Solar Panels in Towson, MD: 2026 Cost, BGE Net Metering & Savings

Towson and the bill

Towson is BGE. Baltimore County permits are not Baltimore City permits. Towson is a BGE suburb with more tree canopy than the newer edges of Howard County. Stone and colonial houses often have cut-up roofs. The bill can still be large. Shade, not a different sun-hour map, is why two Towson neighbors get different production. The 2025 EIA residential average for Maryland was 19.53 cents per kWh. That statewide figure is what our calculator uses. It is not the BGE tariff. A rounded solar resource for this metro is about 4.4 peak sun hours a day.

Export credits and any SREC or REC

Towson follows Maryland's net-metering statute, then the rider of BGE. House Bill 1532 keeps the current program open only until a successor begins. The Public Service Commission notice says that successor framework is due by February 1, 2027 and the new program begins July 1, 2027, so current net metering closes to new customers by that date at the latest, and a capacity cap can close it sooner. Eligible systems placed in service from July 1, 2024 through January 1, 2028 can apply for Brighter Tomorrow certified SRECs, which count at 1.5 times for a supplier's compliance. On November 4, 2026, Flett Exchange showed a $58.50 sell-now quote for the 2025 and 2026 certified vintages. That quote moves, certification has megawatt caps and a PSC fee, and it is not income you are owed.

Roofs, climate, permits, and HOAs

Older detached houses and some attached homes near the university. Student rentals are not the tenant's project. Owner-occupied roofs with a clear south plane are. A Towson permit comes from the local building department, not from BGE. An HOA can add its own review. This page does not quote a MD permit fee or an approval, because both depend on the address. Walk the shade. Use Baltimore County's permit path and BGE's rider. Do not reuse a city rowhouse design.

Estimated cost range

Estimated cost range for Towson, labeled as an estimate and not a local quote: Berkeley Lab's August 2026 update put 2025 host-owned residential systems at about $3.60 per watt before incentives, about $3.00 per watt in the cash subset, and about $4.50 per watt in the loan subset. The median size in that set was 7.7 kW. Towson is about 4.4 peak sun hours a day, against about 4.3 statewide. The federal residential credit under 26 U.S.C. § 25D ended for systems placed in service after December 31, 2025. The IRS treats that expenditure as made when the original installation is completed.

• Cash

  $3.00/W

  $23,100

  Subset classified as cash

• Middle published case

  $3.60/W

  $27,720

  All host-owned systems

• Loan

  $4.50/W

  $34,650

  Financed subset, before interest

Before incentives. A loan price here excludes interest. The federal residential credit under section 25D ended for systems placed in service after December 31, 2025. Berkeley Lab, U.S. Distributed Solar and Storage, August 2026 data update.