Solar Energy

Solar in the City of Bowie

Solar panels are becoming increasingly popular for residential, commercial and public buildings. Check out the map below to see solar panel installations across the City!

City Solar Projects

The City of Bowie has solar systems installed on many City buildings. Listed below are the buildings with solar panels and the size of each system. You can also check out these City facilities in the map above highlighted in dark pink. 

  • Genealogy Library (3.6 kW)
  • Radio and T.V. Museum (8.82 kW)
  • Parks and Grounds (30.88 kW)
  • Senior Center (15.25 kW)
  • Streets and Utilities Buildings (12.48 kW)
  • Wastewater Treatment Plant (19.24 kW)
  • Kenhill Center (24 kW)
  • "The Farm", a power-purchase agreement, with a 5 megawatt (MW) solar array on City-owned property that helps off-set energy usage and associated emissions

Solar array 1 pic 1

Additionally, the City of Bowie is a participating member of Solar Roadmap and has completed 8 of our 9 goals making us the leading participating municipality in the state of Maryland. As a member, the City works to make installing solar easier and more cost-effective for interested residents.

Residential Solar Options

Capital Area Solar Co-Op of 2021 and 2022:

Nonprofit group Solar United Neighbors (SUN) launched the Capital Area Solar Co-op to help jurisdictions in our area go solar. This was the first time that SUN hosted a solar co-op covering the entire DC metro area, with over a dozen municipal partners. Aaron Sutch, Mid-Atlantic program director for Solar United Neighbors stated that “together, we’re building a movement to transform our electricity system into one that is cleaner, fairer, and shares its benefits more broadly.” The 2021 co-op was so successful, a subsequent 2022 co-op was launched as well with hundreds of DMV residents joining.

The co-ops are free to join and open to homeowners and business owners in Northern Virginia, Washington, DC and Montgomery, Prince George’s and Frederick Counties in Maryland. Together, co-op members learn about solar energy and leverage their numbers to purchase individual solar systems at a competitive price and top quality. After a competitive bidding process facilitated by SUN, which remains vendor neutral, co-op members select a single solar company in each state (or district) to complete the installations. Joining the co-op does not obligate members to purchase solar. Instead, members will have the option to individually purchase panels, electric vehicle chargers, and storage based on the installer’s group rate. 
 

Co-op Partners:

  • Arlington County
  • DC Department of Energy and Environment
  • Montgomery County Green Bank
  • One Montgomery Green
  • Frederick County Office of Sustainability and Environmental Resources
  • Town of Poolesville
  • Poolesville Green
  • City of Bowie
  • City of Gaithersburg
  • City of Rockville 
  • Positive Change Purchasing Co-op LLC
  • Sustainable Takoma Park
  • City of Frederick 
  • Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection 

Capital Solar

If you are interested in installing solar panels on your home without the solar co-op, click the links below for more information. Make sure you sign up for our Green Bowie e-newsletter for information on upcoming solar workshops or information sessions. 

Community Solar

Having solar panels physically on your home is not the only option for obtaining residential solar! By subscribing to a Maryland based community solar farm, a customer is allotted a specified percentage of the entire farm’s electricity output each month, which the customer agrees to purchase from the supplier at a price that is typically 5%-25% below the rate the utility charges.

That percentage of the overall output is then converted into a dollar amount which is calculated at the current rate that the utility charges their residential customers. That dollar amount is then reflected on the customer’s utility bill in the form of a credit. 

Links to companies with community solar projects in Maryland are below: