Montgomery County Awarded $100,000 Grant to Pursue new Microgrid to Meet Sustainability Goals

For Immediate Release: Friday, June 12, 2020

Montgomery County’s Department of General Services has been awarded an inaugural  Resilient Maryland pilot grant of $100,000 dollars from the Maryland Energy Administration (MEA) to explore project designs, and identify the best option to pursue a new microgrid.

Montgomery County Government has identified seven critical County buildings in the downtown Rockville core, which provide essential government services and present a prime opportunity for the implementation of a community-scale microgrid that provides numerous benefits including resiliency, cleaner energy, and operational cost improvements.

This additional microgrid will help the County to better reach the goal of 100 percent greenhouse gas emission reduction by 2035. Montgomery County was an early adopter of microgrid technology in Maryland at its Public Safety Headquarters, which received grants for the solar PV and combined heat and power (CHP) components from MEA in prior program years.

“The Resilient Maryland grant will help our Department of General Services continue to aggressively work to build and expand projects that generate clean energy and advance environmental sustainability,” said Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich. This will be another important step to help us achieve our ambitious, but critical, goal of eliminating greenhouse emissions by 2035.”

“Maryland’s clean energy future needs to move forward and Resilient Maryland encourages this progress by providing vital funding to kick-start customized projects,” said Governor Larry Hogan. “Our push for clean energy ensures a more environmentally sustainable, more resilient and more prosperous Maryland.”

“Historically, Maryland has imported most of our energy from out of state coal-fired power plants,” explained MEA Director Mary Beth Tung.” The Resilient Maryland pilot offers a unique opportunity for innovation right here in Maryland across a variety of clean energy alternatives, reducing both financial risk and total project costs.”

This highly competitive pilot was developed late in fiscal year (FY) 2020 to drive economic growth through innovative clean energy technology which will enable essential services, businesses and other organizations to resist power disruptions and outages. A total of 14 grant applications have been awarded $1.05 million dollars in funding.

“DGS appreciates receiving this grant funding from the Maryland Energy Administration Resilient Maryland pilot program, which makes it possible to target innovative, sustainability work in the County’s government hub” said DGS Director David Dise. “The grant funds will be put to good use as we continue our work to respond to the climate emergency and reduce our carbon footprint.”

Energy resiliency has taken center stage in the face of increasing global threats to grid integrity and severe storms, which can cause extended power outages. The goal of this program is to provide MEA with replicable, scalable, and cost-effective solutions that will serve as models for wide-scale adoption. The high demand for this pilot underscores the importance of state investment in innovation and why the programs like Resilient Maryland can help kick-start job growth. 

Award winners include projects from across the state and address a variety of groups from low-to-moderate income communities, to critical infrastructure facilities, to commercial projects as well as state and local government facilities in Maryland. These projects address essential infrastructure needs which will bring a lasting benefit to the state.

Release ID: 20-313
Media Contact: Judy Stiles 240-463-2442