A Hot Take On Maryland’s Energy Crisis

Editor’s note: This column was significantly shortened in print because of space. Delegate Chisholm's full column appeared in his newsletter.

We cannot continue down this irrational path of regulations that will inevitably drive up energy prices, escalate housing costs, and balloon government budgets, all while holding 6 million Marylanders hostage. The debate is over, and everyone recognizes that we have an enormous problem: Maryland is facing an extreme energy crisis. Our consumption is far outpacing our production, and there are currently no viable solutions in place to address the issue.

We need an offramp and guardrails to keep us from heading straight into inevitable disaster. That offramp is the Climate Solutions Affordability Act Bill of 2025. This bill injects common sense and reality into these overly ambitious regulations to the Climate Solutions Act Now Bill of 2022 by simply adding to the “extent economically practical” to all of these regulations. Here is the definition of the extent economically practical.

Extent economically practical - To the extent feasible or capable of being done or carried out with a reasonable effort, taking into account the state of technology, the economics of improvements in relation to benefits to the public health and safety and other societal and social economic considerations.

The crisis we are currently facing didn’t happen overnight — it was the result of a series of legislative actions disguised as beneficial for Maryland and the environment. These policies gradually set the stage for our current energy crisis by prioritizing costly mandates over practicality and affordability. Instead of learning from these miscalculations and unintended outcomes, the uncompromising extreme environmentalists refuse to adapt and propose practical solutions.

Key milestones along this path include:

1. Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard (2004)

This law requires Maryland utilities to obtain an increasing percentage of their energy from expensive renewable sources like wind and solar. The state’s 2019 Clean Energy Jobs Act accelerated these mandates, driving up costs as utilities scramble to comply with unrealistic targets.

Only 5% of proposed renewable energy projects have historically been completed as of today. Even if the state could build solar farms on an unprecedented scale, it would require approximately 35,000 acres of solar panels just to replace the output of the Brandon Shores power plant alone. If we haven't been able to produce the necessary renewable energy sources in two decades, how can we expect to defy market forces to satisfy our arbitrary goals as a state?

“To the extent economically practicable” would provide more time for the development of these energy sources; we can ensure that each one has the opportunity to evolve and reach its full potential.

2. EmPOWER Maryland Energy Efficiency Act (2008)

Marketed as a way to cut energy consumption, this program instead created an endless cycle of expensive efficiency upgrades, funded by surcharges on customer bills.

3. Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Act (2009)

This act made Maryland a leader in costly climate policies, requiring drastic reductions in emissions that are forcing the premature closure of reliable fossil fuel plants while failing to replace them with sufficient alternative sources.

The state has set an ambitious goal of achieving 100% renewable energy for electricity by 2035 — a target that even the Maryland Energy Administration has acknowledged as “extremely, extremely unlikely.”

Less supply and greater demand will always equate to higher prices. Energy is no exception to this basic economic principle and to think otherwise is foolish.

4. Office of People’s Counsel Environmental Reform Act (2021)

The Office of People's Counsel (OPC) was created to represent the interest of residential ratepayers in matters such as unfair sales practices and unreasonable rate increases. Democrats expanded OPC’s role to serve as the climate counsel, representing environmental interests of the state. As a result, ratepayers no longer have an advocate in maintaining affordable rates if the matter conflicts with advancing the Democrats’ green energy agenda.

Now, we arrive at the Climate Solutions Now Act of 2022, a law that imposes sweeping and detrimental mandates, further exacerbating the crisis by:

1. Requiring Maryland to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 60% (compared to 2006) levels by 2031 and requiring Maryland’s emissions to be net zero thereafter.

The National Pulse has an article discussing a recent study that shows the enormous economic costs that would be imposed to hit net-zero carbon dioxide emission commitments by 2050. This article is titled “2050 ‘Net Zero’ Climate Target Will Cost $275 Trillion.”

2. Requiring buildings (35,000 square feet or larger) to reduce their emissions by 20% by 2030.

If my bill adding the language to the “extent economically practical” is not passed, you can say goodbye to the ideas of affordable housing with this regulation!

There are 2,135 housing buildings in Maryland that are over 35,000 square feet. These buildings collectively account for a total floorspace of over 236 million square feet. It's important to note that this data is from a 2022 analysis and was used to identify buildings potentially covered by Maryland's Building Energy Performance Standards (BEPS). The BEPS regulations apply to commercial and multifamily residential buildings of 35,000 square feet or more, excluding parking garage areas.

3. Requiring the full electrification of the state's passenger and light-duty vehicle fleet.

If the federal government couldn’t accomplish a tiny fraction of this goal, why would legislators in Annapolis believe we could make it happen with a budget that is already $3 billion in the hole?

4. Requiring that at least 75% of electricity purchased by Maryland for state facilities must come from no- or low-carbon energy sources starting January 1, 2030.

Do I need to point out the obvious mismatch here?

5. Requiring owners of covered buildings to report their direct greenhouse gas emissions to the Department of the Environment beginning in 2025.

There are approximately 9,000 covered buildings in Maryland that fall under the Building Energy Performance Standards (BEPS) regulations. These covered buildings are defined as commercial, multifamily residential, or state-owned buildings that are 35,000 square feet or larger, excluding parking garage areas. These buildings are spread across every county in Maryland.

Maryland’s reckless requirements for rapid electrification, premature fossil fuel bans, and unrealistic renewable energy mandates threaten to leave residents in the dark, both literally and financially. This so-called “solution” does little to contribute meaningfully to the global climate fight.

The General Assembly must act now to ensure a balanced approach to energy policy by expanding natural gas generation, investing in reliable energy sources, and halting economically destructive mandates. Marylanders deserve affordable, reliable and practical energy policies, not costly virtue-signaling at their expense. That’s why I’m introducing the Climate Solutions Affordability Act of 2025, a bill that provides critical amendments to the existing Climate Solutions Now Act of 2022. This bill ensures that climate mandates are implemented only to the extent that they are economically practical.

Rather than repealing any current climate actions or goals, this legislation provides a common-sense, middle-ground approach, allowing mandates to move forward only when they don’t impose excessive financial burdens. It serves as an essential check on underdeveloped policies that are pushing us toward economic and energy deficits.