§ 9–20B-05

The Fund is a special, nonlapsing fund that is not subject to § 7–302 of the State Finance and Procurement Article.

The Treasurer shall hold the Fund separately and the Comptroller shall account for the Fund.

all of the proceeds from the sale of allowances under § 2–1002(g) of the Environment Article;

money appropriated in the State budget to the Program;

repayments and prepayments of principal and interest on loans made from the Fund;

compliance fees paid under § 7–705 of the Public Utilities Article;

money received from any public or private source for the benefit of the Fund;

money transferred from the Public Service Commission under § 7–207.2(d)(3) of the Public Utilities Article; and

money distributed under § 2–614.1 of the Tax – General Article.

to invest in the promotion, development, and implementation of:

to provide targeted programs, projects, activities, and investments to reduce electricity consumption by customers in the low–income and moderate–income residential sectors;

to provide supplemental funds for low–income energy assistance through electric and fuel assistance programs in the Department of Human Services;

to provide rate relief by offsetting electricity rates of:

to provide grants, loans, and other assistance and investment as necessary and appropriate to implement the purposes of the Program as set forth in § 9–20B–03 of this subtitle;

to implement energy–related public education and outreach initiatives regarding reducing energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions;

to provide rebates under the Electric Vehicle Recharging Equipment Rebate Program established under § 9–2009 of this title;

to provide grants to encourage combined heat and power projects at industrial facilities;

to provide at least $1,200,000 in each fiscal year for fiscal year 2025 through fiscal year 2028 to the Climate Technology Founder’s Fund established under § 10–858 of the Economic Development Article;

subject to subsection (f–2) of this section, to provide at least $2,100,000 in funding each fiscal year to the Maryland Energy Innovation Fund established under § 10–835 of the Economic Development Article;

to provide at least $500,000 each year to the Resiliency Hub Grant Program Fund under § 9–2011 of this title;

to provide grants through the Customer–Sited Solar Program under § 9–2016 of this title;

notwithstanding subsection (g) of this section, to pay costs associated with:

to provide funds to the Green and Renewable Energy Efficiency for Nonprofits Loan Fund established under § 10–868 of the Economic Development Article;

to provide loans and grants for:

to provide loans and grants for programs, projects, and technologies that assist covered buildings, as defined in § 2–1601 of the Environment Article, in meeting the building energy performance standards established under § 2–1602 of the Environment Article;

to provide grants for renewable energy projects under § 9–20E–02 of this title;

in fiscal year 2027, to provide grants to electric companies, including electric cooperatives and municipal electric utilities, to pay down the costs incurred by the electric companies for implementing and administering programs and services under Title 7, Subtitle 2, Part II of the Public Utilities Article;

in fiscal year 2027, to offset residential electric customer costs associated with the limited–income rate mechanism required under § 4–309 of the Public Utilities Article;

in fiscal year 2027, to provide funding for a comprehensive study of public school HVAC systems in Baltimore City;

in fiscal year 2027, to provide funding for upgrades to public school HVAC systems in Baltimore City;

in fiscal year 2027, to provide additional funding for the Administration’s Residential and Commercial Energy Storage Grant Program;

in fiscal year 2027, to provide additional funding for the review of renewable and clean energy projects through the Department of Natural Resources’ Power Plant Research Program;

in fiscal year 2027, to provide additional funding for heat pump installations and replacements for low– and moderate–income households through the Administration’s Residential Energy Equity Program;

beginning in fiscal year 2028, to provide $5,000,000 in each fiscal year to the Department of Natural Resources’ Power Plant Research Program;

beginning in fiscal year 2028, $9,000,000 to provide grants or rebates to incentivize customers to install renewable on–site generating systems under § 7–1006 of the Public Utilities Article;

to provide funding for clean energy and efficiency programs for buildings, including low–income household energy efficiency and school electrification;

to provide funding for transportation–related emissions reduction programs, including electric vehicle charging infrastructure and electric school bus deployment;

to provide funding for electric system resiliency programs, including microgrid installation and resiliency hubs;

for administrative expenses of the Maryland Clean Energy Center; and

to pay the expenses of the Program.

Any funding provided under subsection (f)(9) of this section that is not spent in a given fiscal year shall revert to the Fund in the following fiscal year.

