Maryland Energy Talk

Latest Episodes:

Chair Korman on Energy Issues in 2026 Feb 04, 2026

Show notes

Among the many changes made by Speaker Pena-Melnyk is moving energy issues from the Economic Matters Committee to the Environment and Transportation Committee. This is a change represents a shift in how energy issues are contextualized, from primarily being a matter of economic development, to being about the environment.

This move sends the hot potato of energy issues to Chair Korman, who is my guest today to talk all about how he sees energy issues and what is thinking is at the start of the 2026 legislative session.

Chair Korman and Subcommittee Chairman Fraser-Hidalgo also organized a series of briefings on energy issues for their committee. The briefings are terrific and I have linked them below:

Briefing with representatives from the Texas and California grids:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TmrH9_gTT4

Briefing with PJM:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGgmp90GXTk

Briefing with clean energy industry and climate advocates:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JeQTOdRrkwY

Briefing with the Maryland Department of the Environment:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bq5DG5aol_0

Briefing with utilities and Constellation:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VVmGE_QV-E

Briefing with the Maryland Energy Administration:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWUMUyIJpX0

Briefing with the Public Service Commission and the Office of the People’s Counsel:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWNtXARBAk8

Reducing Transmission Costs Jan 29, 2026

Show notes

Building new transmission is extremely costly and highly controversial but at the same time we know that more transmission will be needed on our electric grid as energy demand continues to grow. Is it possible for us to ensure the grid is capable of moving energy where it needs to go without breaking the bank or seizing property through eminent domain?

The SAVINGS Act, introduced by Delegate Qi and Senator Hester, would deploy grid enhancing technologies that will allow us to get more transmission capability without building new transmission lines. To talk all about this bill, why it is necessary and how it works, I am joined by Katie Mettle who is the Policy Principal for Maryland and New Jersey at Advanced Energy United

What is a Zero-Emission Heating Equipment Standard? Jan 19, 2026

Show notes

In his executive order on climate and energy issues in June of 2024 Governor Moore directed his agencies to design and implement a Zero-Emission Heating Equipment Standard and a Clean Heat Standard to support it. As far as policies to reduce pollution and costs for homeowners go, this is the gold standard, and I applaud Governor Moore for his leadership on this issue.

A Zero-Emission Heating Equipment Standard paired with a Clean Heat Standard has the potential to fully decarbonize almost all of Maryland’s building stock and lower energy bills in the process.

In this episode I am joined by Ruth Ann Norton who is the President of Green and Healthy Homes Initiative and Tony Sirna who is the Senior Policy Lead on Buildings for Evergreen Action to explain these policies and their benefits in detail.

Vice-Chair Charkoudian’s Affordable Solar Act Jan 05, 2026

Show notes

Maryland has had policies to boost in-state solar generation for about two decades now, and those investments have paid off significantly. Solar accounts for 7% of the electricity Maryland generates, which is more than we generate from coal. Pennsylvania, which has practically no solar investment policy, gets only 1.25% of their electricity from solar. Even though Pennsylvania has twice the population of Maryland and is roughly four times the size of Maryland, we still have more solar jobs in Maryland than they do in Pennsylvania

Maryland’s investments in solar are paying major dividends in the form of more in-state generation, more jobs, and lower energy costs. Solar is, of course, now the cheapest form of electricity generation and continuing to deploy it at a rapid clip is essential to meeting growing energy demand.

Vice-Chair Charkoudian has developed a policy that will improve how Maryland invests in solar energy, allowing more solar to be built more quickly while also reducing the ratepayer impact of clean energy policies. She has, in her policy wizardry, found a way to make every dollar spent on solar go farther, to increase the number of dollars spent on solar, and simultaneously decrease the number of dollars spent on renewable energy, and by the end of this episode by god you will understand how it works.

The solar policy that Vice-Chair Charkoudian is introducing this year and that we will be discussing today is largely the same as the solar components of her Abundant Affordable Clean Energy bill she introduced last year. While many portions of her bill got incorporated into the leadership energy package, the solar policies were left on the cutting room floor, and so she is back to finish the job.

Vice-Chair Charkoudian and I recorded this episode before the news broke that she had been named Vice-Chair of the Economic Matters Committee, so I don't use her new title in the episode.

PJM Didn’t Hit capacity. What Does That Mean? Dec 18, 2025

Show notes

On December 17th 2025 something happened at PJM that has never happened before. At their regularly scheduled Capacity Auction, PJM did not hit capacity. If you are like me, it’s clear to you that this is bad news, but you aren’t precisely sure what that means. To break it down and share his expertise I spoke with Bryan Dunning who is Senior Policy Analyst with Center for Progressive Reform.

