New report: Maryland leads on energy efficiency, room to grow on wind, solar, and battery storage

BALTIMORE – Maryland ranks 37th in the nation for wind, solar, and geothermal energy generation as a percentage of electricity consumption in 2023, according to the online Renewables on the Rise 2024 dashboard released on Wednesday by Environment Maryland Research & Policy Center.

This analysis comes as the Maryland Energy Administration is working to establish a framework to achieve 100% clean energy by 2035, as directed by an executive order from the Moore Administration.

“Maryland has the wind at our back as we work to harness our full potential for renewable energy generation and storage,” said Johanna Neumann, Senior Director of the Campaign for 100% Renewable Energy with Environment America Research & Policy Center.

According to the report, Maryland is just scratching the surface with renewable energy generation and storage. While recent policy decisions may help shift the tide, the report recommends state policies fully and fairly compensate investors in clean energy technology and adopt policies for interconnection that make adopting clean energy technologies easy and hassle-free.

• The POWER Act of 2023 will dramatically increase wind power generation by expanding existing plans for offshore wind generation to 8.5 gigawatts of power by 2031.

• The 2024 Brighter Tomorrow Act will provide new incentives for certain solar systems including new residential, rooftop, parking canopy, and brownfield solar and requiring counties and municipalities to streamline solar permitting,

• The 2024 Distributed Renewable Integration and Vehicle Electrification (DRIVE) Act establishes a bidirectional EV charging program, which positions Maryland as a national leader in harnessing the energy provided by EV batteries.

• The 2024 Working for Accessible Renewable Maryland Thermal Heat (WARMTH) Act requires all Maryland gas utilities to establish a pilot networked geothermal program.

• The 2024 law to update and improve EmPOWER Maryland, the state’s energy efficiency program, to add new goals for pollution reduction and rightsize utility profits.

Delegate Lorig Charkoudian is working with a range of stakeholders to craft policy that would change the state’s Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard to focus on building renewables and storage serving Maryland load and to address concerns about Maryland resource adequacy.

While Maryland lags behind on clean energy generation, the state ranks 13th for lifetime energy savings from efficiency improvements installed in 2022, due in large part to the success of EmPOWER Maryland. Lifetime savings could power 588,000 homes for a year, which is roughly 1 in 4 Maryland homes.

“The healthiest, safest, and most affordable energy is the energy we don’t use,” explained Maryland PIRG Foundation Senior Advisor Emily Scarr. “I’m proud of Maryland for leading on energy efficiency and am eager to see the EmPOWER program achieve even more to save our pocketbooks and planet as the program adds new incentives for clean, efficient home heating and appliances.”

The Renewables on the Rise 2024 dashboard documents the growth of six key clean energy technologies across the United States over the past decade: solar power, wind power, battery storage, energy efficiency, electric vehicles and electric vehicle charging stations.

“This report offers a timely reminder that we have an immense, largely untapped opportunity when it comes to renewable energy here in Maryland,” Neumann said. “There is so much more we can do to usher in the clean, renewable energy future we need, starting with implementing strategies to promote in-state renewable energy generation and storage.”

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Environment Maryland Research & Policy Center is dedicated to protecting our air, water and open spaces. We work to protect the places we love, advance the environmental values we share, and win real results for our environment. For more information, visit www.environmentmarylandcenter.or