Maryland Energy Administration to help public schools reduce carbon emissions

The Maryland Energy Administration on Wednesday unveiled an ambitious plan to help K-12 public schools across the state reduce and eliminate carbon emissions. The Decarbonizing Public Schools Program will provide capital to help local education agencies more fully incorporate a wide range of clean energy and energy efficiency measures into Maryland’s public schools.

The program provides incentives for a comprehensive suite of grants focused on capacity building, infrastructure upgrades, renewable energy adoption and the use of new, sustainable construction methods. Notably, the Decarbonizing Public Schools Program will expand statewide construction and access to net zero energy schools – school buildings that create and save as much renewable energy as they use.

Under a precursor to this program, Maryland built and opened its first three net zero energy schools. The first was Wilde Lake Middle School in Howard County, followed by Holabird Academy and the Graceland Park/O’Donnell Heights Elementary/Middle School, both in Baltimore City. This new initiative will help local education agencies retrofit, design and construct state-of-the-art, net zero energy campuses that produce enough on-location renewable energy to meet their total annual electricity demands.

Program funds will enable varied activities such as benchmarking energy use, directly reducing emissions and updating key policies. From boiler and HVAC system replacements to advanced metering and controls, targeted facility improvements are expected to yield substantial financial savings over time.

The Maryland Energy Administration and the Interagency Commission on School Construction jointly developed the Decarbonizing Public Schools Program as part of statewide efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and expand use of clean energy sources. Program funding for Fiscal Year 2024 is approximately $24 million.

Maryland’s local education agencies have until March 15 to review detailed program guidelines and submit applications for consideration.