Senate Bill 304, The Clean Energy Benefit Fund, provides a much needed stable source of funding for the promotion of vital clean energy business sectors in Maryland. The bill, sponsored by Senator Roger Manno (D-19) and Senator Rob Garagiola (D-15) would direct much of the funding to the newly established Maryland Clean Energy Center (MCEC). MCEC provides an innovative, non-governmental structure where private businesses, the public, and others can come together to quickly develop programs or ideas to spark clean energy growth.
The bill is designed to encourage efficiency or on-site solar adoption. It puts a small charge on residential electric ratepayers for every kilowatt-hour above 1,000 they use in a given month. Importantly for many Clean Currents customers, if ratepayers are purchasing 100% green energy for their home, they are exempt from the charge. Thus, residents whose homes are more efficient, or who use solar, or buy green power will face no or very little charge.
The bill does not effect the Maryland budget – a very important thing to note in these tough budget times.
The bill is expected to raise $12 to $16 million a year. The money would be used to fund solar, geothermal, and small wind grants through the Maryland Energy Administration. It would also be used to fund energy efficiency programs/consumer incentives through MCEC. And it would fund other programs at MCEC, such as a technology innovation grant program.
From a clean energy business perspective, this bill will make Maryland a more attractive place to come. We already have a very good market design for green power (through customer choice), solar installations (though the state Renewable Portfolio Standard) and energy efficiency (through Empower Maryland). But we lack a stable, reliable funding source for programs and a powerful economic development catalyst like the MCEC. This bill would solve both of those problems, and bring new clean energy jobs to Maryland.
As a green power marketer and an environmentally conscious company, we firmly believe that there should be incentives for consumers to choose clean energy, whether it’s a clean energy generator on their roof such as a solar pv system, or its clean energy through efficiency measures, or clean electricity through providers like Clean Currents. Maryland and the Federal government have provided incentives for the first two options. Now it’s time to provide incentives for the clean electricity choice. Montgomery County successfully demonstrated how incentives can grow markets, create jobs and help the environment with its Clean Energy Rewards Program. Now the state can do so on a broader scale by the adoption of Senate Bill 304.
We applaud Senators Manno and Garagiola for their leadership on this bill. The hearing in the Senate Finance Committee is February 15th. If you’d like to help get it passed, please let us know! Email us at gogreen@cleancurrents.com
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2 comments:
During the winter in Maryland, for an all electric energy star rated townhouse, there will probably be atleast one or two month where the electricity is over 1,000 kwh/month. So at the particular usage threshhold this particular bill would probably tax almost every all electric home in the winter ( except those that depend on fossil fuels). It will probably hurt the poor the most at the expense of the wealthy who can take advantage of this grant program.
The reason the poor will be hurt the most is that they are more likely to be living in an all electric residential unit and they will not likely be able to take advantage of this grant program. To be more fair the threshhold should be adjusted to what it takes to heat a 2000 SQ Ft unit all electric resident at 65 F for one month in the coldest month in MD which I suspect would be around 1500 kwh/month. A better tactic would be energy conservation by altering the MD new housing building code to increase roofing insulation to the DOE standard which is R49 ( up from R30). Or requiring big box stores/large warehouse building use Solar Panel (via a Leasing Program).
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