The Maryland Energy Administration (MEA) has awarded another $359,065 for microgrids as part of its Resilient Maryland Planning Program.
Three winners were chosen in the second round of the MEA’s 2022 program and they will use the money to conduct feasibility analysis and other preconstruction activities.
They join six other applicants who were awarded a total of $830,000 in Round 1 FY22 Resilient Maryland.
The three recent winners are:
Bowie State University — $100,000
Bowie State University (BSU) is a nationally accredited four-year university and Maryland’s oldest designated historically black college. BSU will use the funds to conduct a feasibility analysis and preconstruction planning for a microgrid to serve critical university facilities and services and to meet sustainability goals.
Groundswell — $159,065
Groundswell focuses on clean energy system development and reducing the amount of monthly income individuals and families spend on energy costs. The nonprofit, whose stated mission is “building community power,” will partner with Montgomery County and use its funds to conduct a countywide analysis of up to 20 locations that can serve as resiliency hubs for their surrounding communities — places where individuals can receive power for essential devices and remain in safe, air-conditioned spaces during power outages. This project replicates Groundswell’s FY20 Resilient Maryland project, which focused on 26 possible resiliency hubs in Baltimore City’s most vulnerable communities.
City of Cumberland — $100,000
The City of Cumberland is the County Seat of Allegany County with a population of over 19,000 residents. It is located along the Potomac River and is part of the Interstate 68 Corridor. Because of that, it’s considered a regional business and commercial center for Western Maryland. The city will use its funds to conduct a feasibility analysis and complete preconstruction activities for at least one community microgrid to bolster the resilience of its wastewater system and critical emergency services. Technologies under consideration include solar PV, wind turbines, battery energy storage, electric vehicle charging, combined heat and power, the recommissioning of an anaerobic digester and absorption chilling.
The MEA launched Resilient Maryland in 2020 to help identify and mobilize microgrids and bring the projects closer to being shovel-ready. So far, the program has identified 30 potential microgrid and resiliency hub projects across Maryland.
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