Questions – and answers – about Maryland’s climate efforts

By RACHEL MCCREA

Maryland touts its climate goals as some of the most ambitious in the country. The state is required by state law to cut its greenhouse gas emissions 60% by 2031 and hit net zero carbon emissions by 2045. 

Legislation passed in 2022 and a pollution reduction plan published in late 2023 lay out a road map to reaching these goals. 

But what does this plan involve, and what does it mean for Marylanders? Here’s a closer look.

The Electricity Sector: Transitioning to Renewables

What are the policies? 

• Maryland’s current climate plan includes two longstanding energy policies. One, called the Renewable Portfolio Standard, sets a goal to have just over half of the state’s electricity come from renewables by 2030. Maryland is also a member of a multistate carbon trading program, called the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, that limits power plant emissions and requires plants to pay for each ton of carbon dioxide they emit. Money from auctioning off these emissions “allowances” is reinvested in state energy programs and incentives. 
• Legislation passed since the 2022 Climate Solutions Now Act has expanded goals for offshore wind and energy storage, and made a community solar program permanent. 
• The POWER Act sets a goal of 8,500 megawatts of offshore wind by 2031. That would be equal to over half of Maryland’s electricity sales in 2023.   
• A 2023 bill established the Maryland Energy Storage Program and set a goal of 3,000 megawatts of energy storage in Maryland by 2034. The state legislature passed a bill this year that includes a process for procuring batteries that would store energy for later use, including possible energy from renewable sources. 
• A community solar pilot program became permanent in 2023. The legislation requires that 40% of a community solar system’s energy goes to low- to moderate-income Marylanders.
• Gov. Wes Moore signed an executive order in 2024 that requires climate plans from every state agency, calls for a plan to reach 100% clean electricity in Maryland by 2035 and pushes for a new regional limit on power plant emissions through the multistate carbon trading program. 

Who’s paying for it? 

It depends on the program. 

• To reach the state’s goal of 50% of electricity coming from renewables, electricity suppliers have to buy renewable energy credits from producers. The cost of renewable energy credits is passed on to Marylanders through their utility bills. Companies can pay a fee instead of buying a renewable energy credit, and that money flows to the Strategic Energy Investment Fund, where it’s funneled into funding for electric vehicle chargers, renewables, community solar and other clean energy projects. 
• A regional carbon trading program funds energy projects and grants. When power plants buy CO2 allowances at auctions, that money goes to the Strategic Energy Investment Fund.
• The battery storage legislation passed this spring is twofold: utility companies would construct some storage and other developers would build the rest. 
• The POWER Act has the Department of General Services handle offshore wind purchasing. That makes sure the cost isn’t reflected in Marylanders’s utility bills. 

What progress has been made so far? 

• The state achieved less than half of its renewable energy goal in 2023, with suppliers paying fines to close the gap. 
• The Moore administration has been distributing between $100 million and $150 million annually to clean energy projects. Grants from the administration in 2023 went to a host of programs focused on clean energy, decarbonization, and energy efficiency. Funding comes from the carbon trading and renewable energy credit programs.
• The regional carbon trading program is in the middle of being reviewed, and states are working on a stricter emissions limit. Since the program began in the mid-2000s, Maryland power plants covered by the regional carbon trading program have cut their emissions by 62% and the state has received over $1 billion. 
• Maryland ranks low among states on the regional grid for wind power generation, with most of its in-state wind energy provided by wind farms in Western Maryland.  
• One offshore wind project in Maryland has federal approval, and would be built off the coast of Ocean City — but the Trump administration’s opposition to offshore wind has thrown a wrench in new project development. 
• The Maryland Energy Storage Program was in the research stage as of the end of 2024. 
• The community solar pilot program became permanent in 2023. 

The Transportation Sector: Promoting EVs 

What are the policies? 

• Maryland is building its network of electric vehicle chargers. 
• The state is aiming to dramatically increase the number of electric vehicles on the roads to 1.1 million by 2031. Legislation sets the goal for all new car sales to be electric or hybrid by 2035. It has a similar law for medium and heavy-duty trucks, but an executive order from Moore this spring allowed enforcement of both programs to be pushed back past model year 2028.    
• The state is also required to transition the state fleet and school buses to EVs. 
• A popular state excise tax credit for EVs lasted only a month before it was sold out, according to state officials. 
• The Maryland Department of Transportation is aiming to cut back on “vehicle miles traveled” by 20% per capita by 2050. It’s promoting development near transit stops to encourage public transit use. Meanwhile, Baltimore’s Red Line project and the Purple Line in Montgomery and Prince George’s counties will expand mass transit.  

