ANNAPOLIS, MD – Governor Wes Moore announced $56.8 million in new grant awards to 127 energy efficiency projects across the buildings sector, including public schools, businesses, local government buildings, and low-income households. Administered by the Maryland Energy Administration, the grant funding will support energy modernization projects that promote sustainability while lowering costs for ratepayers.
“We are laser-focused on making Maryland more affordable, and that means taking direct action to lower everyday costs,” said Gov. Moore. “By investing in energy efficiency, we aren’t just reducing emissions – we are cutting utility bills and keeping more money in the pockets of Maryland families, schools, and businesses.”
The Fiscal Year 2026 grant awards are administered through various Maryland Energy Administration initiatives, including the Decarbonizing Public Schools Program, Commercial & Industrial Grant Program, Local Government Energy Modernization Program, and Residential Energy Equity Program. By supporting these initiatives, the Moore-Miller Administration is working strategically to address aging infrastructure while ensuring that all Marylanders benefit from energy efficient technologies. The approach not only bolsters the reliability of Maryland's energy grid, but also stimulates local economies by driving demand for jobs.
In this round of grant awards, the Maryland Energy Administration is directing resources from the Strategic Energy Investment Fund to projects that will deliver an energy efficiency savings of 33,226 megawatt-hours during their lifetimes, equivalent to displacing more than 50,000 barrels of oil. Additionally, the projects will cut lifetime greenhouse gas emissions by more than 200,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent – a volume on par with the emissions burning from a continuous row of tanker trucks extending from Baltimore to Annapolis.
“The awards we’re announcing today will make Maryland’s homes, schools and large buildings cleaner and more efficient, resulting in lower bills for ratepayers, reduced energy demand, and lower emissions for all of us,” said Maryland Energy Administration Director Kelly Speakes-Backman. “These investments will deliver results over the short and long term, in line with Governor Moore’s affordability focus and Maryland’s ambitious climate goals.”
Highlights from the selected projects include the following:
- Worcester County Public Schools will receive $2,625,000 to replace an HVAC system with a high-efficiency, fully electric system at Snow Hill Elementary School; $2,479,000 to install a geothermal system to achieve net-zero energy operations at Berlin Intermediate School; and $812,500 to install 325 kilowatts of LEA-owned solar capacity at Worcester Technical High School.
- $3 million to Washington County Public Schools to replace an HVAC system with a high-efficiency, fully electric system at Boonsboro High School. Over the new system’s lifetime, this unit will cut emissions equal to burning 7,500 barrels of oil.
- Prince George’s County will receive $790,000 to install a total of 1,585 kilowatts of third-party owned solar capacity at Drew Freeman Middle School and Hyattsville Middle School; $784,352 install a water-source heat pump to achieve net-zero energy operations at Hyattsville Elementary School; and $636,397 to install a geothermal system in order to achieve net-zero energy operations at Brandywine Elementary School.
- Two $1 million grants to Baltimore City Public Schools to replace gas-fired HVAC systems with fully electric systems at Morrell Park Elementary School and Moravia Park Lower School, respectively.
- $1.875 million to Carroll County Public Schools to replace the current HVAC system at Northwest Middle School with a ground-source heat pump system.
- $1 million to Chestertown for a comprehensive project featuring a 1.2-megawatt solar array that will power town operations, paired with a 1-megawatt community solar array providing discounted electricity to residents. Together, the project will total approximately 2.2 megawatts of installed capacity and will consist of roughly 4,400 photovoltaic panels.
- $930,900 to install rooftop solar, envelope weatherization, lighting upgrades and more at the STAR Center of Havre de Grace.
- $850,000 to Queen Anne’s County Public Schools for energy efficiency measures, including energy modeling, engineering design and post-construction commissioning, that will achieve net-zero energy operations at Centreville Middle School.
- Three grants to the Chimes Foundation, a non-profit that serves disabled adults, including $500,000 to electrify the HVAC at the Terry Allen Perl Center in Baltimore.
- $400,000 to District Farms in Frederick, a food processing facility that will upgrade 936 grow lights to facilitate all-year, round-the-clock horticultural productivity.
- $400,000 to the Mary Harvin Transformation Center Community Development Corporation in East Baltimore. The project will improve energy efficiency at the multi-unit Coel Grant Higgs Senior Center through HVAC, lighting and appliance updates that deliver a minimum of 15% energy savings.
A full list of the FY 2026 awardees is available on the Maryland Energy Administration’s website here.
