As Maryland’s state energy office, the Maryland Energy Administration (MEA) will be the recipient of a formulaic Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) award from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The State of Maryland’s EECBG award will be for $2,101,450. DOE will also be providing direct EECBG formulaic allocations to the ten largest counties and ten largest cities and towns in Maryland. As the ten largest counties and ten largest cities are receiving direct EECBG funding from DOE, MEA’s EECBG allocation will be directed towards counties and incorporated units of local government not receiving direct EECBG grants from DOE.
Applications from state energy offices like MEA were due to DOE on July 31, 2023. MEA’s EECBG application proposed the following activities:
EECBG funding will provide subgrants on a competitive basis to support three objectives for county and local government funding recipients: energy planning and strategy development, decarbonization strategy development, and expansion or revisions of existing energy plans and strategies.
EECBG funds will also be used to fund community energy liasons to assist local governments in the development of energy efficiency and decarbonization strategies.
Current status: DOE has requested that MEA develop detailed project timelines that will enable MEA to ensure that upon approval of MEA’s application by DOE, MEA can have subgrantees identified and grant agreements executed within 180 days as required by the federal law that established the EECBG program (42 U.S.C. 17155(c)(1)). MEA is currently determining how the 180 day deadline for subgrantee contracting can be accomplished.
If you are interested in getting updates on the EECBG program from MEA, as well as other MEA energy programs, please follow MEA on social media at Facebook | X, formerly known as Twitter | LinkedIn.
Questions about the EECBG program should be directed to federal.mea@maryland.gov.
Additional Information from DOE:
DOE EECBG Program Formula Grant Application Hub
