ANNAPOLIS, MD — Governor Wes Moore today announced $17 million in grants that will allow more income-qualified Marylanders to tap into the cost-cutting and environmental benefits of the Community Solar Grant Program. The program promotes access to solar power for individuals who rent their homes or cannot install solar panels on their own properties.
“The reason we are so focused on the issue of energy affordability is because we hear from our constituents about it every day,” said Gov. Moore. “That’s why we’re taking this important step forward to make energy more sustainable and bring prices down in communities across the state. And as we continue in this work, we’re making sure to leave no one behind.”
The Maryland Energy Administration is emphasizing projects sited on landfills or brownfields as the state works to turn former wastelands into clean energy production hubs. Approximately $12 million of funding will be directed to such projects, all of which must be subscribed to low-income Marylanders. Additionally, half of the energy will be provided free of charge to low-income households that are designated by the Maryland Department of Human Services; the other half will be subscribed to low-income households at a 25% discount from their utility’s residential rate.
Projects that are not on landfills or brownfields require 15% of the site’s electricity to go to low-income subscribers and to deliver a minimum savings of 12%. For many customers, the actual savings far exceeds 20%.
“Community Solar is important for several different reasons. It allows households on fixed or moderate incomes to cut their electric bills. And Community Solar requires limited up-front investment,” said Maryland Energy Administration Director Paul G. Pinsky. “Perhaps above all, Community Solar allows many Marylanders who can’t put solar on their roofs to receive the same cost savings as those who can.”
The minimum size of an individual grant for a project not located on a landfill or brownfield is $50,000; the maximum is $1 million. For projects on landfills or brownfields, the maximum individual grant size is $6 million.
Projects that received funding through the earlier Community Solar Pilot Program are not eligible to apply for this round of funding. The agency will consider portfolios of smaller projects that are submitted under a single W-9.
The program is open for applications until 3 p.m. ET on Tuesday, December 23.
For more information visit energy.maryland.gov.
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