Maryland Energy Talk

The Perfect Storm Increasing Energy Bills

Why are energy bills so high? What do you say when people ask you that question? It’s complicated right? Anyone with a one sentence explanation is either trying to sell y

Maryland is About to Unleash Distributed Batteries

Thanks to the Utility Relief Act of 2026 and the Next Generation Energy Act of 2026 the Public Service Commission is currently running a utility scale battery procurement

Maryland's Moratorium on Data Centers

Data centers are driving up our electricity bills and increasing our air pollution. According to Monitoring Analytics, between 2025 and 2028 data center demand will incre

The Maryland General Assembly Just Turbocharged Our Greenbank

You may have missed it in the Utility RELIEF Act of 2026 or in the budget, but one of the most consequential and long- lasting provisions was a significant investment in

Solar Just Saved the Grid From a Crisis Caused by Coal and Gas Plants

Something happened on July 2nd that really turned conventional wisdom about renewables on its head. Then, on July 8th, something that I think is even more exciting happen

Everything You Need to Know About Maryland Plug-In Solar

As of today, July 1st, it is legal, under certain conditions, to plug solar panels directly into a wall outlet in Maryland. Plug-in solar legislation is sweeping the nati

What Are Forecasted Test Years?

In the negotiations between the House and the Senate on the Utility RELIEF Act this year, one of the major sticking points was whether to get rid of forecasted test years

Adrian Boafo on Clean Energy, Climate Change, and Data Centers

Delegate Adrian Boafo has served in the Maryland legislature for the past four years. In those years Delegate Boafo established himself as a champion in the climate chang

Senator Hester on Data Center Policy in Maryland

The tidal wave of data centers flooding onto our grid is a major reason why energy bills are going up. A recent report from Monitoring Analytics found that data centers a

The CHERISH Act

Air pollution is a significant threat to human health and well being. Particulate Matter of 2.5 micrometers and smaller, known as PM 2.5, is only one of common air pollut

Maryland's Largest Solar Farm is on a Coal Mine

In December of 2025 a final switch was flipped and 160 megawatts of electricity started flowing onto Maryland’s grid from the biggest solar farm in the entire state, the

Chair Korman on Energy Issues in 2026

Among the many changes made by Speaker Pena-Melnyk is moving energy issues from the Economic Matters Committee to the Environment and Transportation Committee. This is a

Reducing Transmission Costs

Building new transmission is extremely costly and highly controversial but at the same time we know that more transmission will be needed on our electric grid as energy d

What is a Zero-Emission Heating Equipment Standard?

In his executive order on climate and energy issues in June of 2024 Governor Moore directed his agencies to design and implement a Zero-Emission Heating Equipment Standar

Vice-Chair Charkoudian’s Affordable Solar Act

Maryland has had policies to boost in-state solar generation for about two decades now, and those investments have paid off significantly. Solar accounts for 7% of the el

PJM Didn’t Hit capacity. What Does That Mean?

On December 17th 2025 something happened at PJM that has never happened before. At their regularly scheduled Capacity Auction, PJM did not hit capacity. If you are like m

Electrifying Baltimore's District Heating

Many of the buildings that make up the Baltimore Skyline are heated by an underground network of steam moved through pipes. That district heating system is owned and oper

Maryland's Most Successful Energy Program

Whether you care about energy costs, climate change, job creation or grid reliability there is one program in Maryland that has been more successful than any other, and t

Secretary McIlwain on meeting Maryland’s climate mandates

In 2022 Maryland passed the Climate Solutions Now Act, a law that is so popular that Governor Hogan chose not to veto it in an election year. Maryland is now required by

The Coal Plants Costing Maryland Billions

I think most people following Maryland energy issues are aware that Brandon Shores and Wagner coal plants are closing because coal cannot compete in today’s energy market