If you live on the border of Washington, DC and Maryland and receive your electricity from Pepco, you may reside on what are called ‘feeder lines,’ ‘cross jurisdictional feeders,’ or ‘cross-border feeder lines.’ But what are these feeder lines, and how do they impact solar incentives available to you? If you happen to live on the DC Pepco feeder lines, you’re in one of the best locations in the entire country to go solar — here’s why.
DC Pepco Feeder Lines Defined
Pepco feeders are distribution lines — essentially, they’re the portion of the grid delivering power to your home. Here’s a very basic overview of how the feeder lines are part of the grid: electricity moves through transmission and distribution lines to reach neighborhoods. Transmission lines move power from locations where electricity is generated to substations, or equipment converting electricity to different voltages. From the substations, distribution lines send power to homes.
PJM, the regional transmission organization operating the electrical grid for the DMV and multiple surrounding states, compares transmission lines to interstate highways, and distribution lines to city streets.
Homes on the DC Pepco feeder lines are considered part of DC’s grid — which means if you’re on the feeder line, even if your home is in Maryland, you can take advantage of some of DC’s solar incentives! There are DC Pepco feeder lines in Montgomery County and in Prince George’s County. They’re typically right on the border. You can check out the DC Pepco feeder line map to see if your home is on the feeder lines.
What Solar Incentives Can Homes On The DC Pepco Feeder Lines Access?
The major incentive is Solar Renewable Energy Certificates, or SRECs. Maryland homes on the DC Pepco feeder lines can participate in DC’s SREC market, which is more lucrative than Maryland’s SREC market.
In fact, DC’s SREC market is currently the best in the United States. One SREC is worth around $425 in DC, while in Maryland, one SREC is worth around $57.50. (Numbers are from the time of this article’s writing; check current prices here for DC and here for Maryland.)
You can see this is a pretty huge difference. Every time your rooftop solar array generates one megawatt of power, you earn one SREC to sell on the market. Residential solar arrays tend to generate around 10 SRECs per year, give or take depending on the size of your solar system. So that would be roughly around $4,000 in DC versus $500 in Maryland. This is money in your pocket. After fees paid to your SREC broker, you get the rest of the money from your SRECs (although they do count as taxable income).
But there’s more — homes on the DC Pepco feeder lines can also take advantage of Maryland’s solar incentives!
Maryland Solar Incentives
Maryland currently offers a Residential Clean Energy Rebate Program, giving homeowners who install solar $1,000. (Note that Fiscal Year 2025 is the last year the Maryland Energy Administration plans to offer the program.)
You’ll benefit from net metering as a Pepco customer, which means you can send any excess power your solar array generates back to the grid. Pepco offers the full retail rate for each kilowatt-hour you send to the grid, which will show up as a credit on your utility bill.
Some counties in Maryland, such as Prince George’s County, offer tax credits for solar installations. In PG County, the tax credit is 50% of the system cost, up to $5,000. (Baltimore County, Anne Arundel County, and Harford County are the other counties offering tax credits). Maryland also offers a tax credit for homeowners who install battery storage systems at their home, at 30% of installation costs, up to $5,000. In addition, Maryland offers property tax exemptions for solar installations.
And finally, Maryland residents can take advantage of the federal solar tax credit, which is 30% of total system costs (including labor and equipment). You claim the tax credit for the year your array is installed on your federal income taxes. Learn more about the federal tax credit here, or find out how to claim the tax credit here.
Take Advantage Of Both Maryland And DC Solar Incentives!
In 2021, DC’s Department of Energy & Environment partnered with NASA to explore the solar potential of areas around DC. NASA took a look at the feeder lines and concluded the study area had “a total estimated daily solar potential of 17,706,177.50 kWh in an average year.” That’s “enough energy to power roughly 1,652.5 homes for a year.”
If your home is on the feeders, you’ll contribute to renewable energy goals for both Maryland and the nation’s capital. Plus you’ll drastically reduce the cost of your solar installation. If you think you’re on the DC Pepco feeder lines, or if you’re not sure but want to find out, feel free to reach out to our team to explore your solar options. You can schedule a free consultation here, or call us at (202) 280-2285.