Maryland’s progress in fighting climate change is like a ship that has done all it can to move full speed ahead, while still forgetting to pull up its anchor. That anchor is the old, dirty, non-renewable coal-fired power plants that are still running in our state. Maryland still has six operating coal-fired power plants that drive climate change globally, along with air and water pollution locally.
After dodging hurtles through a hectic Maryland legislative session, the Clean Energy Jobs Act (CEJA), an important piece of climate legislation, was passed on April 8th by the Maryland General Assembly. This legislation will require Maryland to run on 50 percent renewable energy by 2030, a major step forward for our state.
However, as important as it is to develop clean energy to address climate change, it is equally important to transition off of dirty fossil fuel sources and reel in the anchor that is holding us down. A future that includes a livable climate cannot include coal-fired power plants and we urgently need our leaders to make the choice to act.
The past four years – 2015 through 2018 – have been the hottest years ever recorded and we have seen record breaking droughts, wildfires, and hurricanes come along with it. These impacts will continue to worsen absent a mobilization to move off fossil fuels.
Although coal electricity usage in Maryland has declined, the state’s six plants produce nearly nine million metric tons of carbon pollution, equivalent to the carbon emissions from 1.9 million cars on the road.
Coal plants in Maryland also contribute 44 percent of the state’s sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions along with other harmful gases. When unsafe concentrations of SO2 are released into the atmosphere, they can react with other compounds and form small particles that can penetrate deeply into human beings’ lungs and cause serious respiratory problems. These plants also routinely exceed their discharge limits on toxic metals such as arsenic, mercury, and selenium set by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Consequently, the public health of communities surrounding the coal power plants of Morgantown in Charles County, Dickerson in Montgomery County, Chalk Point in Prince George’s County, and the co-located plants of Herbert Wagner and Brandon Shores in Anne Arundel County will continue to be directly impacted.
The trend toward US coal plant retirements has already seen significant progress. Since 2010, 280 coal-fired power plants in the US have retired or announced their retirement plans, and in their place, a clean energy economy is rising from the ashes. In 2016, a new wind turbine rose every 2.4 hours in the U.S. and there are more than twice as many solar jobs as coal jobs in the U.S.
It’s clearly time for Maryland to transition away from coal-fired power plants. The next step is for the Maryland General Assembly and Governor Hogan to pass legislation committing Maryland to move beyond coal and create a Coal Community Transition Fund to support impacted communities and workers.
This involves creating an action plan to support those negatively affected in the short-term. We must support impacted communities and workers by creating and implementing strategies that provide certainty for transition timelines. Communities with coal plants and workers must be directly involved in developing the programs and strategies that will launch them into the clean energy economy and ensure their economic security. These plans must also allow impacted industry and union workers to receive access to training programs and clean energy-related economic opportunities that provide good-paying, family-sustaining, union jobs.
With a comprehensive system of coal-plant removal and support for those affected, Maryland can pull up its anchor and move forward with its clean energy economy. For our clean energy future to truly take hold, we must move beyond coal.
Sasha Tidwell, Spring 2019 Energy & Transportation Intern