Montgomery County correctional facility photo credit: Montgomery County
Update: Governor Larry Hogan issued an executive order on March 12, 2020 mandating teleworking for non-essential state employees across all state agencies in response to COVID-19. With this in mind, the Maryland Energy Administration (MEA) encourages that all correspondence and reporting regarding the Public Facility Solar Grant Program be submitted via email to David.Comis@Maryland.gov.
During this time, MEA Solar Program Manager David Comis can most easily be reached via email at David.Comis@Maryland.gov or via phone at (443) 908-1743. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and we appreciate your understanding.
FY21 Public Facility Solar Grant Program
The Maryland Energy Administration (MEA) announces the opening of the FY21 Public Facility Solar Grant Program. This program provides grant funding to support the installation of solar arrays on existing infrastructure, such as parking lots or rooftops, for public institutions. As specified in Governor Larry Hogan’s press release of August 14, 2019, "The state is pledging an additional $4 million in grants to aid large public institutions, including community colleges and universities, to deploy solar arrays on existing infrastructure—such as parking lots and rooftops—while encouraging state agencies to incorporate solar energy into any future construction."
In order to assist with the initial costs associated with installing solar PV systems, MEA is providing grants to qualified applicants on a competitive basis. Application for funding will be accepted from state agencies, public universities, community colleges, public schools, as well as local government (Counties/Cities/Municipalities) entities for projects to be located on existing infrastructure. For purchased systems (identified as Area of Interest 1 (AOI 1)), MEA will provide grants up to $2,500/kW of PV solar installed, with a cap of $125,000 per project. For 3rd party owned solar canopy systems (identified as Area of Interest 2 (AOI 2)), MEA will provide grants up to $600/kW, with a cap of $300,000 per project. For 3rd party owned rooftop systems, MEA will provide grants up to $400/kW, with a cap of $200,000 per project. All solar systems must be net metered. For details regarding the grant program requirements and restrictions, please see the Public Facility Solar Grant Program Notice of Grant Availability, available in the Program Documents section below.
Also, to help assure access to technical assistance (identified as Area of Interest 3 (AOI 3)) to install a solar PV system on a public building, other grant assistance is available on a first-come, first served basis. MEA is providing grant assistance either through grant funds, or through the assignment of no cost technical experts to a grantee through an MEA contractor. This grant assistance is generally limited to $10,000 per project.
This program is not the proper venue to identify which of multiple buildings would be favorable for a solar system. State and local government agencies interested in conducting a solar siting survey of their buildings should reach out to the Maryland Energy Administration Solar Program Manager (David Comis) at Solar.MEA@maryland.gov, or by calling 443-908-1743.
