Maryland Awards 440 MW of Battery Storage, Falls Short of Target

Maryland’s Public Service Commission has conditionally awarded 440 MW and 1,760 MWh of battery storage in the first competitive round held under the state’s Next Generation Energy Act, a result that fell 360 MW short of the 800 MW the commission had set out to procure. The PSC announced the awards on October 1, the statutory deadline for the round, splitting the capacity between two projects: the 400 MW/1,600 MWh Chalk Point Storage Project, developed by Flatiron Energy at NRG’s Chalk Point power plant site in Prince George’s County, and the 40 MW/160 MWh Jade Meadow III Battery Storage Project, developed by REV Renewables on part of a reclaimed coal mine in Garrett County.

Both projects are transmission-connected and will be compensated through flat pricing over 15-year terms; the PSC estimates the combined cost at 6.98 cents a month for the average Maryland residential customer, though the award prices themselves were not disclosed. “While we are disappointed that these awards are below our 800-MW target for Round 1,” the commission’s chair said, the PSC signaled it still expects stronger participation in the next round.

Why the first round came up short

The shortfall was not for lack of initial interest. Two larger proposals withdrew during the process — a 300 MW Fourth Quarter Battery Energy Storage System and a 135 MW Pulaski Energy Storage Project — while the commission passed over the 500 MW Oystercatcher Energy Storage Project, citing its lower ranking and its effect on ratepayers; the PSC invited Oystercatcher to reapply in Round 2. Flatiron’s own request to expand Chalk Point by a further 135 MW/540 MWh was not awarded either, though the company may resubmit it.

A law built around PJM’s capacity crunch

Maryland’s Next Generation Energy Act, passed in 2025, requires the state to run at least two solicitations for a combined 1.6 GW of four-hour storage, with eligible projects required to discharge at full power for at least four hours. The legislation is explicitly framed as a hedge against uncertain capacity prices in PJM Interconnection, the regional grid operator, which has projected a 6.8-gigawatt capacity shortfall for the 2028-2029 delivery year — up 300 MW from the prior period — with capacity prices sitting at the regulatory cap of $325 per MW-day. The same capacity crunch sits behind AEP’s recent deal for up to 1.6 GW of Mainspring generators and the federal loan offer backing Vistra’s nuclear uprates in Ohio and Pennsylvania, and it is the same dynamic that led the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to reject the core of PJM’s plan for fast-tracking large data-center connections earlier this month.

What comes next

Bidding for Round 2 must open by January 1, 2027, with awards due by October 1, 2027, under the law’s two-round, 1.6 GW minimum. The commission says it expects stronger interest this time, pointing to a pool of more than 40 additional storage projects already sitting in PJM’s Cycle 1 interconnection queue that could be eligible to bid. The push for more storage also sits against Maryland’s broader climate targets — a statutory requirement to reach net-zero emissions by 2045, and a 100% carbon-free electricity goal for 2035 set by gubernatorial order.

Sources

• Brian Martucci, “Maryland nets 440 MW/1,760 MWh in first bulk energy storage procurement,” Utility Dive, October 6, 2026 — utilitydive.com (award details, PSC quote, withdrawn/rejected bids, PJM capacity context).
• Maryland Public Service Commission, Next Generation Energy Act Round 1 award order, announced October 1, 2026 (official award decision, project names, capacities and contract terms).
• “Maryland conditionally approves 440MW of BESS for state ‘Capacity Credit’ awards,” Energy-Storage.news, October 2026 — energy-storage.news (corroborating award and ratepayer-cost figures).

Illustrative image. Photo: Kecko from Eastern Switzerland, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons — source