Optimize Renewables Client Allegany College of Maryland Leverages MEA Grants to Create a More Resilient Campus.

Cumberland, MD – Monday, October 21, 2024 – The Maryland Energy Administration (MEA) awarded Optimize Renewables client Allegany College of Maryland (ACM) a $750,000 Microgrid Construction Grant as part of its Resilient Maryland Program. The grant provides early-stage construction capital – the most difficult of all to secure – for the creation of a resilient microgrid on the college’s Cumberland, Maryland campus. This award follows a 2022 planning grant of $100,000 from the MEA that enabled the Western Maryland institution to execute the technical analysis, pre-construction planning, and financial modeling necessary to develop the campus microgrid design itself.

According to ACM president Dr. Cynthia S. Bambara.  “This microgrid will be truly transformative for our campus. At a time of increasing energy and environmental volatility, it will provide greater stability, financially and operationally. Most significantly, it will enhance the safety of our students, faculty, and staff, as it ensures uninterrupted operations during energy disruptions.”

The latest award will enable ACM, with the support of Optimize Renewables, to take the next steps in the construction of this resilient microgrid. Currently, the design and engineering defined in the plan are being refined, and the Optimize brand of Public-Private Partnership (P3) finance is being finalized.

Combined, the impact of the two Resilient Maryland Grants will be leveraged further as the ACM microgrid project helps to facilitate a new, visionary clean-energy academic ecosystem in Allegany County and the Appalachian Western Maryland Region. This will include an integrated suite of clean energy certifications, courses, and degree programs, including opportunities at ACM’s Western Maryland Works Training Center and Makerspace, a 33,000-square-foot satellite facility in nearby LaVale.

According to Bambara, “This microgrid aligns perfectly with the technical training mission that ACM is known for. Renewable energy is the fastest-growing job sector in the country, and this project will serve as a catalyst for delivering even more active and practical workforce development. Our objective is to provide our students with the necessary skills to excel in today’s fast-paced and evolving landscape.”

"We believe our projects catalyze educational empowerment as the foundation for future economic growth, especially in a region repositioning somewhat from the extraction economy it led for 150 years," said Optimize Renewables CEO Len Jornlin. “Those energy sources aren’t going away, but there is some rebalancing going on with clean, affordable, renewable technologies. The Optimize model designs and delivers ‘The Right Mix’ of energy technologies and project financing, while emphasizing education and training. This holistic strategy ensures enduring impacts in communities striving for enhanced preparedness and resilience.”

“With that in mind,” Jornlin continued, “we applaud the Academic Ecosystem that ACM, three other higher education partners, and Optimize began building in 2020. It is our objective to maintain support for this hub by expanding the scale and number of resilience projects in the region, delivering lasting economic growth, and enabling local students to find new energy careers right here at home in Western Maryland.”

The Resilient Maryland grant program was developed to drive economic expansion through innovative clean energy technologies that will enable essential institutions such as Allegany College of Maryland to resist power disruptions and outages. Grant recipients represent projects from across Maryland and address essential infrastructure needs that will bring a lasting benefit to the state. In 2024, ACM was one of five successful microgrid capital grant applicants awarded a total of $5,800,000 in funding for this highly-competitive program.

Optimize Renewables is pleased to work with clients such as Allegany College of Maryland as they implement innovative, all-of-the-above energy strategies with resilient infrastructure and applied training opportunities in projects across the state.

"Our unique, collaborative approach fosters the close relationships and synergy essential to building a circular economy at the local level,” Jornlin noted. “This approach is designed to ‘leave something behind’ beyond an impactful project. It drives transformation for clients and communities alike, empowering multiple stakeholders to build capacity in a region, ensuring enduring impact and prosperity, while delivering sustainable returns and mitigating risk for public and private investors."

Allegany College of Maryland (ACM) is a small, learner-focused college offering 48 associate degrees, 31 certificates, 10 letters of recognition, noncredit workforce development programs, personal enrichment classes, and adult education and literacy services. More than 3,100 credit and 7,000 noncredit students choose ACM each year, attending online or in person through the college’s two campuses and five education sites in Maryland and Pennsylvania. Over 88% of students receive financial aid, and 57% of students transfer to colleges in more than 26 states. ACM was founded in 1961 as a transfer college in Cumberland, Maryland. Visit ACM online at www.allegany.edu.

Optimize Renewables is dedicated to delivering a new balance of power for organizations in essential sectors across North America, especially in underserved markets. A better balance, built on the optimal integration of proven, clean, distributed-generation technologies and energy-management solutions, with public-private financing. A balance that works with the existing utility infrastructure to deliver efficiency, savings, sustainability, and resiliency. A balance that puts customers in control of their sustainable energy future while enhancing and stacking public and private investor returns. A balance that enables our workforce to compete for long-term job opportunities and careers. For more information, visit OptimizeRenewables.com.

Mr. Michael Wright
Chief Business Solutions Officer 
Optimize Renewables, LLC 
Office: 301.778.9300   Mobile: 610.202.8892 
Email: mwright@OptimizeRenewables.com