$1M Awarded by MD Energy Administration for Baltimore City Solar Energy Storage Hubs

During Fiscal Year 2021 (FY21), the Maryland Energy Administration (MEA) provided $1 million in awards to build new solar plus energy storage resiliency hubs at three locations in Baltimore City.

photo courtesy of MEA

According to MEA, the projects awarded were conceptually designed under a FY20 grant to Groundswell, Inc. under MEA’s Resilient Maryland Program. Each of the three resiliency hub projects will be able to isolate from the grid when the grid is down, and are designed to have at least a 50% probability of lasting a full 3 days with all critical loads being energized. Funding for these projects was made possible by the MEA Resiliency Hub Grant Program which was funded by the Strategic Energy Investment Fund.

According to an MEA press release, the three Baltimore City projects receiving a Resiliency Hub Grant are as follows:

City of Refuge, located at 3501 7th Street in Baltimore, will receive a 110- kW solar system (split between rooftop and a solar canopy), as well as a 430-kWh battery system. This facility will serve as a hub in Baltimore
City’s Community Resiliency Hub program.

Empowerment Temple, located at 4217-4221 Primrose Ave in Baltimore, will receive a 120-kW rooftop solar system paired with a 450-kWh battery system. This facility will also serve as a hub in Baltimore City’s
Community Resiliency Hub program.

Miracle City Church, located at 100 S. Rock Glen Road in Baltimore, will receive a 110-kW solar system (split between rooftop and a solar canopy), as well as a 420-kWh battery system. As with the other two projects, this facility will serve as a hub in Baltimore City’s Community Resiliency Hub program.

Sun Light Old Line Solar II, LLC will own each of the solar and battery systems, selling electricity to the site at a predetermined price. However, when the grid is down, the energy provided by the solar and battery systems
are provided without charge to the associated resiliency hub. Groundswell, Inc. developed the projects with the technical assistance of A.F. Mensah. This is the second year of the Resiliency Hub Grant program.

The Maryland Energy Administration has now opened its FY22 Resilient Maryland Program and is accepting a second round of applications due in March 2022.

Useful Links:
Learn more about the Resiliency Hub Grant Program.
Learn more about the FY22 Resilient Maryland Program.
Read the full MEA press release.
Visit the MEA website.