Renewable Energy Certainty Act (HB1036)
Effective July 1, 2025, Maryland’s Renewable Energy Certainty Act (HB1036) introduced new rules for solar energy projects under the state’s Land Use Article. The law gives local governments a standard process for reviewing solar energy systems under 5 megawatts (MW) and removes the need for conditional use approval for most projects between 1 MW and 5 MW.
Pre-Submission Community Meetings
Due to increased interest in these meetings, the Department of Planning and Zoning (DPZ) provides the following guidance:
• Select a publicly accessible venue located as close to the project site as possible.
• Choose the largest available meeting space to best accommodate community participation.
• Provide a virtual attendance option to maximize accessibility for all participants and make all materials presented at the in-person meeting available on your website for virtual attendees.
• Record the meeting and post the recording on your website for at least 21 days following the meeting date.
• Submit a list of all attendees (both in-person and virtual) to DPZ with your pre-submission meeting materials.
Learn what that state's Renewable Energy Certainty Act (HB1036) means for Howard County.
- To understand the key provision implementations and the projects that qualify, please review the DPZ Policy Memo.
Review the full text of the Renewable Energy Certainty Act (HB1036) on our website.
Determine if your project is eligible by accessing DPZ's checklist.
*This checklist is required to be submitted with the first plan application.
Explore the commercial solar conditional use area prior to July 2025 in more detail with the map shown below.
