Maryland lawmakers approved a sweeping package of energy bills Monday aimed at getting a handle on soaring household utility prices and boosting in-state power generation in the face of mounting demand.

The energy plan became a top priority for Maryland’s Democratic leadership this session, and Senate President Bill Ferguson described the final product last week as “the most comprehensive energy package” state lawmakers have passed in two to three decades.

Lawmakers crammed an array of energy policies into the package — a trio of bills — this session, some of them cheered and some criticized by environmental advocates.

Among the highlights, the three bills would pave way for new power plants — possibly climate-warming natural gas facilities — prohibit counties from banning solar farms, end clean energy subsidies for trash incinerators, and tighten a pair of much-debated policies blamed for ballooning utility bills.

The Senate granted the package final approval Monday after House lawmakers passed the bills over the weekend, largely along party lines. The energy plan now goes to Gov. Wes Moore’s desk.

More power

A few compounding factors facing Maryland’s energy system became urgent causes for top Democratic lawmakers this session: The state relies on vast imports of electricity to address ballooning demand on the grid from data centers and increasing electrification, even as local generation has declined with the retirements of large coal plants.

To manage all this, lawmakers have argued, Maryland needs to become more energy independent.

One bill, the Next Generation Energy Act, backed by Ferguson, House Speaker Adrienne Jones and other Democratic leaders, , takes broad steps to encourage building more power sources in Maryland. Among them: The bill establishes a ratepayer subsidy to attract an emerging class of advanced nuclear reactors, solicits 1,700 megawatts of battery storage and — controversially — establishes a fast-tracked process that could bring in new natural gas plants.

The bill would create an expedited permitting process for up to 10 “dispatchable” energy projects — sources that can easily be ramped up and down to meet demand, often using natural gas. Lawmakers made changes to the bill to respond to concerns about emissions, requiring regulators to approve four zero emissions projects for every one that contributes to climate change.

Despite Republican efforts to pare back provisions favorable to low-emissions development, the proposal has little to do with “the great green god,” Del. Brian Crosby, a St. Mary’s County Democrat, said Saturday while defending the plan on the House floor.

Crosby argued that Maryland needs more homegrown energy — natural gas and renewable — if it wants to hold its weight in dealings with the regional grid operator, PJM, which lawmakers have clashed with lately.

In a statement after the chamber approved the bills, House Minority leader Jason Buckel said that while concerns that Maryland is an “energy desert” are well-founded, this isn’t the result of nefarious industry actors.

“[It] is because of the green energy policies of the Maryland General Assembly,” said Buckel, an Allegany County Republican. “These bills will not significantly change that, but will instead double down on the policies that have created this problem.”

The original version of the bill sought to boost this new energy development in part through sweeping rollbacks to regulations and permitting — measures that drew blowback from environmentalists.

Historically, energy developers have had to hold community meetings 90 days before applying for a permit from utility regulators. The bill would halve that period to 45 days, though lawmakers made an exception for projects in designated frontline environmental justice communities, where the pre-application period would remain the same.

Lawmakers also scrapped a provision that would have given advantage to projects trying to build on existing power plant sites — another concern for communities on the frontlines of industry.

The bill posed a challenge to some environmental groups this session.

The Maryland League of Conservation Voters, for instance, opposed the plan through much of the session but ended up with a neutral stance after some of the amendments.

“The fact that the bill is expediting the development of fossil fuel-produced energy is two steps backwards,” said Kim Coble, the organization’s executive director. “All the other additions are three steps forwards. That’s progress, right?”

Overriding the anti-solar crowd

Maryland relies heavily on nuclear reactors and natural gas for its energy, and the state has struggled to accelerate development of renewable sources like solar power.

Under a 2019 law, nearly 15% of the energy used in Maryland must come from solar panels by 2030, but solar projects have often foundered in the face of community opposition and county zoning maneuvers.

Another proposal in the Democratic energy package aims to change that.

The bill creates a fast-tracked regulatory process for some community solar projects. It also bars local governments from making zoning changes that prohibit solar installations or denying permits to farms that have already met state requirements.

State regulators already can override local decisions on projects larger than two megawatts, but the bill could clear the way for smaller developments.

After negotiations with counties this session, lawmakers inserted a cap limiting solar development on designated agriculture or forest land to a maximum 5% of the total area.

That still could translate to a lot of new solar projects. If the state covers all land up to the 5% cap in solar panels, that would account for roughly 100,000 acres. That could produce 14 gigawatts or more of new power — well above what’s needed to meet state goals for solar.

House Republicans attacked the measure ahead of Friday’s preliminary vote, arguing that overriding local governments infringes on farming communities, leads to concentrations of solar farms in areas like the Eastern Shore and further inflames tensions over new power lines.

Aside from provisions designed to facilitate solar panels, the bill institutes uniform guardrails for development, establishing setbacks from buildings and requiring solar projects to be fenced off and surrounded by trees and greenery.

Democratic Del. C.T. Wilson, chair of the House Economic Matters Committee and a lead sponsor of the solar bill, balked at Republican complaints, arguing that his proposal protects the rights of private landowners.

“I’m telling that farmer who doesn’t want to till the land anymore that he can still produce something. It’s just going to be electrons,” he said. “We are giving the landowner a choice.”

In an interview, Wilson described intense opposition from some in Montgomery County, among Maryland’s most liberal outposts, where more than 90,000 acres — or a third of the county — are designated as preserved farmland.

While Maryland lags behind, Wilson pointed to conservative states like Texas that have seen solar energy assume bigger and bigger roles on the grid.

“We haven’t even begun to crack that open,” he said.