Favorable
Senate Finance Committee
9 March 2010
Renewable energy and energy efficiency are two of the most critical parts of our long-term strategy to reducing global warming pollution and creating clean energy jobs. Maryland has set strong goals for both clean energy and energy efficiency with our accelerated renewable portfolio standard and EmPOWER Maryland.
Even with this legislation in place, however, there are still obstacles in place that keep Maryland from fully realizing the potential of its clean energy economy. One major barrier for homeowners or small businesses specifically is the high upfront cost of renewable energy or efficiency projects. Equipment for these projects, like solar panels, is costly, so homeowners or business owners need help like grants, loans, and reasonable financing.
Maryland already has solar and geothermal heat pump grant programs, and the Maryland Energy Administration is helping residents and commercial property owners make their homes and buildings more efficient. The missing piece in this collection of incentives to go solar and make buildings more energy efficient is low-interest financing, which this bill would provide. This specific financing model would allow the interested homeowner or business to pay back a loan for solar panels or efficiency measures as a surcharge on their property taxes.
Energy savings for participants of these programs would be great. The bill requires an interested party to have an energy audit performed on their home or business before taking out the loan in order to determine the most cost-effective options for achieving energy cost savings equivalent to the surcharge amount on the property taxes. As a result, energy consumption would go down and more of the energy that is consumed would be from solar power.
This program would allow more of Maryland's citizens to harness the power of the sun and use energy more efficiently. In order to meet our state's goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions 25 percent below 2006 levels by 2020, we must work towards a goal of 100,000 solar rooftops over the next decade. This will help our state slash its consumption of fossil fuels. Additionally, as more consumers choose to take advantage of this loans program, we will be less reliant on energy sources with highly volatile prices. Finally, the program would increase the demand for energy audits, retrofits, and solar array installation, creating more green collar jobs in our state.
