2G Blog

Maryland Energy Administration Announces Opening of CHP Grant Program for FY-2022

Written by Kim Padro | Jul 15, 2021 6:51:43 PM

Announcing your chance to improve your facilities operations.

Take the opportunity now, while the grant is still available, to reduce your energy costs and improve your resiliency against power disruptions.

The Maryland Energy Administration (MEA) has announced the FY22 Combined Heat and Power (CHP) Grant Program. This first-come, first-served program provides Maryland organizations with capital incentives to install qualified CHP (combined heat & power) systems at their facilities to enhance operational efficiency, cost reductions, sustainability, and resilience against power disruptions.

What is it? 

Incentives, Grants & Rebates

The Maryland Energy Administration (MEA) provides two grants and a low-cost loan program to help customers with the planning, design, equipment, and installation costs associated with CHP systems.

  • CHP Grant Program Provides funds for the equipment and installation costs of qualified CHP systems. Grants are calculated on a dollar per kW of installed capacity basis, from $575 / kW for small systems, stepping down as systems grow larger to $425 / kW for the largest systems (this is done to leverage economies of scale). Grants can be as large as $500,000 total.
  • Resilient Maryland Program Provides feasibility analysis, planning, engineering, and design funds for distributed energy resource projects (like microgrids and CHP systems) to entities considering these technologies. Grants are calculated based upon the scope and complexity of the project from $10,000 to $100,000.
  • Jane E. Lawton Conservation Loan Program Provides low-cost financing for energy efficiency and CHP projects (APR does not exceed 1%). The payback term is based upon the simple payback of the project, with a maximum possible loan term of 13 years.

Maryland’s five EmPOWER Utilities also offer CHP incentives, which can be stacked with MEA incentives and can be as much as $2.5 million. This stackability allows customers to minimize their out-of-pocket cost for CHP systems, which both helps mitigate risk and secure buy-in from critical organization decision-makers (like CEOs and CFOs) as well as private capital providers. Links to each utility’s CHP program webpage are provided below:

 

How to get started

Reach out to us today to schedule a No-Obligation Assessment.  All you need is a few utility bills to get started.  Our team of experts will review your energy use and discuss possible options for onsite energy savings.  A quick review of your facility and energy goals will determine if a CHP project is right for you and if you decide to proceed give you a wide range of project options ranging from DIY to full turnkey CHP-as-a-Service.

To learn more and read over the Maryland Energy Administration Grant Program, click below: 

MEA CHP Resource Guide

What is CHP?

Combined Heat and Power (CHP) is a technology that provides continuous electricity and thermal energy from a single fuel source to power a facility’s operations. CHP systems provide a clean, efficient, affordable, and resilient energy solution to an organization that has a high annual energy demand and seeks to improve its sustainability, energy efficiency, and operational efficiency through utility expense reduction. CHP technologies come in many different forms, sizes, and setups, designed to meet the unique energy needs and applications of the facilities where they are installed.

Highlights of CHP

CHP technology makes it possible to capture the heat from generating electricity and uses it to meet the thermal energy needs of a facility. This reduces, and can in some cases virtually eliminate the need for separate fuel purchased to fire boilers, furnaces, etc. A CHP system can achieve total energy efficiency for a facility at approximately 75% (though efficiencies can go higher if more heat is used).

Traditionally, electricity and thermal energy are supplied to a facility separately. The electricity is delivered by the electric utility, and thermal energy is sourced from the combustion of fuel in boilers, furnaces, or other technologies. However, this process is typically not very efficient—even in the best cases, total energy efficiency for utility electricity and thermal energy at a facility reaches about 51%. Traditional energy systems only harness 38% of the energy they produce, which wastes energy and money. 2G Energy harnesses 87% of the energy the 2G CHP systems produce by using combined heat and power energy.

CHP systems are also often designed to operate when electricity grid power is unavailable, through a process known as black starting and islanding. This added energy resilience component is often one of the most cited reasons for CHP adoption, as it helps secure organizations against the operational losses and threats experienced by utility outages. Essential energy loads can continue to receive power and heat indefinitely as long as the fuel for the CHP system remains available.

Paybacks

When units are strategically installed to maximize economics and efficiency, and take advantage of incentives, simple paybacks average five to 7 years. The expected useful life of a CHP system is typically about 20 years, meaning that it can become cash positive very quickly, saving the customer hundreds of thousands or as much as millions of dollars over its expected useful life. Even without incentives, CHP systems, when installed properly, can still achieve paybacks under 10 years.

Why 2G? 

2G Energy Inc. is a renowned CHP cogeneration specialist offering best-in-class cogeneration systems for natural gas, biogas, landfill gas, syngas, and hydrogen in the 50 to 2,500 kW power range. With over 7,500 2G systems installed worldwide, our customers confirm the quality and performance of 2G products and are the backbone of our international success.

2G Energy is revolutionizing the energy world by harnessing environmentally friendly and efficient energy, offering natural gas use upon installation that can later be easily switched to hydrogen energy, which is carbon neutral. Hydrogen energy is revolutionary in the fight to save the planet while offering reliable and efficient energy. While utilizing natural gas energy, 2G Energy is also working on bringing tomorrow’s energy into today’s world.

With our highly dedicated service team and german quality manufacturing, we can help your business become a leader in the future of efficient and revolutionary energy, with a reduced carbon footprint. 

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