Maryland Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard

Maryland Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard
Name	Maryland Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard
Type	Renewable energy policy
Jurisdiction	Maryland
Enacted	2004
Amended	2007, 2017, 2019
Target	50% by 2030 (Class I), 14.5% solar by 2028 (SRECs)
Administered by	Maryland Public Service Commission

Maryland Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard

The Maryland Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard establishes mandatory renewable energy targets within Maryland and creates a market for renewable energy certificates administered by the Maryland Public Service Commission, the Maryland Energy Administration, and influenced by decisions of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and rulings from the Maryland Court of Appeals. The standard interacts with regional programs such as the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative and infrastructure projects like the I-95 Corridor revitalization while shaping investments by utilities including Baltimore Gas and Electric, Pepco', and Exelon.

Overview

The standard requires electric suppliers to procure specified percentages of eligible generation delivered into PJM Interconnection from resources such as wind power, solar power, biomass, and select landfill gas projects, creating tradable renewable energy certificates and market signals for entities like NextEra Energy, EDF Renewables, and community-scale developers working with municipalities such as Baltimore and counties including Montgomery County and Prince George's County. The policy framework aligns with state statutes codified by the Maryland General Assembly and enforced through compliance filings overseen by the Maryland Public Service Commission.

Legislative History and Amendments

Originally enacted by the Maryland General Assembly in 2004, the RPS was expanded through amendments in 2007 that created tiered categories and in 2017 via the Clean Energy Jobs Act and in 2019 through further legislative action that raised targets and adjusted solar carve-outs; these laws were sponsored by legislators from districts such as District 1 and debate involved stakeholders including Environmental Defense Fund, Sierra Club, and utility lobbyists from Exelon Corporation and Pepco Holdings. Administrative rulemaking and judicial review involved the Maryland Public Service Commission and appeals that reached the Maryland Court of Appeals, while federal interactions included filings before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission concerning interconnection and market participation by generators like Pattern Energy and Iberdrola Renewables.

Eligibility and Tiered RPS Structure

The RPS defines Class I eligible technologies including offshore wind developed by projects like Skipjack Wind Farm and Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind, onshore utility-scale wind developed by companies such as Avangrid Renewables, solar photovoltaic systems ranging from distributed rooftop arrays on buildings owned by Johns Hopkins University to utility-scale solar farms developed by EDF Renewables USA, and select biomass or biogas facilities such as those operated by Montgomery County Resource Recovery Facility. Separate tiers and solar carve-outs allocate differentiated crediting for sources like community solar projects sponsored by cooperatives and municipal utilities including BGE and Delmarva Power.

Compliance Mechanisms and Penalties

Compliance is demonstrated through submission of renewable energy certificates tracked in systems interoperable with PJM-GATS and NEPOOL GIS, with enforcement actions and penalties set by the Maryland Public Service Commission; noncompliant suppliers may pay alternative compliance payments modeled after market mechanisms used in programs like the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative or face administrative fines and orders similar to sanctions imposed by the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities in analogous cases. Utilities and competitive suppliers such as Constellation Energy and Direct Energy participate in quarterly and annual reconciliation filings to certify attainment or report shortfalls.

Economic and Environmental Impacts

The RPS has influenced investment flows from companies like Sunrun, First Solar, and Tesla Energy into Maryland projects, affected employment in sectors represented by Solar Energy Industries Association reports, and altered generation mixes in PJM Interconnection capacity auctions involving bidders including Calpine and Dynegy. Environmental outcomes intersect with regional initiatives such as the Chesapeake Bay Program by reducing emissions of carbon dioxide and precursors to nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide, while economic analyses by institutions like the Brookings Institution and University of Maryland identify effects on retail rates, job creation, and capital deployment among developers like Mainstream Renewable Power.

Implementation and Administration

Administration rests with the Maryland Public Service Commission working alongside the Maryland Energy Administration and reporting to oversight committees of the Maryland General Assembly, with technical coordination involving grid operator PJM Interconnection and certification systems interoperating with the North American Electric Reliability Corporation. Implementation includes compliance filings from regulated utilities such as Baltimore Gas and Electric and competitive suppliers including Nextera Energy Resources, program evaluations by watchdogs like the Maryland Office of Legislative Audits, and collaborative planning with regional partners including Virginia and Delaware.

Criticisms and Controversies

Critiques from organizations like the Americans for Prosperity and debates within the Maryland General Assembly focus on cost impacts on ratepayers, the treatment of out-of-state renewable attributes in PJM Interconnection, and controversy over incentives for technologies such as biomass where groups including the Sierra Club and Environmental Integrity Project dispute lifecycle carbon accounting; litigation and contested rulemakings have involved utilities like Pepco and developers such as Chesapeake Solar.

Category:Energy policy of Maryland