Maryland Smart Energy Communities Program

About the Program

Category: County Resiliency (Best in Category)

Year: 2015

The state of Maryland designated Montgomery County, a Maryland Smart Energy Community (MSEC) in 2014. The designation was awarded to the County for its policy and management commitments towards fleet petroleum use and building electricity reductions. Specifically, the County committed to a 20% reduction in petroleum consumption by 2020 and a 15% reduction in electricity consumption per square foot of building reduction goal by 2016. As part of the program, the County also received over $1,000,000 in grant to advance initiatives commensurate with program objectives. The County directed funds to replicable initiatives to test advanced fleet and building technologies. Specifically, the County implemented an electric vehicle infrastructure and web-based network for its administrative fleet, converted heavy duty gas powered vehicles to hybrids, and integrated information technologies to enable fleet reductions. In the second year of the program, the County will be implementing advanced light emitting diode (LED) lighting in key facilities and the County’s first combined heat and power system.