MEA Awards Nearly $700,000 to Stimulate Energy Efficiency in Seven Maryland School Districts

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Jahmai Sharp-Moore | 443-694-3651

Baltimore, MD – The Maryland Energy Administration (MEA) is pleased to announce grant awards for seven Maryland public school districts, also known as local education agencies (LEAs), through its Fiscal Year 2022 (FY22) Decarbonizing Public Schools program. The grants will help finance school districts’ resource capacities for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and overall lifecycle costs while planning the development of high-performance schools. Grant awardees include:

MEA developed the program in partnership with the Interagency Commission on School Construction (IAC) to help Maryland schools manage energy and plan for the construction of schools that employ cutting-edge net-zero-energy designs. In general, buildings built to be net-zero-energy are designed to generate more energy onsite than they use. 

The school decarbonization program is a new initiative from MEA, launched in response to the growing need for high-performance schools and to help LEAs build the capacity to meet new energy requirements in concert with reduced environmental impacts. Expanding energy management and portfolio-planning capacities is challenging for many school districts, which often lack the experience or resources required to perform energy management.

“Addressing the need for clean energy and energy efficiency in Maryland’s 24 public school districts, which include over 1,300 K-12 schools, provides multiple benefits to students and communities,” said MEA Director Dr. Mary Beth Tung. “School facilities are an essential part of meeting our state goals. A little help with developing capacity can provide long-term benefits in operations and operating costs.” 

The FY22 School Decarbonization program supports Governor Hogan’s commitment to address climate change through the deployment of energy-efficient technologies. Visit MEA’s School Decarbonization Program webpage for more information. Please contact Christopher Russell, Program Manager, at chris.russell@maryland.gov with any additional questions.