The Maryland Energy Administration (MEA) announced last week that the schools will join its Higher Education Clean Energy Grant Pilot Program, a project aimed at incorporating renewable energy infrastructure into higher education sites and strategic planning, as well as academic curricula and workforce development.
The news release said each grantee will develop a Clean Energy Master Plan (CEMP) for integrating new sustainability projects into existing campus initiatives, whether that be partnering with industry for hands-on student training or carefully analyzing energy use and efficiency. Schools can use MEA funds to pay student interns to help create CEMPs or install solar panels, according to the funding opportunity announcement.
For example, Loyola University of Maryland will use its $1.2 million award to install rooftop solar panels and fund three internships. The University of Maryland, Baltimore County, which received a similar amount, will install a solar system on canopy structures and work with five interns.
Some schools are also taking unique approaches to workforce development, such as Allegany Community College, which will develop a certification program in photovoltaics — the conversion of light into electricity with semiconductors like solar panels. Several University of Maryland locations will create training programs in clean energy and renewable resources.
According to the news release, these initiatives will help Maryland avoid producing the equivalent of more than 2,700 metric tons of carbon dioxide, or about 15 rail cars of coal, each year.
“So these grants will boost the state’s real clean energy output and give students hands-on opportunities to learn more about, and even begin working in, clean energy fields,” MEA Director Paul Pinsky said in a public statement.
MEA plans to share details on the fiscal year 2026 round of Higher Education Clean Energy Grants later this summer.
