In mid-April Sierra Club testified in support of three bills designed to help Montgomery County make progress in meeting the County’s ambitious goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.  The first, Bill 10-18, with lead sponsor Councilmember Leventhal, would require the County Executive to designate a Director of Climate Policy and lays out some responsibilities of the office. Sierra Club’s testimony emphasized the need for new staff to coordinate climate policy throughout government, speak for the County before non-County bodies such as the Public Service Commission, and develop an up-to-date Climate Protection Plan with clear milestones.   Also co-sponsoring the bill were Councilmembers Berliner, Hucker, and Navarro.

The other two bills, 11-18 and 12-18, recognize that solar production on roofs is a generally untapped resource to collect solar energy. The bills are aimed at expanding the use of solar on  rooves of newly constructed buildings.  Bill 12-18, with Councilmembers Elrich as lead sponsor and Councilmember Hucker, as co-sponsor, would require prospective purchasers of new single-family homes to be offered the option - with relevant information – of adding solar panels to their roof. As Sierra Club testified, “This bill represents an additional opportunity to create green jobs and to transition to a 100% clean energy economy.”

The other proposed legislation, Bill 11-18, which Councilmember Elrich sponsored, would require solar roofs on some new commercial and multifamily residential buildings, while allowing waivers by the Department of Permitting.   Sierra Club testified that “[o]ur County’s express commitments to respond to the climate threats we face in an effective way require that we aggressively ramp up the County’s solar production. Buildings contribute to the problem and should be key to the solution, especially when integrating solar on rooftops is cheaper while a building is under construction.”