ANNAPOLIS, MD—Governor Wes Moore this week announced $4 million in grants to six jurisdictions for repairs that will enable nearly 300 homes to proceed with comprehensive energy efficiency retrofits. The funds will be deployed through a new pilot program that integrates the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development’s energy efficiency programs and rehabilitation programs, providing the repairs necessary to proceed with upgrades for homes deferred for health and safety reasons.
“Through this pilot program, we’re opening the door for more Maryland homes to meet their energy efficiency goals,” said Gov. Wes Moore. “Encouraging these energy improvements at the residential level—and ensuring that they can be made efficiently—is an important step in addressing our climate challenges.”
Through the program, the department will increase the number of homes across the state that are eligible for assistance through its energy efficiency programs. Currently, 38 percent of Maryland homes assessed for energy efficiency improvements are deferred for health and safety reasons that cannot be addressed with funding from the department’s energy programs. Jurisdictions receiving awards include Allegany, Garrett, Howard, and St. Mary’s counties; the City of Frederick; and the City of Baltimore.
“Creating safer, more energy-efficient homes is one part of ensuring that legacy homeowners are able to maintain their dignity throughout life,” said Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development Secretary Jake Day. “By integrating these means of assistance and eliminating barriers in the process for receiving them, we can help Marylanders stay in their homes longer, more comfortably, and with fewer risks to their health and wellness.”
To make the process for receiving repairs seamless, grants have been awarded to jurisdictions that perform energy efficiency work, enabling the home repairs to be completed without additional hurdles for homeowners. To address repairs and streamline government programs for homeowners in need, two of the department’s rehabilitation programs—the Homeowner Assistance Fund WholeHome Grant Program and the Maryland Housing Rehabilitation Program—have recently been restructured and consolidated.
The pilot program will aid in the deployment of funds from the department’s Weatherization Assistance Program, which recently received $45 million in grant funding from the U.S. Department of Energy through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. This recent allocation will increase funding to the program by roughly three times, significantly expanding the potential reach of the program and number of Maryland homes it can serve, which is anticipated to increase through the course of the pilot.
Additional information on the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development’s Energy Efficiency programs is available online here.
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