ABC 7: Is Maryland heading towards an ‘energy cliff’ due to Wes Moore’s green energy agenda?

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore’s accelerated green energy agenda is rapidly approaching a critical mass as key new renewable power plant projects remain unbuilt, the projected costs to state ratepayers are being questioned, and predicted electricity demand is likely to surge under the governor’s proposed data center and quantum industries aimed at revitalizing the state’s economy.

Spotlight on Maryland asked Nick Alexopulos, senior manager of communications at Baltimore Gas and Electric Company, during a sit-down interview on Thursday, whether he thought Maryland was heading towards an energy cliff of not having enough power to keep the state’s lights on.

“Maryland has very real energy challenges,” Alexopulos said after a long pause. “The governor and the general assembly acknowledged and began in earnest to address it in this past session.”

Alexopulous said the key phrase repeated in Annapolis, Maryland’s capital, during the most recent legislative session was “resource adequacy.”

Within months of becoming Maryland’s 63rd governor, Moore announced a swift plan to set a nonbinding goal for all the state’s electricity to come entirely from renewable sources by 2035. This bold target advanced the state’s transition by 10 years, surpassing the scheduled requirement under the Maryland Climate Solutions Now Act of 2022 to reach net-zero emissions by 2045.

Moore announced the net-zero emissions target at TradePoint Atlantic during a bill signing in April 2023, as he broke ground for a riverside port facility for Ørsted, a Danish offshore wind developer, who, at the time, planned two energy projects off the coastline of the Town of Ocean City, Md.

“This is a very clear statement to our entire state, that we are moving fast, that we are going to be bold, and we are going to have 6.2 million people that are going to be participants in that boldness,” Moore said during the bill signing.

The governor said in April 2023 that the cornerstone to his green energy agenda was the Maryland Promotion Offshore Wind Energy Resource Act, or the Maryland POWER Act.

Ørsted canceled its agreement with Maryland regulators in January 2024 to build its offshore wind project, citing “challenging economic circumstances.” Spotlight on Maryland discovered on Tuesday that a US Wind’s 90-acre turbine manufacturing site at Tradepoint Atlantic, which was supposed to come online by 2025, was undeveloped, according to drone footage taken near the location.

“We continue to develop Skipjack Wind and are monitoring future procurement solicitations in the region,” Maddy Cronin, head of government and market affairs for Maryland and Delaware at Ørsted, told Spotlight on Maryland via email on Thursday.

US Wind told Spotlight on Maryland in an email that it plans to begin developing its turbine manufacturing plant next year. Both offshore wind developers have consistently declined multiple interview requests over the past week.

Maryland state Del. Robin Grammer, R-Baltimore County, who represents the communities around the stalled wind turbine construction, said he’s furious about details concerning slow green energy development reported by Spotlight on Maryland.

Portions of US Wind’s website that Spotlight on Maryland reviewed on Thursday did not include the total estimated costs for its only offshore wind projects in Maryland, which is the state’s only developer with an active offshore construction agreement with state regulators. Spotlight on Maryland found cost details on the Italian company Renexia’s website.

“The White House recently gave the green light to an ambitious and innovative renewable energy project. US Wind, an 80 percent subsidiary of Renexia, has received approval to build a massive offshore wind farm in Maryland waters,” said a Renexia website blog post from September 2024. “This $11.5 billion project is a significant step towards US clean energy goals and confirms Renexia’s leadership position in offshore wind energy.”

“This translates into an estimated annual revenue of about $1.5 billion for the next 30 years,” Renexia’s website adds.

Energy companies earn their revenue from ratepayers through various methods, such as generating and selling electricity or constructing infrastructure and charging customers for its use, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council.

Grammer said he does not see how Maryland’s offshore wind developers, like those seeking to build key components of turbines in his legislative district, will get their projects off the ground in time to meet the governor’s 2035 green energy deadline. The lawmaker added he believes Marylanders cannot continue to afford the costs of manipulating the energy market in the state to force power plants that are not renewable to close.

PJM Interconnection, the region’s grid operator, holds an annual energy auction where state utilities bid to ensure they have enough energy to meet their customers’ needs. Last year’s auction experienced a three-digit increase, with PJM citing the shutdown of power plants and heightened electricity demand as the market factors that caused prices to spike.

The Baltimore County lawmaker said the governor’s desire to bring data centers and to elevate the state’s economy through attracting quantum computer companies to the region is not sustainable when generated power is not being replaced.

Meanwhile, Frederick County Executive Jessica Fitzwater announced on Monday that her administration will limit the available footprint for data centers in her county based on concerns she has heard from her constituents.

“We’ve built strong protections for our residents into our laws, while allowing for investment and development that will create good-paying jobs and generate revenue for the county,” Fitzwater said. “We won’t let the industry sprawl across our community as it did in Northern Virginia.”

When asked on Thursday whether a proliferation of data centers in the state is sustainable, considering Maryland’s current green energy goals and the challenges of bringing new renewable power plants online, Pat Murray, Fitzwater’s chief of staff, told Spotlight on Maryland that it will require everyone’s effort to make it work.

“We are committed to that goal. We are going to do our best to get there,” Murray said. “I think the data center industry understands that sustainability is a real challenge.”