Constellation Energy, the parent company of Baltimore Gas and Electric, will be offering Maryland consumers the option to lease solar panels through BGE home. The company will be offering solar panels, manufactured by Maryland-based Astrum Solar, to homeowners throughout the area as an addition to its menu of retail services. The panels are available through leasing programs in either a low money down or 20 year prepaid format.
"Leasing can sharply reduce the upfront costs for solar, and in this economy that's an important consideration," says Mark Huston, head of Constellation Energy's retail business.
Green power has been a major growth and investment point for Constellation Energy. The company recently dedicated wind turbines in Garrett County, and is an active participant in Maryland's Generating Clean Horizons Program. Constellation currently owns and operates 95 megawatts of solar energy production installations, and is planning greater expansion in the field.
Another entrant in the local energy market, Champion Energy Services, announced this week that it has been approved as an electricity supplier in Maryland. Champion Energy Services filed for approval with the Maryland Public Service Commission in March. The company is now licensed to begin supplying customers in the service territories of Allegheny Power, Baltimore Gas and Electric, Delmarva Power, and Potomac Electric Power Company. Service will begin in the fourth quarter of 2011.
Writer: Amy McNeal
Sources: Scott Fordham, Champion Energy Services; Christina Pratt, Constellation Energy