Governor Moore Announces Maryland Energy Administration 2024 Resilient Maryland Grant Recipients

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Tim Zink | 443-758-7344

ANNAPOLIS, MD – Governor Wes Moore today announced the selection of 21 awardees to receive $9.4 million in total grants under the Maryland Energy Administration’s 2024 Resilient Maryland Program. In a record-breaking year for applications, the grants will assist Maryland municipalities, medical facilities, higher educational institutions, agricultural operations, nonprofit and faith-based institutions, and other critical infrastructure in becoming more resilient to power outages and other emergency events through clean energy solutions.

“Preparedness and innovation go hand-in-hand. By investing in new ways to guard our communities against emergencies and disasters, we don’t just make Maryland more resilient – we also make Maryland more competitive,” said Gov. Moore. “Together, we are building a state that can withstand any challenge and any threat.”

The Resilient Maryland Program is an award-winning incentive program that funds communities and organizations to offset the costs of planning, designing, and constructing microgrids, resilient facility power systems, ​and resiliency hubs. The program provides an array of incentives to assist projects from conception through installation and operation.

The Maryland Energy Administration received an overwhelming response to its FY24 Resilient Maryland program as an unprecedented range of communities, businesses, local governments, higher education institutions and others sought funding.

Grants are provided based upon the size of the resilient energy system, development status, and primary use within three major funding categories:

• Preconstruction planning grants help pay for feasibility analyses, modeling, and other preconstruction diligence activities.
• Capital support funding helps pay for the equipment and installation costs.
• Resiliency hub grants provide solar energy and battery storage systems for central locations to serve as community hubs during power outage situations.

Microgrids, resiliency hubs and resilient facility power systems are combinations of different clean energy technologies that work together. The technology keeps clean, affordable energy flowing to communities, businesses, and critical infrastructure during normal conditions. During emergencies and events that cause power outages, they can generate electricity from clean sources—like solar panels and wind turbines—to be stored for later use.

The systems are designed to be dynamic and respond to rapidly-changing conditions. Such flexibility also reduces reliance on utility-supplied energy, which cuts operational costs, making them financially beneficial to their adopters.

“Maryland faces a growing number of threats to its power infrastructure. The many challenges, from climate change to terrorism, impact all of us – especially our communities that are overburdened and underserved,” said Maryland Energy Administration Director Paul Pinsky. “By getting off fossil fuels and building more resilient energy systems, we can combat these challenges and build a cleaner, more resilient future for Maryland.”

Recipients of the 2024 Resilient Maryland Program include:

• The Housing Opportunities Commission of Montgomery County, which received $1.5 million. When complete, the project will provide affordable housing for Montgomery County seniors and other eligible residents.

• Bowie State University, which received $1.1 million. The award will help fund the installation of a campus microgrid that will bolster the resilience of its crucial facilities, improve sustainability, and provide hands-on learning opportunities.

View the full list of FY24 Resilient Maryland award recipients at energy.maryland.gov.

The Maryland Energy Administration anticipates that the application window for FY25 funding will be open later this summer.

The mission of the Maryland Energy Administration is to promote clean, affordable, reliable energy and energy-related greenhouse gas emission reductions to benefit Marylanders in a just and equitable manner. For more information about the agency, visit us on our website at Energy.Maryland.gov, and follow us on social media: LinkedIn | X | Facebook.