Both the State of Maryland & Montgomery County recently received investment from the Dep. of Energy to support local clean energy projects, improve building codes.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recently announced its latest round of awards under the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) Program. The EECBG Program will distribute $12.62 million to 32 local governments, two states, and one Tribe to improve energy efficiency, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and lower overall energy use. Funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and managed by DOE’s Office of State and Community Energy Programs, the EECBG program makes formula grants to States, territories, the District of Columbia and eligible Tribal and local governments. The program funding is highly flexible: recipients may apply it towards 14 eligible categories of clean energy projects and programs that will help them reduce energy consumption, promote energy efficiency, and advance environmental justice.
| Maryland | $2,101,450 | Provide sub-grants to small and rural local governments to create or update energy efficiency plans and decarbonization strategies, in line with Maryland Energy Administration (MEA) objectives. Funding will flow to each of the four regions of Maryland. | ||
| Montgomery County | $764,010 | Pursue two projects: First, the county will pilot a program to procure safe cold storage equipment for edible food recovery to distribute to residents living with food insecurity. Purchased equipment will include a refrigerator truck, commercial refrigerators/freezers, and an outdoor refrigerator cube . The project will also include developing outreach and communication materials. Second, the county will also conduct retrofits in at least 12 low-income owner-occupied homes. Upgrades will include new HVAC systems, water heaters, appliances and electrical repairs for at least 12 low-income homeowners. |
Additionally, Montgomery was also selected to receive an additional $10,000,000 to develop, adopt, and implement County energy codes over the next three code cycles working toward a long-term target of 100% Net Zero Energy building energy codes by 2027. They were selected in round 1 of DOE’s Inflation Reduction Act Support for Building Energy Codes and Innovative Codes program.
Read more about DOE’s Support Clean Energy Local Projects and Lower Energy Costs Program.
