Maryland picks two batteries, 440 MW, for its first storage capacity credits and turns down a 500 MW bid

Serguey Asael Shinder06 October 2026, 09:221 min read

The Maryland Public Service Commission announced on 1 October that it had conditionally selected two transmission-connected battery projects for Energy Storage Capacity Credit awards, the first round of procurement under the state's Next Generation Energy Act, Energy-Storage.news reports.

The winners. The 400 MW Chalk Point Storage Project in Aquasco, Prince George's County, on the site of the existing Chalk Point power plant, and the 40 MW Jade Meadow III project in Barton, Garrett County, a hybrid solar-and-storage facility on a former coal-mine site. Together that is 440 MW of 4-hour storage under flat, 15-year award terms, subject to the commission's conditions. The PSC puts the combined estimated cost at about US$0.07 a month for a typical residential customer.

The process. The act, signed in May 2025, directs the PSC to run at least two solicitations for a total of 1,600 MW of front-of-the-meter, transmission-connected storage of at least four hours. The first round sought 800 MW. Five applicants applied; two later withdrew, the 300 MW Fourth Quarter project and the 135 MW Pulaski project. After a public hearing on 30 July and evidentiary hearings on 4–6 August, the commission ranked Chalk Point and Jade Meadow III as the most cost-effective.

Who missed out. The 500 MW Oystercatcher project in Harford County was not awarded because of its lower ranking and concerns about cost-effectiveness and ratepayer impact; the PSC noted its favourable grid location and encouraged it to bid in round two. The commission also rejected Chalk Point's request to raise its capacity from 400 MW to 535 MW in this round.

The result leaves round one at 440 MW of the 800 MW sought, so a second solicitation has more than half the state's 1,600 MW target still to fill.