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Maryland considers 50% renewable target, new siting limit on offshore wind

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Maryland considers 50% renewable target, new siting limit on offshore wind

Maryland legislators butted heads on whether the state needs a higher renewable target after raising the target in 2016 and whether legislation is needed to shift offshore wind projects further off the coast in recent hearings.

Votes are expected soon on more than 10 bills that two committees, the state House Economic Matters and Senate Finance committees, heard the week of March 5. The hearings come as the General Assembly moves to wrap up its session on April 9 ahead of state elections in November.

One bill gaining traction is the Clean Energy Jobs Act of 2018, which would raise the state's renewable portfolio standard to 50% by 2030, up from 25% by 2020. The solar portion of the target would rise to 5.5% in 2019 from 1.95% under current law. In 2030 and beyond, the legislation — moving as Senate Bill 732 and House Bill 1453 — has solar provide 14.5% of power sales.

There is some skepticism of another increase, however. Democratic Sen. Thomas "Mac" Middleton, who chairs the Senate Finance Committee, asked March 6 why the state is losing solar jobs when the assembly just raised the renewable portfolio standard in 2016. "I support solar, but I am not sure that doing a bigger target is going to address the problem of lost solar jobs," Middleton said.

David Murray, executive director of the Maryland, D.C., and Virginia chapter of the Solar Energy Industries Association, described the bill as a "bridge" to carry the industry over federal tariffs placed on imported solar cells and panels. The state has also already met the current 2.5% solar target, leading solar credit prices to drop precipitously. Solar renewable energy credit prices, which are financial incentives to spur the market, have plummeted since the state surpassed its 2.5% solar target, Murray said.

Solar Energy World CEO Geoff Mirkin said his solar installation company, based in Elkridge, Md., has seen the results of the tariffs since last spring. The company was buying panels at about 44 cents per watt but recently paid 60 cents per watt, Mirkin told the Finance Committee on March 6.

During the House Economic Matters and Senate Finance Committee meetings, opponents of renewable expansion voiced concerns about siting new renewables and competing with farmers for land.

On March 6, Republican Sens. Stephen Hershey and J.B. Jennings sponsored legislation to address siting of renewable projects. Jennings is sponsoring S.B. 761, which prevents certain solar projects built on farmland from being exempt from certain construction permit requirements.

Hershey also sponsored S.B. 1058 to require that offshore wind projects be located at least 26 nautical miles from Maryland's shore to qualify for state incentives. The bill's companion, H.B. 1135, which is sponsored by Del. Christopher Adams, was rejected by the House Economic Matters Committee on March 12, but a vote by the Senate Finance Committee has not been released. The bills apply to turbines proposed offshore of Ocean City, Md.

The Maryland Public Service Commission in 2017 awarded incentives to two proposed offshore wind projects, a 248-MW project from developer US Wind located 12 to 15 nautical miles offshore and Deepwater Wind's 120-MW Skipjack Offshore Wind Project located about 17 to 21 nautical miles northwest of Ocean City. The projects are planned for operation between 2020 to 2022, according to a PSC press release

Ocean City Mayor Richard Meehan said that turbines have gotten taller since 2013 and would be visible from the shoreline, but Deepwater Wind CEO Jeffrey Grybowski and U.S. Wind Director of Project Development Paul Rich said the turbines would be too distant to impact property values or tourism.

A prior Clean Energy Jobs Act of 2016 passed in 2017 after the assembly overrode Republican Gov. Larry Hogan's veto. But the legislature may not have that ability in an election year. If a bill gets presented to the governor within six days of the session ending on April 9 and the governor chooses not to act, then that bill automatically becomes law. But if the governor vetoes the bill after session ends, then legislators will not be able to override unless the General Assembly extends the session to May 9, according to the Maryland Constitution.