Maryland General Assembly approves 50 percent renewable energy target for 2030

Maryland lawmakers approved a dramatic investment in renewable energy in the final hours of the 2019 General Assembly session, passing a measure mandating that half the state’s electricity supply come from renewable sources by 2030. The proposal appeared doomed as recently as two weeks ago, languishing in the House of Delegates until lawmakers revised it to preserve subsidies for the waste-to-energy industry. Senators had voted earlier in the session to stop subsidizing trash incineration as green energy. Supporters say the legislation will stem a downturn in solar industry jobs in the state, and could also boost wind farms and other alternative energy development. It requires utilities across the state to subsidize solar and wind farms, as well as trash incinerators, hydroelectric dams and paper mills powered with a substance known as black liquor.