
    BESS

    PAB members decided not to meet in July or August.

  • 2026-06-03 Other
    Solar

    Planning Commission considered a Community Solar Generation Facility proposal at 2901 Rocks Road, Jarrettsville.

  • 2026-06-03 Other
    BESS

    Benser brought up a Battery Storage facility adjacent to a county landmark to inform the county.

  • 2026-05-27 Other
    Data Center

    The Planning Commission voted to approve a special-use permit application for a 150 MW solar farm and denied other proposals related to data centers.

  • 2026-05-20 Other
    Solar

    Development of a 2.0 MW AC Community Solar Energy Generating System facility on 53.85± acres was proposed.

  • 2026-05-20 Other
    BESS

    The Harford County Planning Commission voted to approve a special-use permit application for a 150 MW solar farm on the Anderson Property south of the Conastone BGE Substation.

  • 2026-05-20 Other
    Solar

    Development of a 2.0 MW AC Community Solar Energy Generating System facility was proposed.

  • 2026-05-20 Other
    Solar

    Development of a 2.0 MW AC Community Solar Energy Generating System facility was proposed.

  • 2026-05-20 Other
    BESS

    County Executive proposes ban on data centers as emergency legislation

  • 2026-05-19 Other
    BESS

    The County has filed a petition to intervene with the Public Service Commission on the proposed 500MW battery storage project in Norrisville.

  • 2026-05-13 Other
    BESS

    Planning Advisory Board discussed various topics, including a battery storage project, but no specific action was taken.

  • 2026-04-29 Other
    Data Center

    The Data Center Alliance presented its proposal for a 150 MW solar farm in Harford County, but the Planning Commission voted to deny it.

  • 2026-04-15 Other
    BESS

    The Planning Commission approved a special-use permit application for a 150 MW solar farm in Harford County

  • 2026-04-08 Other
    BESS

    Harford County discussed a battery energy storage system project.

  • 2026-04-08 Other
    BESS

    Discussion of battery storage project

  • 2026-04-01 Other
    BESS

    Harford County Historic District signs installation project was discussed.

  • 2026-03-25 Other
    Transmission

    Construction activity has begun in preparation for infrastructure upgrades for the transmission line project.

  • 2026-03-18 Other
    BESS

    Update on battery storage projects in Harford County

More energy-related meetings

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State PSC dockets P1

No tracked activity yet — coverage expands weekly.

Local news P3

No tracked activity yet — coverage expands weekly.

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Data sources: public agendas/minutes from local government sites; PSC dockets from state regulators; news from GDELT and curated RSS. Last refreshed 2026-09-29. See the county risk scorecard or the full Maryland permitting index.