Maryland Governor Moore Announces $4 Million Energy Efficiency Retrofit Pilot Program

What Was Announced

On July 25, 2023, Maryland Governor Wes Moore announced a $4 million Comprehensive Energy Efficiency Retrofits Pilot Program administered through the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD). The funding is distributed as grants to six local jurisdictions and is expected to enable nearly 300 homes to move forward with comprehensive energy efficiency retrofits that had previously been deferred.

"Through this pilot program, we're opening the door for more Maryland homes to meet their energy efficiency goals," Governor Moore said in the announcement.

Why the Pilot Exists

According to the state, 38% of Maryland homes assessed for energy efficiency improvements are currently deferred because they have health and safety issues, such as structural problems, knob-and-tube wiring, mold, or roof damage, that existing energy programs alone cannot address. The new pilot is designed to pay for those underlying repairs so that weatherization crews can then complete the efficiency work.

DHCD Secretary Jake Day framed the effort around helping long-time homeowners stay in place: "Creating safer, more energy-efficient homes is one part of ensuring that legacy homeowners are able to maintain their dignity."

Participating Jurisdictions

Grants went to six jurisdictions that already run active energy efficiency work, a structure intended to reduce the administrative burden on homeowners:

• Allegany County
• Garrett County
• Howard County
• St. Mary's County
• City of Frederick
• City of Baltimore

The state did not publish an individual award amount for each jurisdiction in the launch announcement.

How the Pilot Works

The pilot integrates three DHCD programs that had previously operated separately:

• The Weatherization Assistance Program, which performs efficiency retrofits for income-qualified households
• The Homeowner Assistance Fund WholeHome Grant Program
• The Maryland Housing Rehabilitation Program

The latter two rehabilitation programs were recently restructured and consolidated at DHCD. Under the pilot, when a home is assessed for weatherization and deferred for a qualifying repair issue, the rehabilitation funds can be deployed to make the home safe so weatherization can proceed. The state has said the work is delivered at no cost to the homeowner.

Connection to Federal Funding

The pilot is designed in part to help Maryland deploy a dramatic increase in federal weatherization dollars. DHCD's Weatherization Assistance Program recently received a $45 million allocation from the U.S. Department of Energy through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which the state has described as a roughly three-fold increase over prior funding levels.

How Homeowners Access the Program

The announcement did not publish a statewide homeowner application or deadline. Because funds flow to the six participating jurisdictions, Maryland homeowners in those areas are directed to their local weatherization or housing rehabilitation intake, or to DHCD's energy efficiency page for referrals.

Sources

Details in this article come from the official Maryland DHCD news release dated July 25, 2023, the Office of Governor Wes Moore press release, CBS Baltimore's coverage, and The Southern Maryland Chronicle's July 28, 2023 report.