Legislation is working its way through the Maryland General Assembly that would require energy companies to rely on "a higher percentage of solar power in the next few years than mandated by current law," reports Julie Bykowicz for the Baltimore Sun online.The plan has drawn the ire of some lawmakers who are concerned it could lead to higher energy costs for consumers, but the plan has the support of Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley. Given that the governor and all 188 members of the General Assembly are up for reelection this year, the plan is likely going to be the subject of hot debate over the coming months.
This is the final week of the General Assembly's session, so if the plan is to become law, it will have to move fast through the House of Delegates. The Senate approved the bill last Friday by a mostly party-line vote.
Current law requires companies to obtain two percent of their power from solar by 2022. The plan moving in the Assembly speeds up the timeline by "doubling the early-year requirements
and increasing penalties for noncompliance."
Supporters of the measure argue it would incentivize companies to invest in large-scale solar production projects "that could leverage federal stimulus dollars, creating jobs and helping the state more swiftly shift to a reliance on renewable energy." Legilsative analysis estimates the plan would lead to consumers paying 3 cents more per month for energy. Yet, if the companies decide to pay penalties for noncompliance rather than meet the new requirement, consumers could end up paying 6 cents more per month.
Opponents of the plan argue that even a small increase in utility costs is too much for consumers to bear at this point in time. They also point out that companies are not meeting the current requirements, prefering instead to pay fines for non-compliance. In their view, the increased cost for power amounts to an energy tax.
For his part, Malcolm Woolf, director of the Maryland Energy Administration believes the state previously underestimated how successful clean energy would be when adopting the previous requirements, stating in the Baltimore Sun article that, '"We can get a lot more on the grid a lot quicker than we thought."'
If passed and signed by the governor, the legislation would go into effect in January, 2011. The House Economic Matters Committee is supposed to take up the Senate plan today.
To read the Baltimore Sun article, click here.
Posted: 04/06/10
