SB 683
I am in full support of SB 683!
What SB 683 Is About…
- Primary goal: Encourage responsible solar development while helping protect productive agricultural land, especially within Maryland’s Priority Preservation Areas — zones that are set aside to safeguard farmland and open space.
- It’s framed to balance solar energy expansion with farmland preservation by shaping where large solar projects can be counted toward statewide limits.
Key Provisions
- Credit Toward Solar Limits:
Counties can credit solar energy generating stations located on non-agricultural or underutilized sites — like brownfields, school rooftops/fields, or other unused land — toward the 5 % acreage cap on solar installations in Priority Preservation Areas. - Protecting Priority Preservation Areas:
— Maryland currently limits the total land in these preservation areas that may be used for solar to 5 % of the area.
— SB 683 allows counties to count solar on less sensitive land toward this limit, so developers aren’t pushed to put panels on productive farmland just to meet renewable goals. - Encouraging Smart Siting:
The bill aims to avoid siting large solar projects directly on prime agricultural soils by incentivizing alternative locations that don’t compete with active farmland.
Broader Context
- The legislation is part of a larger policy debate about how Maryland meets its clean energy and climate goals without sacrificing farmland, rural character, and local land-use planning.
- Farming groups and rural advocates have been pushing for policies that keep industrial solar off high-quality soils and preserved land — SB 683 is one of the state’s responses to that concern.
Status
Introduced in early February 2026 and referred to the Education, Energy, and the Environment Committee for hearings.
