Solar permitting — Montgomery County, Maryland

Most populous MD county; dense DC suburb; Agricultural Reserve Program protects ~100,000 acres from utility-sc. Permitting: Zoning mechanism: Conditional Use via OZAH; 200-ft max / 25-ft min setbacks; hard AR zone: 1,800-acre aggr…

Key driver: Most populous MD county; dense DC suburb; Agricultural Reserve Program protects ~100,000 acres from utility-scale solar; limited available land; solar-friendly policy environment

Permitting process

Local permitting pathway

Zoning mechanism: Conditional Use via OZAH (Office of Zoning and Administrative Hearings) for AR zone projects >200% on-site. Planning Commission review ("mandatory referral" §20-301). Limited use in non-AR zones — meets standards without hearing. MD PSC CPCN required for ≥2 MW; triggers state preemption of local zoning.

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

Battery storage (BESS) P1 State-Default Permitting

No confirmed county BESS ordinance.

Local BESS ordinances & bylaws

• Governing body: Montgomery County, Maryland (County Council / Office of the County Attorney) — county-level zoning applies countywide except within ce

Tracked storage projects

• Brookville Smart Bus Depot Microgrid1.5 MW · operating

County-level battery-storage status, safety requirements, and projects — each linked to a primary source.

Community opposition P1 5 tracked

Organized opposition signals on record for this county — petitions, community groups, and oppositional coverage — each linked to its primary source.

• Rushern L. Baker III on X: "I support stopping new data center construction in Maryland until the state establishes clea Data center2026-07-22 · x.com · social post
• r/MontgomeryCountyMD on Reddit: What a massive data center plan means for Montgomery County Data center2026-06-30 · reddit.com · social post
• MD Advocates, Residents Call for Data Center Moratorium at MoCo Town Hall Data center2026-06-13 · foodandwaterwatch.org
• Montgomery Update: County Executive Signs Data Center Moratorium Executive Order, Preserving Affordable Housing, and Upc Data center2026-06-13 · montgomerycountymd.gov
• Montgomery County to Consider Data Center Moratorium Data center2026-06-13 · mocoshow.com

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
• 🔒Community & board sentiment
• 🔒Governing board
• 🔒Sentiment rollup

Energy-related meetings & dockets P1

Halo color = sentiment of the relevant agenda excerpt: green positive, yellow neutral, red negative.

• Other

  Solar

  This report contains: Pages Staff Memorandum 1-13 ZTA 20-01 as recommended by the joint committee ©1-10 Solar stakeholder work group joint recommendations ©11-12 Separate (Minority) Reports – Environmental and Solar Farm stakeholders (with

  agenda
• Other

  Solar

  Werner Council Office Building Rockville, Maryland 20850 (240) 777-6660 IN THE MATTER OF: * FREE REIN SOLAR FARM, LLC * Applicant * Conditional Use Application * No.

  agenda

State PSC dockets P1

No tracked activity yet — coverage expands weekly.

Local news P3

• 2026-06-13 Storm Threat Shifts Into The East After Tornadoes Winds Kill 3 And Level Homes In The Central Uswsvn.com
• 2026-06-12 Elrich Signs Executive Order Pausing New Data Center Permits Six Monthsbethesdamagazine.com
• 2026-06-10 Maryland Makes 43 Million Investment In Solar Power Projectsmymcmedia.org