In fall 2021, the administration provided funds through Resilient Maryland and Resiliency Hub programs to increase DER deployment across the state to mitigate harmful effects of power outages caused by severe weather, malicious cyber incidents and other threats to the integrity of the state’s power grid.
Now, the MEA will focus on launching three initiatives: a Resilient Maryland Capital Development Pilot Program, a FY22 Resilient Maryland Planning and Design Program and a FY22 Resiliency Hub Grant Program.
The Resilient Maryland Capital Development Pilot Program will provide funds to Maryland communities, businesses, organizations and utilities — including municipal and electric cooperatives — to fund equipment, installation, commissioning and interconnection costs for comprehensive microgrid systems.
The administration will also reopen the FY22 Resilient Maryland Planning and Design Program for a second round after a high-demand first round.
Resilient Maryland was initially launched as a pilot in FY 20 and provides funds to Maryland businesses and state and local governments to help offset the costs of conducting critical feasibility analysis and pre-construction planning for resilient facility power systems and resiliency hubs.
The MEA’s FY22 Resiliency Hub Grant Program will also return for a second round. The program provides funds to Maryland organizations to establish resiliency hubs for their communities.
Examples of resiliency hubs include community locations like schools, community centers, libraries or faith-based institutions, where residents can safely congregate during an outage and receive emergency power to charge portable electronics.
Funds provided through this program will support solar and battery energy storage systems and associated racking, mounting and wiring equipment.
The application deadline for the Resilient Maryland Capital Development Pilot Program and Resilient Maryland Planning and Design Program is 5 p.m. EST on March 31, 2022. And Resiliency Hub Grant Program applications are due at 5 p.m. EST on March 1, 2022.
“Our state continues to be a leader and innovator in a growing clean energy economy and the projects that these programs fund are proof of those efforts,” said Mary Beth Tung, director of the Maryland Energy Administration, in the release. “Microgrids, resiliency hubs and other systems, in addition to clean and efficient energy upgrades, are important components of achieving a truly resilient Maryland.”