The Administration may provide additional funding for the purposes stated in subsection (f)(9) of this section.

at least $1,200,000 may be used to fund the Maryland Clean Energy Center established under § 10–806 of the Economic Development Article; and

at least $900,000 may be used to fund the Maryland Energy Innovation Institute established under § 10–829 of the Economic Development Article.

at least 50% shall be credited to an energy assistance account to be used for electricity and fuel assistance programs in the Department of Human Services;

at least 20% shall be credited to a low and moderate income efficiency and conservation programs account and to a general efficiency and conservation programs account for energy efficiency and conservation programs, projects, or activities and demand response programs, of which at least one–half shall be targeted to the low and moderate income efficiency and conservation programs account for:

at least 20% shall be credited to a renewable and clean energy programs account for:

up to 10%, but not more than $7,500,000, shall be credited to an administrative expense account for costs related to the administration of the Fund, including the review of electric company plans for achieving electricity savings and demand reductions that the electric companies are required under law to submit to the Administration.

beginning in fiscal year 2025, at least 20% of the proceeds shall be used to provide grants to support the installation of new solar energy generating systems under the Customer–Sited Solar Program;

up to 10% of the proceeds shall be credited to an administrative expense account for costs related to the administration of the Fund;

proceeds collected but unused from a previous year shall be used before proceeds allocated for the current year; and

the Administration shall reallocate to other authorized uses any proceeds that are not used within 3 fiscal years after collection.

Energy efficiency and conservation programs under subsection (g)(2) of this section include:

Energy–related public education and outreach and renewable and clean energy programs and initiatives under subsection (g)(3)(i) and (ii) of this section include:

Except as provided in paragraphs (2) through (6) of this subsection and subsection (i–2) of this section, compliance fees paid under § 7–705(b) of the Public Utilities Article may be used only to make loans and grants to support the creation of new Tier 1 renewable energy sources in the State that are owned by or directly benefit:

Except as provided in subsection (i–2) of this section, compliance fees paid under § 7–705(b)(2)(i)2 of the Public Utilities Article shall be accounted for separately within the Fund and may be used only to make loans and grants to support the creation of new solar energy sources in the State that are owned by or directly benefit:

For fiscal year 2026 only, up to $100,000,000 of compliance fees paid under §§ 7–705(b) and 7–705(b)(2)(i)2 of the Public Utilities Article shall be accounted for separately within the Fund and may be used for solar development on State government property and local government clean energy projects.

For fiscal year 2027 only, compliance fees paid under §§ 7–705(b) and 7–705(b)(2)(i)2 of the Public Utilities Article shall be made available for $42,000,000 to the Dedicated Purpose Account to be made available for higher education research grants in any research field and not limited to energy–related research.

For fiscal years 2027 through 2031, compliance fees paid under § 7–705 of the Public Utilities Article and deposited into the Fund may be used for grants or loans to support the creation of new Tier 1 renewable energy sources in the State.

Except as provided in subsection (i–2) of this section, compliance fees paid under § 7–705(b–1) of the Public Utilities Article shall be accounted for separately within the Fund and may be used only to make loans and grants to promote increased opportunities for the growth and development of small, minority, women–owned, and veteran–owned businesses in the State that install geothermal systems in the State.

The Treasurer shall invest the money of the Fund in the same manner as other State money may be invested.

Any investment earnings of the Fund shall be paid into the Fund.

Any repayment of principal and interest on loans made from the Fund shall be paid into the Fund.

Balances in the Fund shall be held for the benefit of the Program, shall be expended solely for the purposes of the Program, and may not be used for the general obligations of government.

an appropriation in the annual State budget; or

a budget amendment in accordance with § 7–209 of the State Finance and Procurement Article.

the Administration has submitted the proposed budget amendment and supporting documentation to the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee, Senate Committee on Education, Energy, and the Environment, House Appropriations Committee, and House Environment and Transportation Committee; and

the committees have had 45 days for review and comment.

A loan or grant made available from the Fund to a unit of State or local government shall comply with §§ 14–416 and 17–303 of the State Finance and Procurement Article.

At least 80% of workers participating in a project or program that receives money from the Fund must reside within 50 miles of the project or program, or another distance defined by the local jurisdiction where the project or program is located.