Baltimore Utility Awarded $50M Grant for Grid Resilience Projects, Microgrids
Baltimore Gas and Electric (BGE), the largest natural gas and electric utility in Maryland, was awarded up to $50 million in grant funding from the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships (GRIP) program.
BGE, a subsidiary of Exelon, will use the funds to advance its grid modernization efforts via the BGE Interconnection Readiness and Deployment of Storage (BIRDS) initiative.
A portion of the funds will be used to assess the broad adoption and effectiveness of small-scale microgrids that can serve as community resiliency hubs.
BGE was a Utility Presenter at Microgrid Conference 2024 in Baltimore
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Community resiliency hubs provide communities a safe place to gather during extended power outages. Often powered by solar and storage microgrids, these hubs offer food, water, shelter, charging stations and a place to store temperature sensitive medications.
The Maryland Energy Administration (MEA) has made significant investments in community resilience hub microgrids in recent years – the MEA’s budget for these types of installations for fiscal year 2024 is $6 million, more than twice the $2.7 million allocated in 2023.
BGE will deploy community-owned battery, solar and EV charging stations, creating community resilience hubs in Howard County, which is just west of Baltimore. Two community organizations, OpenWorks and Civic Works, will partner with BGE on the project.
“This innovative partnership with BGE will help us further advance our efforts toward a greener, more sustainable future by expanding our renewable energy sources, increasing our resiliency to climate impacts, and growing our electric vehicle charging infrastructure to further support electric vehicle adoption. Additionally, in increasing our on-site solar energy generation and adding solar battery storage, we are helping to improve the overall resiliency of our electric grid,” said Calvin Ball, Howard County executive, in a statement.
Other renewable energy projects on deck
BGE was founded in 1816 and is the country’s oldest natural gas utility. The utility serves more than 1.3 million electric customers and 700,000 natural gas customers.
The GRIP funding will advance several of BGEs other renewable energy initiatives.
One of the cornerstones of the BIRDS program is the deployment of 11 MW of scalable battery energy storage solutions across the company’s distribution system. Maryland’s goal is to reach 3,000 MW of battery storage capacity by 2033.
BIRDS also aims to shorten customer clean energy interconnection times by upgrading substations to improve monitoring and control It is expected that these upgrades will allow for the integration of up to 3 MW of customer distributed energy resource (DER) capacity, including rooftop solar and storage systems and electric vehicle charging stations.
The funding will also be used to develop new, innovative DER management system (DERMS) functionality so BGE can better leverage data and increase the penetration of DERs throughout the utility’s footprint.
“The improved system capacity and flexibility provided by BIRDS will be a vital step in meeting state and local climate goals while maintaining a focus on community needs and resilience," said Mark Case, vice president of Regulatory Policy and Strategy at BGE.
Workforce development programs through community colleges, union training organizations and local non-profits will also be established with the GRIP funding.
"Civic Works is proud to partner with BGE and thrilled to receive support to implement the project. This grant will strengthen energy grid resilience in local Baltimore communities and help address the critical need for skilled workers in battery storage installation and maintenance," said Eli Allen, senior program director with Civic Works.
GRIP funds nearly $2 billion in projects
The BGE award is part of the latest round of GRIP funding. The DOE awarded $2 billion to 38 projects in mid-October. The funds will be used to build new transmission and distribution infrastructure and technology, adding more than 7.5 GW of capacity across the country and accelerating the interconnection process for clean energy projects.
Generac Holdings was also selected to receive $50 million for its work to integrate clean energy microgrids into water infrastructure facilities for the California Water Association.
The GRIP program, which is funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, has $10.5 billion earmarked for projects across the country. With awards granted in October 2023, August 2024 and, most recently, this past October, GRIP has invested nearly $7.6 billion in 104 different projects.
All awards are subject to final agreement between the selectee and the DOE.
