Maryland grants for solar installations tapped out

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - The Maryland Energy Administration says all grant money available this year to homeowners installing solar and geothermal energy systems has been awarded.

The $591,000 became available at the beginning of the current fiscal year July 1.

MEA Director Malcolm Woolf said interest in the grants was much higher than in the past, The (Baltimore) Daily Record reported. He said the recent decision by the General Assembly to increase the maximum grant from $3,000 to $10,000 was one of the reasons for the surge.

Woolf hopes to replenish the fund with money that Maryland gets from a regional auction of greenhouse gas allowances for power plants, scheduled for Sept 25.