Maryland Energy Administration (MEA) Awards $960K for Public Facility Solar Projects

The Maryland Energy Administration (MEA) announced on Wednesday that 16 projects have been granted a total of $960,578.00 under the Public Facility Solar Grant Program for Fiscal Year 2022 (FY22). This program provides grant funding to State, County, or Municipal government entities to support the planning and installation of solar arrays on the existing infrastructure of public facilities. The program’s purpose is to encourage the generation of solar energy at public facilities and to demonstrate government support for clean and renewable energy generation technology.​​ Solar arrays for public institutions will be installed on existing infrastructure, such as parking lots or rooftops, thanks to funding for these projects.

For more information on getting a grant and also learning about refinance programs, take a look at this.

“Solar arrays on public institutions like our state parks and public buildings demonstrate our support for the development of clean and renewable energy,” said Mary Beth Tung, director of MEA. “This will provide considerable cost savings over the life of the systems and help the state meet its ambitious climate and renewable energy goals.”

This program is linked to MEA’s Solar Technical Assistance Program, which aims to assist state and local governments in increasing the amount of solar energy generating equipment installed on public infrastructure. The Maryland State Parks team was given access to this application by MEA in order to discover the finest solar spots in their portfolio of properties. MEA collaborates with the Maryland Environmental Service to provide these analyses at no cost to the participating public entity as a tool to aid in the identification of the most suitable roofs, parking lots, and other already established spaces for solar photovoltaic systems.

The solar arrays will generate electricity locally, decreasing electricity losses in the transmission process and emptying the electrical system on peak demand days. Other program objectives include expanding the use of clean, renewable energy by state and local governments. The public entity may purchase and install solar modules directly, or it may enter into a Power Purchase Agreement with a third party for the installation of a solar array on a public facility and integration with the facility’s existing infrastructure. Funds for acquired systems (AOI 1) and funds for third-party-owned systems (AOI 2) were made available in two different Areas of Interest (AOI) (AOI 2).

For more information on getting a grant and also learning about refinance programs, take a look at this.

Click here for a listing of projects receiving Public Facility Solar Grant awards in FY22. For more information contact David Comis, the Maryland Energy Administration (MEA) Public Facility Solar Grant Program Manager by email at david.comis@maryland.gov ​or by phone at 443-908-1743.