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Commission grants 18‑month extension for Emmitsburg Kiln community solar after permitting and interconnection delays
Summary
The PSC granted Emmitsburg Kiln Solar LLC an 18‑month waiver of its community solar operational deadline to Feb. 28, 2027, citing county parcel‑merger permitting delays and a Potomac Edison interconnection cost increase.
The Public Service Commission granted Emmitsburg Kiln Solar LLC a temporary extension of the operational deadline for its 2-megawatt community solar pilot project in Frederick County, allowing commercial operation until Feb. 28, 2027.
Staff told the commission the applicant filed for the extension on Aug. 28, 2025, citing two principal causes: local permitting delays and a revised interconnection cost estimate from Potomac Edison. Frederick County required the project parcel to be merged with an adjacent residential parcel; that merger involved negotiating with three co-owners and a mortgage holder and took more than a year. The project reported it received county site-plan approval the week before the Oct. 1 meeting. The second delay stemmed from Potomac Edison’s updated interconnection study. An initial feasibility estimate in November 2023 put upgrade costs at $477,900; a revised October 2024 estimate raised the total to about $1,590,000 after a change in transmission-division rules and a lapse of the initial estimate’s validity. Potomac Edison confirmed the revision and said the revised standards apply generally, not only to this project. Staff recommended granting a waiver of the operational deadline for good cause because the developer showed a commitment to proceed and has absorbed additional costs; construction is anticipated to start this month, which preserves eligibility for the federal investment tax credit.
Power Plant Research Program staff said they had no objection (the project is under 3 megawatts). The applicant (represented by Max Cook) and developer Nexamp (Greg Werner) confirmed they had no additional information to add and said Potomac Edison did not oppose the staff recommendation. Commissioners pressed the developer and Potomac Edison about notice of rule changes, the nature of the required equipment (a 3‑V0 protection device at the substation was cited as the major driver of the increase), and whether other developers have faced similar cost increases. Staff agreed to request Potomac Edison’s division rules and standards and to report back on whether other projects have had similar cost impositions.
The commission voted to grant the waiver extending the operational deadline to Feb. 28, 2027.
