Montgomery County Awarded $8 Million for Microgrids, Resilience Hubs and Clean Energy Projects

Montgomery County, Maryland, has secured more than $8.3 million from the Maryland Energy Administration (MEA) to fund 20 clean energy and energy efficiency projects, including microgrids and resilience hubs.

More than $7 million of the funds are earmarked for renewable energy projects, including solar-powered backup systems at seven recreation centers and a health center. The backup systems, when combined with future investments in battery storage, will expand access to resilience hubs in rural and underserved communities.

Resilience hubs are designated sites equipped to support residents during weather-related disasters and other public emergencies. Hubs typically include solar and energy storage microgrids that power heating and cooling systems, refrigerators and communications devices until grid services have been restored.

Often housed in community centers, schools or churches, they offer the community a place to gather information, food and other emergency supplies, charge devices and store refrigerated medication.

The county’s long-term plans call for the creation of resilience hubs at 14 community centers and nine other public facilities. Funds will also be used to expand solar energy projects in county parks and to support an agrivoltaics demonstration project at the Agricultural History Farm Park. Agrivoltaics practices often include co-locating crops, livestock grazing or pollinator habitats with solar arrays.  

“The funding will support practical projects that improve energy efficiency, strengthen emergency preparedness, and create more resilient public spaces, particularly in communities that are more vulnerable during extreme weather events,” Marc Elrich, Montgomery County’s Executive, said in a statement.

Resilience plus lower costs and cleaner air

Montgomery County’s Department of General Services (DGS) will enter into a power purchase agreement with a third party for the solar projects, which are expected to generate more than 5,800 MWh of electricity per year.  

County officials expect the projects will avoid 2,835 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions per year, reduce energy costs by $439,000 annually, and generate more than $11 million in lifetime savings.

“The more than $8 million funding from the Maryland Energy Administration will help Montgomery County advance clean-energy projects that reflect our sustainability-aligned values,” Natali Fani-González, Montgomery County Council President, said in a statement. “We reject the Trump administration’s harmful cuts to essential federal programs and grant funding that address climate change. In Montgomery County and Maryland, we are doubling down on investments that will help advance our climate goals.”

Maryland continues to invest heavily in renewables and microgrids

Montgomery County has a long and storied history with microgrids dating back to 2012, when a derecho caused widespread power outages.

Since that time, the county has outfitted a number of county facilities with microgrids, including the animal shelter, a police station, public safety headquarters and a correctional facility.

Many of its projects have been groundbreaking in terms of scope or technology. The Brookfield Smart Energy Bus Depot solar and energy storage microgrid was completed in 2022 and powers the county’s fleet of electric buses.

Three years later, construction began on a similar microgrid at the David F. Bone Equipment Maintenance and Transit Operation Center (EMTOC) in Rockville. In addition to solar and battery storage, this system includes a 1-MW electrolyzer to power hydrogen fuel cell buses.

This latest round of funding was awarded to Montgomery County through MEA’s Local Government Energy Modernization (L-GEM) Program, which supports sustainable, long-term clean energy, energy efficiency and electrification projects. Projects must reduce energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions and energy costs and advance clean energy and economic development.

For fiscal year 2026, the program awarded $64 million to projects across the state. The MEA has issued a Request for Information seeking input on the design of its FY2027 program. Applications for 2027 awards are expected to open in September.