Path to clean energy: Upgrade Renewable Portfolio Standard

Maryland’s solar industry is facing a crisis. President Donald Trump’s tariffs on imported solar panels placed an immense threat on our companies earlier this year. Now, the state’s Renewable Portfolio Standard will remain stagnant in 2020. The RPS is our flagship clean energy policy that created a boon for local solar jobs. We can continue growing our clean energy industry through the Clean Energy Jobs Act, which would continue growing the state’s RPS — to 50 percent renewable power by 2020 — and help support nearly 20,000 new jobs in solar.

We agree with The Baltimore Sun editorial board that offshore wind also poses a great job opportunity (“Maryland’s green-wash,” July 31). That’s why the Clean Energy Jobs Act also doubles incentives for offshore wind power, creating thousands more new jobs and helping to place Maryland as a leader on the Eastern Shore in this industry. The current RPS is structured so that we can bring renewable energy to Maryland residents at the lowest cost possible.

We want to make sure no one is left behind in the transition to clean energy — especially the low-income families who are affected most by the climate crisis. The RPS is a proven structure that locks in clean energy generation, provides well-paying jobs to thousands of Marylanders and prevents air and water pollution for generations to come.

David Murray, Washington, D.C.

The writer is executive director of the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and the Maryland, DC and Virginia SEIA.

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