Maryland governor Wes Moore has announced the launch of “Megawatts for Maryland”, a US$200 million clean energy auction programme to increase the state’s renewable energy generation over the next two years.
Megawatts for Maryland was developed and will be administered by the Maryland Energy Administration (MEA), which was established through the Utility RELIEF Act signed into law earlier this year.
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Organisations interested in the Megawatts for Maryland programme will have to complete a two-stage application process. The first will establish eligibility for the programme, and has a deadline of 30 November 2026, and the second comprises bid submissions with a deadline of 22 January 2027.
The two-year programme will draw on up to US$100 million a year from the Strategic Energy Investment Fund (SEIF) and award grants to renewable energy generation and battery energy storage system (BESS) developers to offset costs of development and construction of grid-scale renewable generation and power storage.
A further US$100 million drawn from the SEIF will provide financial help for Marylanders to pay the fees levied by utilities, according to statements made by the governor, senate president Bill Ferguson and house speaker Joseline Peña-Melnyk in March 2026.
MEA director Kelly Speakes-Backman said: “Renewable energy and energy storage projects are the quickest, cleanest, lowest cost option to develop local energy supply. We need more in-state power generation to meet energy demand and reduce costs. Megawatts for Maryland will support a more affordable, resilient, clean and flexible grid for all Marylanders.”
Megawatts for Maryland will help fill financial gaps created by the Trump Administration’s cancellation of investment tax credits from the Biden-era Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), and is one of several examples of states increasingly taking their own measures to address the energy challenges experienced by their citizens and commercial sectors.
In August, Moore and the Maryland Department of General Services also announced a power purchase agreement (PPA) with REV Renewables for around half of the energy generated at the Jade Meadow III solar project, a 300MW development on the site of a reclaimed coal mine in Garrett County. The governor said that signing the PPA doubled the capacity of renewable energy acquired directly by the state and will save Maryland approximately US$300 million over the next 20 years.
