In 2011, the Maryland General Assembly and then-Governor O’Malley made a huge mistake: declaring trash incineration “renewable energy” and dedicating subsidies to incinerators that should have gone toward solar and wind. Now, after years of organizing and advocacy from communities fighting incinerators, Maryland is poised to fix this costly mistake by passing the Reclaim Renewable Energy Act.
Maryland’s Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) was supposed to reduce emissions on our regional grid by requiring utilities to subsidize renewable energy sources at increasing levels over time. But because trash incineration – which pollutes more per amount of energy than coal - counts as “renewable,” Maryland utilities (and ultimately, us as utility ratepayers) have spent about $100,000,000 subsidizing incinerators since 2012. And if current trends continue, we’ll pay another $200,000,000 in misdirected renewable energy subsidies to incinerators by 2030 – unless Governor Moore and the General Assembly act now.
There’s good news for the 2025 legislative session. After years of advocacy from community leaders in his district, Senate President Ferguson (D-Baltimore City) announced in October that he would assume lead sponsorship of the Reclaim Renewable Energy Act, taking up the mantle from Senator Lewis-Young (D-Frederick). Sen. Ferguson’s sponsorship is a gamechanger for the bill’s momentum and should mean that 2025 becomes the year Maryland finally fixes this problem – but we still have work to do.
Governor Wes Moore and Speaker of the House Adrienne Jones still have not taken a position on this legislation, and we'll need every Delegate and Senator to hear that they must prioritize passing this legislation without weakening amendments. Contact Governor Moore and your legislators today to say: no more cash for burning trash!