MD Energy Administration Winter Update 2020

Each winter the Maryland Energy Administration (MEA) publishes the  Maryland Strategic Energy Investment Fund (SEIF) report which describes how SEIF monies are spent across state via grants and projects. MEA is the SEIF administrator and the annual report describes achievements made towards promoting affordable, reliable, and cleaner energy for the benefit of all Marylanders. Click here  to see how the 2019 SEIF helped Marylanders or here to download the full report.

Governor Hogan has declared 2020 Year of the Woman. We will be featuring several Maryland women working in the energy industry exploring their STEM related career paths. We start off the year sharing a profile on our energy program manager, Caitlin Madera. Read Caitlin’s work at MEA as well as her at the Maryland Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) and how she is helping Maryland prepare for possible future disasters. Click here

The Future of Maryland Carbon Capture

MEA hosted energy industry experts from across the country to discuss the State’s future in carbon capture. Carbon capture utilization and sequestration is the process of capturing CO2 emissions and either transporting to a permanent geological sequestration site, or for use in some industrial process. It is critical for Maryland to understand this technology to reduce our carbon footprint and provide a stable, flexible grid, at reduced cost to ratepayers. All of the speaker presentations and videos are available to view or download, click here.

Carbon Capture Presentation Spotlight “Developing a Federal and State Policy Framework for Carbon Capture” by Brad Crabtree, Vice President, Carbon Management Great Plains Institute, video presentation and slide deck.

MEA visited Kilby Farms. LLC to see their daily operations and how they are incorporating sustainability practices into their business. You can read more about the farm here.  Kilby is using their  $115,500 dollar MEA grant to install a new, energy efficient, Combined Heat and Power (CHP) system. Watch this video from Program Manger Brandon Bowser on how a CHP system will help the farm become even more energy efficient.

Clifton G. “Sunshine” Taylor III has a sunnier outlook on his poultry farm production these days thanks to his recently completed energy efficiency upgrades. Read how he is using a grant from MEA to help offset the costs of his energy efficiency measures, estimated to save him more than 4000 gallons of propane and almost $6,000 a year here.

The Maryland Energy Administration (MEA) celebrated the quarterly winners of the Director’s Award and the 2019 Employee of the Year.  Winners for the quarterly Director’s Award included Caitlin Madera, Samuel Beirne, Jessica Wakefield and Richard Mallory. The 2019 Employee of the Year was Samuel Beirne, read more about the award winners here.

MEA is helping municipalities easily transition to LED streetlights with a new and more comprehensive assistance for municipal streetlighting upgrades. This program is sponsored by a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). MEA is now leading a two-state initiative. Read more here

To stay ahead of Maryland’s winter storms, follow these tips here. During any major storm in Maryland, MEA sends trained team members to assist the Maryland Emergency Management Agency and acts as a liaison to the utility and energy industries to facilitate a coordinated restoration of electric, gas, and commodity fuels, as well as energy delivery systems in affected areas.

The Strategic Energy Investment Advisory Board Meeting was held on Monday, January 6, 2020. The meeting was hosted via live Zoom broadcast and the presentation slides can be found here.

Governor Hogan, along with members of the Maryland Energy Administration (MEA) toured the facilities at Baltimore Washington Medical Center (BWMC) in Glen Bernie, to see their combined heat and power (CHP) system. Part of the University of Maryland (UMM) hospital network, BWMC is one of three UMMs healthcare campuses in the state to have  Combined Heat and Power (CHP) system installed.  By combining electricity generation and waste heat capture, CHP systems are 75 – 80 percent more efficient than traditional power facilities. Read more about the cost and energy savings  here.

Combined Heat and Power Grant Program deadline is February 12, 2020. Please direct questions to CHP Program Manager, Brandon Bowser, at (443) 306 0304 or BrandonW.Bowser@maryland.gov​​.

For more information on all our programs, click here.