Work group reviews HB1036 amendments on solar siting, ag‑preserve limits, storage siding and community solar auto‑enroll

Committee staff presented a set of amendments to House Bill 10-36 that would change how solar energy generating stations are sited and approved, modify energy storage siting language, and amend community-solar auto-enrollment rules.

The amendments introduce new definitional and procedural requirements for solar proposals. Staff explained the bill now includes definitions of “priority preservation area” and “project area,” reduces the megawatt threshold for certain siting provisions from 2 MW to 1 MW, and clarifies that aggregate net metering projects fall under the statute. Applicants would have to include written documentation showing compliance with the statute’s siting standards when filing for approval and, in underserved communities, hold two community hearings (one virtual). The amendments add numerous setback and barrier standards (for example, limiting fence materials and minimum distances from public rights-of-way) and specify mitigation and vegetation plans. Counties would be able to designate how up to 5% of a mapped priority preservation area may be used for solar; staff said the amendment freezes the relevant county mapping as of Jan. 1, 2025, for purposes of calculating the 5% threshold. Committee members asked whether counties would identify the specific parcels and staff said counties would have input on allowable areas and that an operational definition of “project area” is intended to include construction staging until decommissioning is complete.

The amendment raises the decommissioning bond requirement from the prior percentage to 125% (the text in the amendment cites 125% as a new minimum) and requires local jurisdictions to hold landscaping bonds for up to five years. Staff said the 125% increase reflected a PSC request. Several members raised concerns that county-level designation of allowable ag-preserve solar sites could limit a farmer’s ability to pursue a project on their own land if the county’s designated project area differs from the farmer’s plan; staff said the county-designation process was intended to manage siting efficiency and interconnection costs.

The HB1036 amendment package also incorporates energy storage siting changes (conforming PSC-requested amendments) and clarifications intended to align with PSC processes. The amendments keep a microgrid exception for fully isolated, self-contained systems: projects that operate as true microgrids that do not interconnect to PJM would not be subject to the same co-location requirements.

On community solar and auto-enrollment, the reprint would allow local governments to serve as subscriber organizations and requires an auto-enrollment program to guarantee a minimum bill benefit (staff described a protection so enrolled customers would not pay more than 90% of the bill credit). The auto-enrollment rules would raise the low-and-moderate-income (LMI) threshold from 51% to 60% and require prioritization of LMI subscribers; program administrators must honor opt-out requests within 30 days and reimburse utilities for data access costs needed to identify eligible customers. Staff said PSC would set regulations and protections for the local-government-run auto-enrollments.

The amendments further require the Maryland Department of Labor to create a specialized solar contractor’s license (striking the previous requirement that PSC and the Maryland Energy Administration adopt technical safety standards). Committee members asked questions about the bond terms, county authority over project maps, and how increased requirements could affect interconnection costs. One delegate said county designation of preserved land for solar could transfer costs or burdens to other ratepayers if the designated parcels are poorly suited for interconnection.

Staff indicated these amendments came in response to stakeholder requests (PSC, counties, and others) and said the conforming edits would be circulated. The committee did not record a vote in the work group; staff said additional edits could be made before the formal committee consideration.