Community Wind Grant Program

This program in is not active, information below is for historical information only. For information about current MEA wind programs, visit the Maryland Offshore Wind Supply Chain Investment Program and the Maryland Offshore Wind Workforce Training & Education Program webpages.

The Community Wind Grant Program (CWGP) provides grants to encourage the development of community scale wind projects in Maryland. The Maryland Energy Administration (MEA) defines a community wind project as “a distributed wind energy project that benefits a local community.”

The program is open to businesses, non-profits, and State, Local, and Municipal governments and their agencies/institutions on a first come, first served basis. Projects that are either purchased or owned by a third party are eligible for the Community Wind Grant Program. In fiscal year 2019 (July 1, 2018 to June 30, 2019), the Maryland Energy Administration (MEA) has a combined budget of up to $1 million available for the Residential and Community Wind Grant Programs. All Wind grants are subject to funding availability.

Applicants must follow all instructions and satisfy all requirements throughout the application process as specified in the dropdown menu(s) below and on application forms.

MEA will not accept applications for the FY 2019 Community Wind Grant Program after May 1, 2019 at 11:59 PM EST. MEA will not offer the Community Wind Grant Program in FY 2020 and any future fiscal year thereafter.

Incentive

The Program utilizes a tiered approach, with smaller systems receiving a higher kW capacity incentive than larger systems. Grant awards range in size from $500/kW to $4000/kW per project based on system size (review incentive table below) and are awarded on a first come, first serve basis, up to available funding levels.

Community wind grants cannot exceed the lessor of 50 percent of net cost of installation or the dollar amount cap as specified in the incentive table below. Net cost is calculated as the installation cost reduced by other incentives such as grants or tax credits provided by Federal, State, County, or Local governments. Wind turbines eligible under Tier 1 (nameplate capacity between 1 – 25 kW) have additional requirements and special conditions as discussed in further detail in the ‘Requirements’ section below.

FY 2019 Community Wind Grant Program Incentives
Tier	Capacity (kW)	Grant per kW	Grant Cap ($)	Net Cost (%)
1*	1 - 25	$ 4,000.00	$ 100,000.00	50.00%
2	26 - 50	$ 3,500.00	$ 175,000.00
3	51 - 100	$ 3,000.00	$ 300,000.00
4	101 - 250	$ 2,500.00	$ 400,000.00
5	251 - 500	$ 1,500.00	$ 500,000.00
6	501 - 750	$ 1,000.00	$ 600,000.00
7	751+	$ 500.00	$1,000,000.00

*Tier 1 is designed to match the Residential Wind Grant Program incentive and requirement structure.

Requirements

Program Requirements

Installations must be located in Maryland.
A project may not receive more than one grant.
Applications must be submitted to MEA within 12 months of installation.
MEA cannot offer grants to a property held in a trust.
Multiple projects on contiguous parcels of property will be considered one project.

Wind Turbine Requirements

Applicants must ensure proposed projects comply with Wind Turbine Restrictions as specified in the Agriculture Article, §2-513, Annotated Code of Maryland and the Maryland Code of Regulations 15.15.14.06.
Applicants must ensure proposed projects comply with their local county’s ordinances for wind energy systems. MEA has compiled a list of county ordinances for wind energy systems which can be found here.

Tier 1 Requirements and Special Conditions

As shown in the Community Wind Grant (FY 2019) incentive chart, the incentive levels are broken into tiers based on capacity. The Community Wind Tier 1 incentive is designed to match the Residential Wind Grant Program incentive and requirement structure. The following conditions are exclusive to eligible systems in Tier 1.

Tier 1 Grants will only be provided for eligible turbines with a nameplate capacity between 1 and 25 kilowatts (kW) that are listed on at least one of the following certified turbine lists:

Tier 1 Grants are calculated based on expected turbine performance measured as normalized capacity (rated power at wind speeds of 11 meters per second), not nameplate capacity.

Application Process

Please be sure to review and follow all program documents, instructions, and requirements before submitting a Community Wind Grant Application to MEA. Grant applications must include a Primary Point of Contact (PPC). The PPC is responsible for ensuring grant documentation is submitted in a timely, accurate, and complete manner.

The Community Wind Grant Program offers Applicants the option to complete a one-step application process for projects constructed within the last twelve (12) months or a two-step application process for projects that need a definitive grant funding commitment before project construction.

One Step Process - Application

Two Step Process - Application

Two Step Process - Completion Certificate

Submission

Please download the Application Form, complete it according to the provided instructions, and mail it to:

Maryland Energy Administration

Attn: Wind Programs

1800 Washington Blvd, Suite 755

Baltimore, MD 21230

Related Incentives

US Department of Agriculture (USDA)

Rural Energy for America Program (REAP)

US Internal Revenue Service (IRS)

Resources

MEA has compiled a number of useful resources that will help you understand the basics of wind energy, deployment of small and community scale wind projects, and how you can plan a career in the wind energy industry.

Click Here to Learn More

Contact

For questions, suggestions or more information, please contact the MEA Wind Team via e-mail at wind.mea@maryland.gov.