Electrifying Baltimore's District Heating Dec 01, 2025

Show notes

Many of the buildings that make up the Baltimore Skyline are heated by an underground network of steam moved through pipes. That district heating system is owned and operated by a company called Vicinity. Right now, that steam is almost entirely generated through combustion. However, Vicinity has high hopes for transitioning to electric steam, which is a very cool name for steam generated through electricity. This has the potential to decarbonize the heating load of many large buildings without those building owners having to change anything about their buildings.

Samay Kindra who leads government affairs for Vicinity Energy talks about Vicnity’s plans to generate their steam electrically.

Maryland's Most Successful Energy Program Nov 18, 2025

Show notes

Whether you care about energy costs, climate change, job creation or grid reliability there is one program in Maryland that has been more successful than any other, and that is the EmPOWER Program the state’s flagship energy efficiency program.

According to recent analysis, Every dollar invested in EmPOWER Maryland returns $1.81 in benefits for Marylanders. By reducing aggregate consumer demand for power, EmPOWER investments keep electric rates down for all of us. As a result, EmPOWER has saved Marylanders more than $4 billion on their energy bills and reduced statewide greenhouse gas emissions by at least 9.6 million metric tons.

EmPOWER is the silent workhouse of decarbonization in Maryland, consistently slashing energy bills and emissions in both the power and residential sectors year after year, one attic insulation job at a time. To talk about EmPOWER, how it works its miracles, how it has changed over time, and what benefits we can continue to expect from the program I am joined by Mike Specian who is a Research Manager at the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy or ACEEE and Justin Barry who is a Director of Energy Initiatives at the Green & Healthy Homes Initiative.

Secretary McIlwain on meeting Maryland’s climate mandates Nov 07, 2025

Show notes

In 2022 Maryland passed the Climate Solutions Now Act, a law that is so popular that Governor Hogan chose not to veto it in an election year. Maryland is now required by law to eliminate our net greenhouse gas pollution by 2045 and hit a 60% by 2031 benchmark.

The very next year, in 2023 Maryland had the tremendous good fortune to have Governor Moore appoint Serena McIlwain as the new Secretary of the Maryland Department of the Environment. Secretary McIlwain arrived in the position with a clear mandate from the legislature to eliminate net climate pollution.

And she has taken up the mantle given to her by the legislature. Her department has created a detailed roadmap for how to achieve that requirement, the Climate Pollution Reduction Plan, a plan that, if fully implemented would save the average household up to $4,000 in reduced energy costs, generate up to $1.2 billion in public health benefits, increase personal income by $2.5 billion, and create a net gain of 27,400 jobs between now and 2031 as compared with current policies. She not only created that plan but has led her team in an effective implementation of the plan

In this episode I have the great honor to be joined by Secretary McIlwain to talk about new data on how close we are to hitting the necessary pollution cuts, the tremendous work she has done so far and what work remains. She is actually joining this conversation from Rio De Janeiro where she is attending the 30th UN Convention on Climate Change Conference of the Parties or COP 30

The Coal Plants Costing Maryland Billions Oct 21, 2025

Show notes

I think most people following Maryland energy issues are aware that Brandon Shores and Wagner coal plants are closing because coal cannot compete in today’s energy market, but far fewer know the full story of how these two coal plants, built more than 50 years ago, ended up costing Maryland rate payers billions of dollars in the 2020s. That story is so full of negligence, greed, and conflict of interest from PJM and utilities that I feel genuine shock every time I hear it. I honestly believe that the energy conversation in Maryland would be fundamentally changed if everyone knew the full timeline of events that led us to this moment. That’s why I’m dedicating this episode to telling the true and terrible story of these coal plants. I won’t have a guest joining me today, it’s just me, you, and the gripping tale of a multibillion dollar heist.

Maryland’s Large Building Energy Success Story Oct 17, 2025

Show notes

Appliances used to heat our buildings emit three times more air pollution than all the power plants in Maryland combined. As we have talked about before, addressing this pollution in large existing buildings has tremendous benefits, and Building Energy Performance Standards or BEPS are an indispensable tool for energy efficiency and pollution reduction from large existing buildings. 15 different jurisdictions across the country have adopted Building Energy Performance Standards. Maryland, of course, enacted a state-wide BEPS program in 2022, requiring all buildings over 35,000 square feet to eliminate onsite emissions by 2040, and that remains current law.

The Maryland General Assembly in 2025 passed legislation to conduct a study about Maryland’s BEPS program and how it could be improved, and while that study is ongoing, it is worth looking at Maryland’s only other successful BEPS program, the one in Montgomery county which is successfully being implemented today.

To talk about all about Montgomery County’s BEPS program and what lessons the state wide BEPS program could take away I am joined by Emily Curley who is the

Building Energy Performance Programs Manager for Montgomery County and Garrett Fitzgerald who is the Section Chief - Climate Programs and State Policy for Montgomery County.

You can read all about how lawsuits challenging BEPS are flimsy here. That blog talks about a Colorado case specifically, but the case being brought in Montgomery County is on even shakier ground.

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