This capital development grant will help to cover installation costs for resilience in a region beginning to balance the extraction economy with the clean energy economy.
FROSTBURG, Md., Oct. 10, 2022 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- The Maryland Energy Administration (MEA) has awarded Optimize Renewables client Frostburg State University (FSU) a $750,000 grant from its inaugural Resilient Maryland Capital Development (RMCD) Program. FSU was announced as the first recipient of funding under this innovative MEA pilot program.
For Frostburg State, the impact of this award is enabling for the project, situated as it is in Allegany County, part of the State's Appalachian Western Region where proximity to the longstanding extraction economy make such projects more difficult to finance than in other regions of the country.
"This Capital Development grant will help to cover the costs of installing a resilient microgrid to serve the needs of our campus," said Al Delia, FSU Vice President for Regional Development and Engagement. "We wouldn't be able to move forward without it."
"This microgrid will help safeguard our students, faculty, and staff; protect critical operations from energy disruptions; and enable the University to further its sustainability goals," Delia continued. "It will also enable us to establish our Harold J. Cordts Physical Education Center as an easily-accessible emergency shelter for both our campus and for the local Frostburg community."
FSU developed its microgrid plan after receiving an MEA Resilient Maryland Planning Grant in 2020. That original award enabled the University, with the support of Optimize Renewables, to conduct a comprehensive feasibility study including technical analysis, pre-construction planning, and financial modeling. The resulting plan demonstrated the viability of the campus microgrid and the resilience it will provide for the University and the broader Frostburg community. The new award recognizes and builds upon the success of the first.
The campus microgrid will deliver clean, reliable, and affordable energy under normal conditions and ensure critical loads remain operational when the electric grid is down.
"We're quite proud of Frostburg State. This grant award is truly a community-wide, collaborative achievement, based on a public-private-university business model that we began working toward together back in 2019," said Optimize Renewables CEO Len Jornlin. "It's a model that designs and delivers 'The Right Mix' of energy, as well as education, training, and lasting impacts in the heart of coal country."
The integrated system includes rooftop and ground-mounted solar arrays, and solar parking lot canopies, some with integrated electric vehicle charging stations. Renewable Natural Gas (RNG)-powered fuel cells will produce electricity and generate thermal energy that will be used to heat the pool in the Cordts Center, while also creating chilled water using an absorption chiller. An advanced microgrid control system will ensure that all of these technologies operate as effectively together as the Team responsible for the microgrid plan.
"We sincerely appreciate the opportunity to apply our culture of innovative deployment leadership with local partners," Jornlin continued. "It enables the kind of collaboration necessary to transform clients and communities alike, providing a long-term return-on-investment to public and private investors, as well as for multiple stakeholders in the region."
The impact of the FSU RMCD Grant is further leveraged as the microgrid project continues to foster a new clean energy academic ecosystem in Western Maryland, creating opportunities for workforce development and economic expansion. The microgrid project has already resulted in numerous student internships, while an integrated array of clean energy certification, coursework, and degree programs are currently under development across the region.
Optimize Renewables is pleased to work with customers such as Frostburg State University as they implement innovative, all-of-the-above energy strategies with resilient infrastructure and applied training opportunities in projects across the region.
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About Frostburg State University
Situated in the mountains of Allegany County, Frostburg State University is one of the 12 institutions of the University System of Maryland. FSU is a comprehensive, residential regional university and serves as an educational and cultural center for Western Maryland. For more information, visit http://www.frostburg.edu or facebook.com/frostburgstateuniversity. Follow FSU on Twitter @frostburgstate.
About Optimize Renewables
Optimize Renewables is dedicated to delivering a new balance of power for organizations 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 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 energy future while enhancing and stacking public and private investor returns. For more information, visit http://www.OptimizeRenewables.com.
About Len Jornlin
Len Jornlin's lifelong passion and career focus on five continents has been on solving meaningful societal problems (e.g., energy, water, housing) profitably and sustainably in emerging markets. He is the CEO of Optimize Renewables, the Energy Innovation Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Frostburg State University and was named an Appalachian Leadership Fellow by the Appalachian Regional Commission, co-chaired by Gayle Manchin and Maryland Governor Larry Hogan. Jornlin's teams were early pioneers and successfully exited multiple sustainable manufacturing, development, and financing companies and public-private consortiums from clean coal to clean economy. He graduated from the University of Chicago in International Business with a concentration in economic development. A dedicated husband, father, and outdoor enthusiast, Jornlin lives with his family and the mountains in Appalachian Western Maryland.
Media Contact
Michael Wright, Optimize Renewables, LLC, 1 3017789300, [email protected]
SOURCE Optimize Renewables, LLC
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