Presenter details state-backed community solar program and projected savings for Frostburg residents

McCarthy, introduced by council staff, told the Frostburg Mayor and Council that a state program directing about $17 million into community solar projects is designed to prioritize low- and moderate-income communities and can produce automatic bill credits for eligible households.

He said the program uses a state “environmental score map” to identify areas that qualify automatically for a 25 percent credit and other areas that qualify for a 10 percent credit, with the possibility of raising the 10 percent to 25 percent if residents complete a state attestation form (no W-2s or income documentation required). “There’s this section here in the blue automatically qualifies anybody in the city, for the 25% discount regardless of what their income is,” McCarthy said.

Using conservative assumptions McCarthy estimated roughly 2,670 housing units in Frostburg and projected that, if half the city received the larger credit and the other half the smaller one, residents would save about $560,700 annually; if all qualified the total annual savings could approach $801,000. “We think there's about 2,670 houses in the city,” he said when presenting the estimate.

McCarthy described timing and technical steps: customers who enroll on the program will receive credits only after the physical solar projects are energized and the utility completes an interconnection/permission-to-operate step. He told the council crews are building projects regionally and that some credits tied to smaller projects may appear before the end of the year for 10 percent subscribers; the 25 percent credits are more likely after larger projects come online, with McCarthy estimating a target around March 2027 and acknowledging interconnection by the utility could delay that timing by weeks.

Council members pressed for clarity on eligibility zones and the differences among map colors; McCarthy and staff responded that the map uses pollution and related statistics to set “overburdened/underserved” areas and that the program’s data sometimes produces surprising geographic splits. McCarthy recommended strong outreach: “We can put the statement in the water bill, everything we can do,” the Moderator said during the discussion.

On administration and access, McCarthy said enrollment will be simple (an online landing page is planned; paper or even fax options will be available) and that businesses generally receive the 10 percent credit while residential accounts with a person’s name on the bill may qualify for resident discounts. He also noted examples of local partners already signed on to similar programs and signaled the company is open to contributing community investments such as playground donations if take-up in Frostburg is high.

Next steps: staff agreed to publish enrollment details on the city website and include a notice on the water bill; the presenter said a Frostburg landing page would likely be active within a few days for testing and that the city should begin promotion once the page is live.