By Brittany Baker, Maryland Director, CCAN Action Fund

The 2026 Maryland legislative session wrapped up on Monday, April 13. Many of our priority climate bills were decided at the very last minute — and there’s a lot to celebrate!

Thanks to YOUR advocacy, we helped pass legislation to fight dirty data centers, protect energy efficiency, and expand groundbreaking balcony solar in our state.

Of course, we faced some losses too, and we have a long way to go in order to ensure Maryland remains a national leader in climate, clean energy, and environmental justice. But read on for the highlights on what passed, what failed, and what’s next for climate policy in Maryland.

Huge climate victories:

• Maryland will become the third state to authorize portable, balcony solar projects! The enabling language for balcony solar was originally proposed in the Affordable Solar Act sponsored by Delegate Lorig Charkoudian and Senator Benjamin Brooks. The balcony solar provisions were then moved into a bigger energy package proposed by legislative leadership called the Utility RELIEF (Reducing Energy Load Inflation for Everyday Families) Act (HB1532/SB841), which passed. This balcony solar provision will ensure that ALL Marylanders, whether or not they have roofs, have the opportunity to join the clean energy movement and lower their utility bills by powering their homes with the sun!
• The Utility RELIEF Act includes robust language to ensure clean-energy data centers become the norm in the state. There are two provisions in the bill that are really exciting. First, the large-load registry, envisioned by Senator Katie Fry Hester, will ensure that proposed data centers have to register with the Public Service Commissions before construction. As part of this process, they would have to publicly share key details like where the data center will be built, how much energy and water it will use, and how they plan to supply that energy. Also, the registration would carry a fee of $1,000 per MW and half of the money would be dedicated to funding low-income energy assistance programs. Second, the bill establishes a “clean capacity rating system” which will encourage data centers to bring their own clean energy. This idea was originally in our priority bill, the Data Center Clean Capacity Act, sponsored by Delegate Charkoudian and Senator Hester.

Bad bills we defeated:

• SB26, the dirty data center bill that removed all regulations from behind-the-meter generation, did not pass and was not included in the leadership energy bill.
• Major cuts to the EmPOWER Maryland energy efficiency program were avoided through our diligence and advocacy as the leadership energy bill progressed. The EmPOWER program helps Maryland households and businesses save energy and money through a variety of incentives such as free or discounted energy audits, weatherization and efficient appliances.  We were able to maintain the program modifications that were originally carefully crafted in the House. This included removing the gas goals from EmPOWER to ensure that every EmPOWER dollar is spent on building electrification and initiating the process to explore a third-party implementer. A third-party implementer may make the program more cost-effective and user-friendly in the long run.
• We ensured the Public Service Commission can finalize its order to prohibit socializing new gas hookups across all gas customers. This has been a Maryland Commission on Climate Change recommendation since 2022 and will ensure that the gas distribution system is no longer unnecessarily subsidized in the state!

Unfortunate Losses:

There are a few ambitious bills that did not progress this year, and we are disappointed as a climate community. These bills include the Cherish Act, the Transportation and Climate Alignment Act, the Climate Crimes Accountability Act, and the majority of the Affordable Solar Act.

But let’s celebrate our wins, and stay plugged in!

This fall we will have the opportunity to support our incumbent climate champions and get behind a few newcomers. We will also work to build a strong, more diverse base of CCAN supporters across the state. Together, we will accomplish more during the 2027 legislative session, and make Maryland a more sustainable, equitable, and climate-friendly place to li