Maryland has bright future in renewable power

Currently, more than half of the states in the country have strong renewable energy policies called Renewable Portfolio Standards. These policies combined have created a huge boon for the wind and solar industries. Maryland is among the states with an RPS, which does, admittedly, have its flaws, as the Baltimore Sun editorial board pointed out (“Maryland’s green-wash,” July 31). These flaws should certainly be addressed.

However, our state RPS as a whole is an essential tool for clean energy in Maryland, so I hope no one suggests repealing this program as a whole. Completely overturning the existing RPS structure, which has proven to be highly effective at getting new wind and solar projects built, would be catastrophic to the existing clean energy sector. Expanding the RPS, which a large coalition aims to do through the Clean Energy Jobs Act, would bring almost exclusively new wind and solar energy — not the dirty energy that the editorial board fears.

As for the flaws in our current standard, the coalition behind the Clean Energy Jobs Act takes aim at just that, starting with removing incentives for waste incineration. The Clean Energy Jobs Act also includes carve-outs for solar and offshore wind, which would help these industries get off the ground and become important sources of new clean energy jobs. It’s worth pointing out that the solar and wind industries themselves support the Clean Energy Jobs Act, which would double the RPS. Why would they back a policy that pays only “lip-service” to the renewable energy industry, as the editorial board claims?

Criticisms of RPS policies often fail to look at the big picture. The dozens of states with renewable standards have worked together to create a large market for renewable energy in the country and as they expand, wind and solar power will need to dramatically expand as well in order to serve demand. This will mean an even bigger resurgence in clean energy, setting the stage to achieve 100 percent renewable energy.

This is the future I hope to see in Maryland.

Johanna Wermers, Rockville

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