The Maryland Department of Commerce, Office of Military and Federal Affairs, led the Maryland Statewide Compatible Energy Siting project to coordinate and balance two significant assets and priorities in the state — renewable energy development and the sustainability of military missions. The siting project provides the state with strategic tools and recommendations to address compatibility through a collaborative process with various stakeholders from state departments and agencies, the renewable energy industry, county, and local governments, the military, and regional military partnership organizations.

The project focused on two initiatives – publishing the Maryland Military Assets and Considerations for Renewable Energy Development​ report; and secondly the creation and integration of military and compatibility layers within the existing state SmartDG+ renewable energy screening tool, adding geographic data for all military operational areas.

Visit the Project Webpage for easy access to all project information and supporting tools.

Project Tools

• Project Report: The Maryland Military Assets and Considerations for Renewable Energy Development report was developed to characterize military operations across the state, explain their relationship with renewable energy, and provide recommendations to improve existing coordination processes. The report finds that early coordination between military, industry and community stakeholders is pivotal to ensuring renewable energy development is compatible with military operations, which minimizes delays in project siting and ultimately reduces the financial bottom line for energy developers.
• SmartDG+ Military and Compatibility Layers​: The military and compatibility layers of Smart DG+ provide renewable energy developers, military, and other federal, state, and local stakeholders with information to facilitate compatible renewable energy project siting. The layers include military operational areas, military and nonmilitary airspace structures, renewable energy potential, environmental and cultural resources, and land ownership. A coordination report tool allows users to create or upload custom areas of interest that outputs a set of relevant agencies to contact for every layer within the selected area. The reports can be exported as a PDF, Excel workbook, or an HTML file. A companion User Guide was also created for using the military and compatibility layers.