(a) In this subtitle the following words have the meanings indicated.
(b) “Administration” means the Maryland Energy Administration.
(c) “Behind–the–meter project” means a project that involves a physical, operational, or behavioral modification on the customer side of a utility meter, including replacement of appliances, retrofits, and panel upgrades.
(d) “Community benefit agreement” means an agreement applicable to the construction of any thermal energy network system and any accompanying residential electrification that:
(1) promotes increased opportunities for local businesses and small, minority, women–owned, and veteran–owned businesses in the clean energy industry;
(2) ensures the timely, safe, and efficient completion of the project by:
(i) facilitating a steady supply of highly skilled craft workers who shall be paid not less than the prevailing wage rate determined by the Commissioner of Labor and Industry under Title 17, Subtitle 2 of the State Finance and Procurement Article; and
(ii) guaranteeing that the construction work performed in connection with the project will be subject to an agreement that:
1. establishes the terms and conditions of employment at the construction site of the project or a portion of the project;
2. guarantees against strikes, lockouts, and similar disruptions;
3. ensures that all work on the project fully conforms to all relevant State and federal laws, rules, and regulations, including all required training for employees;
4. creates mutually binding procedures for resolving labor disputes arising during the term of the project;
5. sets forth other mechanisms for labor–management cooperation on matters of mutual interest and concern, including productivity, quality of work, safety, and health; and
6. binds all contractors and subcontractors to the terms of the agreement through the inclusion of appropriate provisions in all relevant solicitation and contract documents;
(3) promotes safe completion of the project by ensuring that at least 80% of the craft workers on the project have completed an Occupational Safety and Health Administration 10–hour course;
(4) promotes career training opportunities in the manufacturing, maintenance, and construction industries for local residents, veterans, women, minorities, and formerly incarcerated individuals;
(5) includes provisions for local hiring and the hiring of historically disadvantaged groups;
(6) uses locally, sustainably, and domestically manufactured construction materials and components to the extent practicable;
(7) promotes the use of skilled local labor, particularly with regard to the construction and manufacturing components of the project, using methods including outreach, hiring, or referral methods that are affiliated with registered apprenticeship programs under Title 11, Subtitle 4 of the Labor and Employment Article; and
(8) authorizes the Maryland Department of Labor and the Commission to consider, review, and enforce a public service company’s compliance with any community benefit agreement.
(e) “Financing Program” means the Energy Infrastructure Reinvestment category of the Title 17 Clean Energy Financing Program.
(f) “Front–of–meter project” means a project that impacts the utility side of a meter.
(g) “Geothermal borehole” means a geothermal shaft drilled into the earth for use in a system that uses the thermal properties of the earth or groundwater to heat or cool buildings.
(h) “Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund” means the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund under the federal Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.
(i) “Learning From the Ground Up” means the Learning From the Ground Up research team formed by the Home Energy Efficiency Team.
(j) “Low or moderate income housing” has the meaning stated in § 7–703(f)(1)(iii) of this title.
(k) “Pilot system” means a pilot thermal energy network system developed by a gas company to replace gas infrastructure with a thermal energy network system.
(l) “PJM capacity market” means the capacity market of PJM Interconnection, LLC or any successor organization that services the PJM region.
(m) “Thermal energy network system” means a system:
(1) of closed loop underground piping infrastructure, including geothermal boreholes, leading up to a utility meter for the conveyance or storage of renewable, nongreenhouse gas–emitting thermal energy; and
(2) that creates a network of customers with thermal energy for heating and cooling through noncombusting electric heat pumps.