It’s in Maryland—Washington County—to be exact. The county, in Maryland’s panhandle is in final discussions with EPG Solar to likely become the first county government that’s powered entirely by solar power.

“It’s pretty much all negotiated. At this point really it’s just about the signatures,” said Michael Borkowski an EPG managing partner.

Under the proposal EPG Solar, based out of Chevy Chase, Md., will install solar photovoltaic arrays at the county's Forty West and Resh Road landfills, according to The Herald Mail. In all, EPG will install 25 megawatts of solar on the rural county’s landfills. The county will lease the land to EPG and purchase the power produced by the arrays to cover its energy use.

The leases could bring roughly $515,000 in annual revenue to the county, the newspaper reported State Sen. Christopher Shank (R-Washington) said. And the county will also benefit from the federal Investment Tax Credit, which helps EPG reduce the cost of the solar arrays.

In all the deal is expected to save the county money over its current electric bills. “We were able to offer them a positvie financial dynamic really,” Borkowski said. “Just being able to have the long term stability and predictability of solar energy over time, you know what the costs are over a significant period of time and you’re able to send that certainty over to the end user.”

EPG will likely start installing the first 4-megawatt phase of the system at Forty West Landfill in early 2013, according to Borkowski. The installation will be made on parcels of land that aren’t slated for landfill use until at least 30 years from 2012, according to the newspaper. The rest will be built over the next three to four years on land including on capped cells at the closed Resh Road Landfill, according to the newspapers.

It’s so far the largest project for EPG Solar, according to Borkowski. The company is currently working on similar projects in Massachusetts, but this will also be its first in Maryland.

Image courtesy of NREL