Legum’s New Line

There’s a major new effort underway to ramp up the use of solar energy in Maryland. The ambitious goal of the program is to create 100,000 solar rooftops in 10 years. If successful, the initiative could reduce air and water pollution, create jobs and save consumers money.

A coalition of legislators and business owners promoted the plan at a press conference held yesterday in Annapolis. Environment Maryland provides the details:

First, Governor O’Malley has introduced legislation that would require a quicker ramp-up of the solar portion of the state’s renewable portfolio standard (RPS). This would mean that utilities would have to get a greater percentage of their energy portfolio from solar power sooner, which would jumpstart job creation and cut down on our emission of greenhouse gases.

Second, Delegate Hecht and Senator Middleton are leading an effort to introduce legislation that would give municipalities the means by which to loan people money for solar and other clean energy projects at very low interest rates, resulting in more homeowners taking advantage of the clean, reliable electricity that solar energy generation provides.

Finally, Delegates Pinsky and Hecht are working on “net-metering” legislation, which would require utilities to pay customers back for surplus energy they create with the solar panels on their roofs.

In a related development, Constellation Energy – the state’s largest electricity producer – announced “said Tuesday it would invest $90 million to support the development of solar power systems for commercial customers…for customers that begin construction before mid-2010.”

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Maryland is facing a severe energy shortage which could lead to rolling blackouts by 2011 or 2012. Over the coming years, the state will need to invest in new generation and transmission capacity. The easiest and cheapest way, however, to meet our future energy needs is to decrease our consumption. For consumers and businesses, this has the added benefit in decreasing utility bills.

BGE has launched an interesting new online tool that allows you “to build a virtual model of your home, see how your home uses energy, and learn about ways to reduce your energy consumption.”

You can try it out for yourself here.

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In a positive development for Maryland, Baltimore Gas & Electric – the state’s leading energy supplier – proposed a new “smart grid initiative” intended to reduce energy use and lower costs. The Maryland Daily Record has the details:

A Baltimore Gas & Electric Co. smart grid initiative proposed Monday would cost less than building a new power plant, while easing demand on the power grid and saving customers money.

The plan would employ advanced smart meters in 2 million homes and businesses, allowing for a two-way communication network that would relay energy use to the utility, eventually eliminating the need for meter readers and estimated use bills.

Customers would reap savings of about $2.6 billion over the life of the project through a program component called smart energy pricing, BGE said. The company would offer customers rebates for reducing their energy consumption during peak periods, such as very hot summer afternoons, determined by the company to be high demand days.

BGE is asking the Maryland Public Service Commission to recover the cost of the project through a customer surcharge. Savings to consumers, however, would exceed additional costs. In a pilot program last summer, 1000 customers “lowered their power consumption by 26 percent to 37 percent during peak periods, saving an average of $100.”

A recent study by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission found that Maryland has enormous potential to cut peak energy use through proposals like the Smart Grid, known in the industry as “demand response,” because a high number of homes in Maryland have central air.

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When considering a new public policy, we frequently (and correctly) consider the costs. Less frequently, however, do we consider the costs of maintaining the status quo.

Environment Maryland has recently produced a report examining the costs of maintaining Maryland’s reliance on fossil fuels. From the release:

Between 2010 and 2030, Maryland will spend as much as $432.2 billion on oil, coal, and other fossil fuels. That’s 2.6 times the total earnings of all Maryland workers in 2007. At the same time, pollution from fossil fuels is the number one source of air and global warming pollution and a leading source of water pollution.

High spending on fossil fuels is largely driven by our dependence on oil, according to the analysis. Maryland is on track to spend as much as $18.7 billion on oil alone in 2030, 82 percent of the state’s total spending on fossil fuels.

You can read the full report here.

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WTOP breaks the news that BGE is starting to shut off power to 74,000 Marylanders who are behind on their payments:

BGE says its has started cutting off power to tens of thousands of its customers…

Back in April the Maryland Public Service Commission issued an order that placed limits on power companies in the state when it came to turning off service to those who don’t pay their bills. The order required the state’s largest power companies to offer interest free repayment plans for up to one year before termination…

According to the company, 74-thousand customers are in arrears and have not taken any action after receiving letters and phone calls.

When you have over 70,000 people in the state who can’t afford to pay their electricity bill, you know that something is systematically wrong with the system.

Maryland is facing a major energy shortage that will only drive prices higher.

Major reform is need so that people can keep their lights on and, over the long term, get their bills down.

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