NOTE: Applications for grants for FY2017 program are due by December 15, 2016. 

Mathias Agriculture Energy Efficiency program offered by the Maryland Energy Administration (MEA) provides grants to farms and businesses in agricultural sector to offset 50% of the cost of energy efficiency and renewable energy upgrades. Grant application must be submitted to the MEA by December 15, 2016. The MEA anticipates announcing grant winners in March or April of 2017. 

Eligibility

Program is open to farms and businesses in agricultural sector for energy efficiency and renewable energy projects that have total cost of at least $20,000.  Examples may include, but not limited to dairy, orchard, poultry, greenhouse, processor, sawmill, aquaculture and others. Projects must save energy through installation of energy efficiency measures, or implement renewable energy in conjunction with energy efficiency measures. Projects that include only renewable energy measures are not eligible for funding. MEA has subcontracted EnSave to provide basic technical support to help identify potential projects and its energy savings. Contact information for EnSave is provided below.

Program Description

The program has a total budget of $900,000 for the fiscal year 2017, of which $650,000 is allocated for energy efficiency measures and $250,000 for renewable energy measures. The program offers grants up to 50% of the cost of energy efficiency projects and 25% of renewable energy projects, capped at $150,000. The project cost should be at least $20,000 to be considered for the program.  Examples of projects that would qualify under the program include whole building weatherization, efficient lighting, motor efficiency upgrades, wind, biomass, solar PV, methane digester and others.

Applications for the grants will be evaluated on various grounds including project feasibility, cost effectiveness, energy benefits, simple payback, best practices approach and others.

Please visit the program website for more information.