Who’s paying for it? 

• The state’s EV charging buildout is set to receive $63 million from the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Plan, but the Federal Highway Administration paused access to funding earlier this year. Maryland has already been approved for $49.5 million, but had only obligated $14.7 million before the pause. It’s one of several states suing the Trump administration over the pause in funding access.
• In early 2024, Moore put $23 million in grants toward charging infrastructure. The state EV charging rebate and the EV excise tax credit receive millions of dollars from the Strategic Energy Investment Fund.
• The state has a grant program for electric school buses. 

What progress has been made so far?

• The first round of federally funded public EV chargers are expected to be up and running by next spring. Tesla and other private companies are also installing chargers in the state.
• There were about 1,500 public charging stations available across Maryland as of the end of April, with almost 4,400 total charging ports. Maryland’s current buildout through the federal EV charging program will add 22 new stations by spring of next year, with a goal of 51 in total.
• There were just over 135,000 registered EVs in Maryland as of April, up from under 15,000 in 2020. The state tax credit for EVs is out of funding for this fiscal year but will restart this summer. 
• As of last fall, EVs made up 12% of new sales and 2.3% of all vehicles in Maryland. Electric vehicles are supposed to make up 43% of car sales in 2027 under Advanced Clean Cars II, but enforcement of that rule has been temporarily relaxed. 
• The Moore administration’s executive order on EV legislation established a working group tasked with figuring out the best way to implement Maryland’s clean car goals. 
• This is the second year Maryland has required that new school buses be electric. But state officials expect all of the state’s school districts to get waivers to that new rule, as they did last year. Maryland had 242 electric school buses last summer, and state officials said Maryland is ahead of many other states with school bus electrification. However, the costs and challenges of transitioning to electric buses have led districts in Montgomery County and Baltimore to put their EV bus programs on pause. 
• The state’s six-year Consolidated Transportation Program includes funding for electrification, public transportation, pedestrian safety, bike trails and development near public transit. 

The Construction Sector: Decarbonization and Energy Efficiency

What are the policies? 

• The Climate Solutions Now Act called for large buildings to reduce emissions by 20% by 2030, and reach net zero by 2040. Since then, Maryland’s new Building Energy Performance Standards have faced pushback from building groups. The state legislature modified them this session, exempting hospitals, factories and emergency power to buildings like data centers. It also set up a study to help the legislature decide where to take the standards in future years and added an annual fee to cover costs associated with the program. Building owners in Montgomery County, which has its own building standards, do not have to comply with the state framework.
• New homes have to either have an EV charger or be ready to have EV chargers installed. 
• Utility companies are required to provide energy efficiency programs and incentives to their customers under the EmPOWER Maryland Program. Companies have to meet energy savings goals, and recent updates also called for emissions reduction goals. 
• New rules suggested by the 2023 climate plan would seek to reduce emissions that come from heating buildings, in part by requiring new building heating systems to be zero emissions. 

Who’s paying for it? 

• EmPOWER Maryland is funded by a charge on Marylanders’ electricity and gas bills. Marylanders paid a surcharge between about $7 and $11 for EmPOWER in 2024. 
• Building owners and developers would have to pay for changes required under the state’s new Building Energy Performance Standards.

What progress has been made so far? 

• The Building Energy Performance Standards were adopted in December 2024 and updated in the spring of 2025. Right now, the regulations cover emissions from the buildings themselves (“net direct” emissions), with final energy use standards expected to come around 2027.
• The EmPOWER Maryland Program has been around since 2008, and was updated in recent years to take greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals into account. 
• The Maryland Department of the Environment is working on the clean heat rules. 

The Industrial Sector: Phasing out Pollutants and Managing Leaks

What are the policies? 

