Ecopinion

The Maryland clean energy bill
Something for everyone: environmentalists, industry, and consumers

BY MIKE TIDWELL

Given the great budget crisis in Annapolis and new potential for partisan disagreement, it's good to know there's one bill almost everyone can sup- port as the General Assembly gets underway. The bill in question would bring more than half a billion dollars' worth of economic development to Maryland's poorest counties. It would simultaneously help foster energy security, clean our air, combat global warming, and lead to significant potential savings to millions of Maryland electricity users.

Best of all, this bill wouldn't cost taxpayers a single penny, which is partly why it has strong support from both Democratic and Republican lawmakers in Annapolis and from nearly 70 percent of likely voters across the state, according to independent polling.

What is this bill? It's a clean energy bill, called the Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) law. Simply put, the RPS bill would require that Maryland utilities obtain a modest 7.5 percent of their electricity from clean renewable sources like wind, solar, and geothermal by 2013. Fourteen U.S. states, including nearby New Jersey and New York, already have such laws.

By guaranteeing demand for clean, home-grown energy, the RPS bill helps the renewable energy industry grow stronger and lower its prices. This, in turn, makes America more energy independent right as global oil and natural gas supplies are shrinking and becoming more prone to terrorist attack.

This bill would also stimulate lots of economic investment, right where Maryland needs it most. The most cost-effective and fastest-growing renewable energy source is wind power, and the economically depressed counties of western Maryland hold most of the state's wind resources. A single wind farm now planned for mountain-ous Garrett County would create 174 construction jobs and, by itself, become one of the biggest single taxpayers in the county, providing millions of dollars for hospitals, schools, and roads. For these reasons, the delegation of senators and delegates from western-most Maryland— most of them Republicans—strongly support this bill.

Simply put, this is a pro-business piece of legislation.

Despite these benefits, some electricity utilities have opposed an RPS in the past, fearing it would raise electricity rates. But in the 14 states with RPS laws now, there's no evidence that the legislation has led to a single rate hike. Indeed, a growing number of utilities across the nation—including in nearby New Jersey—strongly support such laws, and utilities in Texas who once fought the law now buy more wind power than required by the legislation.

Of course, wind power is still slightly more expensive than natural gas-fired electricity (the source of most new electricity generation). But the price of natural gas is extremely volatile and projected to rise dramatically in coming years. The cost of wind, however, is free, meaning wind farms can simply factor in the cost of windmill construction and maintenance, and then offer utilities gloriously fixed 15-year contracts. This makes wind a valuable hedge against large future spikes in natural gas prices, thus protecting customers.

Finally, let's not forget that renewable energy is good for the environment. With enough growth, clean power will stop acid rain, clear our air, reduce skyrocketing asthma rates, protect the global climate, and help preserve our wondrous Chesapeake Bay. Wind farms and other renewable energy facilities, of course, must be properly sited to prevent impacts on bird populations and mountain ecosystems, and this bill contains language guaranteeing proper protection.

It's rare, especially in a period of fiscal austerity, that a bill comes along with something for everyone: environmentalists and industry, Democrats and Republicans, poor counties and general consumers. For the sake of all Marylanders, I encourage the House of Delegates and Senate to promptly pass the Renewable Portfolio Standard bill. I would then encourage Gov. Bob Ehrlich, like Gov. George Bush of Texas before him, to sign it into law.