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Wisconsin AG seeks to stop Elon Musk's $1M payments at rally giveaway; Rural advocates urge CA lawmakers to safeguard banking protections; Federal, state job cuts threaten FL workers' rights, services; Alabama counties lack high-speed internet and health access.

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President Trump says there are ways for him to take a third term. New tariffs are scheduled for this week, but economists say they'll hurt buying power. And advocates say the Trans Day of Visibility is made more important by state legislation.

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Rural folks face significant clean air and water risks due to EPA cutbacks, a group of policymakers is working to expand rural health care via mobile clinics, and a new study maps Montana's news landscape.

MD gas plant bill hurts economy and environment, advocate says

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Wednesday, February 19, 2025   

Energy costs in Maryland are higher than the national average and one proposal to address the issue is facing backlash from environmentalists.

Top Democratic leaders in the Maryland General Assembly said building more dispatchable power plants would help solve this issue but environmentalists are not convinced. Dispatchable power plants are facilities which can be turned on and off to produce power to match the required demand. Sometimes, it refers to natural gas plants.

Mike Tidwell, executive director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, pointed out Maryland has a goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2045. A natural gas plant, he said, would only push Maryland farther from its goal.

"We've steadily been moving in the right direction with wind power, with solar, with energy efficiency," Tidwell outlined. "Building new gas plants in the 2020s, with sea level rise affecting downtown Annapolis, is just tragically bad public policy."

A recent study from Google found new gas power plants were the least economically efficient way to meet the energy needs of Maryland. Dispatchable power plants can include zero-emission sources, like nuclear power plants.

Instead, virtual power plants were the most cost and environmentally efficient way to meet the demands of the Bay state. Virtual power plants involve a network of small-scale energy resources like solar panels, batteries and smart appliances connected as a single unit.

Tidwell noted his organization has not seen data to support the economic or environmental arguments for a new natural gas power plant. The opposite goes for renewables, he pointed out.

"There is a lot of real-world data showing and other data showing that you can build batteries, you can improve efficiency and you can build solar power much faster at a cheaper cost," Tidwell emphasized.

The smaller sources of energy from virtual power plants can have their energy outputs adjusted to meet demands.

Disclosure: The Chesapeake Climate Action Network contributes to our fund for reporting on Climate Change/Air Quality, and Sustainable Agriculture. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.


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