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Trump administration deports hundreds of immigrants, even as a judge orders removals be stopped; Sierra Club sues DOGE over mass firings; Lack of opportunity pushes rural Gen Zers in AZ out of their communities; Fixing one problem, creating another? Ohio's lead pipe replacements.

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Secretary of State Rubio pledges more arrests like that of student activist Mahmoud Khalil. Former EPA directors sound the alarm on Lee Zeldin's deregulation plans, and lack of opportunity is pushing rural Gen Zers out of their communities.

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Farmers worry promised federal reimbursements aren't coming while fears mount that the Trump administration's efforts to raise cash means the sale of public lands, and rural America's shortage of doctors has many physicians skipping retirement.

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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