Fossil fuel industry stops Maryland electrification legislation

In this year’s legislative session, Maryland lawmakers introduced a bill that would have made the Maryland Department of Labor adopt a requirement that new buildings meet all water and heating demands of a building without the use of fossil fuels, along with requirements on “solar-ready” standards and EV charging infrastructure.

The bill would also require buildings that could potentially receive a waiver of the fossil-fuel free building demands (e.g. emergency back-up power systems, commercial food establishments, etc.) be sufficiently “electric ready.” The Chesapeake Climate Action Network has reported that lobbying by Washington Gas and Baltimore Gas and Electric killed the bill before it could even come to a vote.

Photo Source: CCAN

The Alliance for Green Heat supported this bill, and others like it, because it would have helped to decarbonize residential heating, and would have allowed homeowners to pair a wood or pellet stove with another low-carbon heating appliance – the heat pump. We’ve found that wood stoves can foster confidence in those wishing to switch over to electric, giving them a sense of comfort knowing that they will have heat no matter the possible service disruptions.

“The Better Buildings Act of 2024 (SB 1023 / HB 1279) is a strong step in the right direction to decarbonize Maryland’s residential heating,” said Darian Dyer, Policy Analysis for the Alliance for Green Heat. “Our mission has always been promoting low carbon heating and giving homeowners a choice between low carbon heating options.”

This year also saw a significant setback in Maryland for low-carbon heating when the MEA abruptly announced cancelling a wood and pellet stove rebate program that mainly benefited more rural, LMI households. That program was the result of advocacy by Heather Mizeur and AGH to balance the rebates for solar panels and electric car chargers that went to mostly higher income homes in wealthier counties with a program aimed at more rural, less wealthy homes.

AGH advocates for policies that decarbonize heating without disproportionately burdening rural and low-income households. Our priority is to see that proper “guardrails” are in place to support an equitable energy transition. These guardrails involve the following:

1.     Making sure that electrification policies do not result in electrical resistance heating that are inefficient, high carbon and would particularly burden lower-income apartments and homes with high operating costs;

2.     Ensuring that wood and pellet heating remains a viable option for primary or back-up heat for electric and non-electric homes;

3.     There are mechanisms in place to support low and middle-income households to install more efficient heating technology such as heat pumps and pellet stoves.

During such policy changes in the energy field, we also support state-funded initiatives to help retrain those laborers and contractors that have found fossil fuel infrastructure work as their main source of income to set them up to succeed in renewable energy roles.

The Better Buildings Act of 2024 was an important step in a major residential decarbonization strategy, and many details still needed to be hashed out. The Alliance for Green Heat looks forward to Maryland’s legislature making the climate-smart decision in advancing something like the Better Buildings Act in the next legislative session in 2024 and welcomes the work that will need to be done to make it an inclusive, equitable standard.

Even though Maryland is a very progressive state, it still lags behind scores of other states in decarbonizing its grid and its heat. In Maryland, a great majority of homes could be heated and cooled with heat pumps, and 5 to 10% of Maryland homes could have a wood or pellet stove as a back up to a heat pump or fossil fuel furnace, or for primary heating. Pellet stoves are a sustainable and relatively clean option for almost any single family home in Maryland, while wood stoves are better suited for rural areas.