• The cement industry in Maryland — the largest industrial emitter of greenhouse gases — has a voluntary goal of net zero emissions by 2050. Legislation was passed in 2023 to mitigate the environmental impacts of cement and concrete used in state-funded construction. 
• The state is phasing out hydrofluorocarbons. They’re used in refrigeration, air conditioning, aerosols and foams. State regulations aim to cut hydrofluorocarbon emissions 25% by 2030.
• The state has rules to prevent methane leaks from natural gas infrastructure. 
• Maryland has regulations to cut methane emissions from landfills. It’s also trying to reduce the amount of food waste in landfills, and a 2017 executive order outlines a waste management policy that focuses on reducing, reusing and recycling waste.

Who’s paying for it? 

• The state’s concrete and cement procurement legislation (called Buy Clean Maryland) receives state funding.
• The Strategic Energy Investment Fund put $1.76 million toward energy efficiency grants for the industrial, commercial and agricultural sectors in 2023.    

What progress has been made so far? 

• Under the Buy Clean Maryland Act, cement and concrete manufacturers had to submit reports to the state detailing the environmental impact of their products by the end of 2024. This legislation only applies to construction that receives state funding. 
• The hydrofluorocarbon phaseout is on schedule, and state regulations on methane emissions and landfill emissions are in effect. 

Farms, Forests and Land Use 

What are the state’s climate policies for farming, forestry and land use? 

• Agricultural emissions comprised 4% of the state’s greenhouse gas emissions in 2020. Those emissions come from cattle, animal waste and fertilizer. 
• Maryland has nutrient management regulations, and the Maryland Department of Agriculture helps farmers pay for manure management, including transportation, storage and treatment.
• Maryland’s Healthy Soils Program has a competitive grant for soil health technology and has a cost-share program for farmers who use cover crops. The department also helps farmers pay for equipment to rotate where livestock graze to promote soil health.
• A new state program was passed this year to reward good land stewardship: The Leaders in Environmentally Engaged Farming program would give incentives to farmers who use practices that benefit communities and conservation.
• Forests pull more carbon out of the atmosphere than they emit, and the state wants to take advantage of that. A 2021 law directs the state to plant 5 million native trees in 10 years. This program is on top of regular tree plantings the state already does.
• Foresters with the Department of Natural Resources work on sustainable management throughout Maryland’s certified-sustainable state forests. This includes planting young trees, which pull more carbon from the atmosphere than old growth trees. 
• Legislation was passed this session to define “sustainable growth.” It’s a multipronged approach that includes focusing on land, ecology and transportation alternatives, among other principles. 

Who’s paying for it? 

• This year’s state budget cut some funding to the 5 Million Trees Initiative, but the Department of Natural Resources said the cuts don’t impact the project. 
• Funding for manure management grants comes from bonds and environmental trust funds. 
• The Healthy Soils Program has $500,000 set aside annually in the state budget through 2028, though money from both an environmental trust fund and from federal programs has also been used for the program.
• The Leaders in Environmentally Engaged Farming program has $500,000 set aside for the next fiscal year.

What progress has been made so far? 

• The Leaders in Environmentally Engaged Farming program, passed in the General Assembly this spring, commits $900,000 annually to making Maryland farms more environmentally friendly.  
• The Maryland Forest Service is projected to plant 260,000 trees this year, and more than 1 million trees have been planted under the 5 Million Trees initiative so far. 

Sources:

5 Million Trees for Maryland; Apartment and Office Building Association of Metropolitan Washington; CalMatters; Chesapeake Climate Action Network; Dr. Donald Boesch (president emeritus of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science); Industry Dive; Inside Climate News; International Energy Agency; Maryland Department of Agriculture; Maryland Department of the Environment; Maryland Department of Legislative Services; Maryland Department of Natural Resources; Maryland Department of Planning; Maryland Department of Transportation; Maryland Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Administration; Maryland Energy Administration; Maryland General Assembly; Maryland Matters; Maryland Office of People’s Counsel; Maryland Public Service Commission; Maryland Register (Maryland Division of State Documents); Montgomery Community Media; NPR; Office of Gov. Wes Moore; Office of the Attorney General of California; Politico; Reuters; S&P Global; The Baltimore Sun; The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (rggi.org); The White House; U.S. Department of Energy Alternative Fuels Data Center; U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration; U.S. Energy Information Administration; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; U.S. Rep. Sarah Elfreth.