Environmental Community Statement on Maryland’s “Renewable Energy” Bills
Out of our unifying concern for public health, social justice and environmental integrity, we urge the Maryland legislature to reconsider aspects of several energy and waste bills that would continue to move our state toward increased use of biomass and waste incineration (so-called “waste-to-energy”).
Public opinion strongly supports wind and solar power, but is strongly against biomass and waste incineration. A 2012 survey of over 1,000 adults found that more than 81% of Americans across the political spectrum believe that biomass energy should be used only after less polluting and water-intensive options are explored.”
However, in 2012, 56.5% of Tier I in Maryland’s renewable energy mandate was filled with smokestacked combustion technologies (burning of trash, biomass, black liquor, blast furnace gas and toxic landfill gases). Only 30% was met using wind and solar.
Part of this problem originated with SB 690 of 2011, which turned Maryland into the only state to put trash incineration in competition with wind power within its renewable energy mandate, moving it from Tier II (which is phased out by 2018) to Tier I, where the credits are worth more and the mandate grows over time. By contrast, New York State has rejected three attempts by Covanta to include trash incineration in its Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) law at all. Their state environmental agency has justified excluding trash incineration on the basis that they are far more polluting than coal power plants, releasing 14 times more mercury per unit of energy than coal power plants in New York. What makes this more incredible is that New York has ten trash incinerators (second only to Florida) while Maryland has only three.
Maryland is one of the most heavily targeted states by the incineration industry, with at least a half-dozen communities currently threatened by proposed incinerators. The largest in the nation is planned for Curtis Bay in southeast Baltimore, one of the nation’s most polluted zip codes, and home to the nation’s largest medical waste incinerator. This plan by Energy Answers would burn 4,000 tons/day of trash, tires, wood waste and shredded cars within one mile of Benjamin Franklin High School. Baltimore is already home to the largest of three incinerators in Maryland — one that was in violation of mercury pollution limits in recent years. Fitting a sad national trend, these incinerators are disproportionately located in low-income communities of color.
Trash incineration (including “refuse-derived fuel”) is the most expensive and polluting way to manage waste or to make energy. It is the dirtiest of all technologies Maryland defines as “renewable” — dirtier than coal by every measure. Compared to coal, to make the same amount of power, trash incineration releases 28 times as much dioxin, twice as much carbon monoxide, 3.2 times as much nitrogen oxides (NOx), 6-14 times as much mercury, nearly six times as much lead and 20% more sulfur dioxides. On global warming, it is 2.5 times as polluting as coal for carbon dioxide (CO2) pollution. Landfill gas burning, when it comes to global warming pollution, is even worse than trash incineration as long as organic wastes continue to be dumped in landfills, and burning this toxic gas for energy makes the problem even worse.
Subsidizing landfills and incinerators in our energy policies — and putting incinerators ahead of landfills in waste policies — burns up a lot of money while harming recycling and composting.
Biomass incineration is always polluting, even if it’s “clean” wood or poultry litter, and even if it’s burned in an “efficient” type of burner. Biomass is 50% worse than coal for the climate, no matter what sort of burner is used, and is comparable to coal on several other pollutants.
We urge the legislature to ensure that our state’s energy and waste policies follow the zero waste and clean energy hierarchies:
ZERO WASTE HIERARCHY
Redesign
Reduce
Reuse
Recycle
Compost
Research (what is left to try to get closer to zero waste)
Digest (residual wastes to avoid gassy, stinky landfills)
Monofill
NO: incineration or “waste-to-energy”
CLEAN ENERGY HIERARCHY
Conservation
Efficiency
Solar
Wind
Energy Storage
NO: combustion or nuclear
A 2012 University of Delaware study has shown that, by 2030, wind, solar and energy storage can meet all of the electricity needs of Maryland’s grid with 99.9% reliability at costs comparable to what we pay today.
Considering the incredible potential for clean, green job creation with the alternatives higher on these hierarchies, we urge that subsidies and mandates be shifted away from incineration and landfills and onto the higher priority clean alternatives.
Amendments that would move us in a better direction:
HB 747/SB 734 – Creates efficiency standards for some biomass incineration, phasing out black liquor and some wood burners
-Apply the efficiency standard to waste incineration (poultry litter-to-energy, waste-to-energy and refuse-derived fuel).
-Move trash incineration (waste-to-energy and refuse-derived fuel) back into Tier II.
-Remove co-firing from the RPS, as HB 931/SB 530 does.
-Make the language in HB 747/SB 734 as explicit in removing black liquor and construction/demolition wood waste as in HB 931/SB 530, to avoid loopholes.
HB 931/SB 530 – Creates new Tiers for Thermal Biomass; Bans Black Liquor, Construction/Demolition Wood Waste and Co-firing
-The bans are good, but mandating more combustion-heavy tiers is unacceptable.
HB 1149/SB 733 – Doubles Tier I of RPS from 20 to 40%
-Remove all combustion technologies from eligibility, and doubling won’t even be needed in order to more-than-double use of wind and solar. Cleaning up the renewable energy definition is more important than doubling the numbers. Cleaning it up without doubling to 40% will likely triple wind power, but doubling without cleaning up will create more of a demand for incinerators.
HB 1192/SB 786 – Creates a Renewable Electricity Pilot Program that includes biomass and gasification (a type of incineration)
-Remove all combustion technologies from eligibility.
HB 473/SB 787 – Creates Green Business Incentive Zones (ten 10-year zones to provide benefits to “renewable” energy and other companies)
-Remove all combustion technologies from eligibility.
HB 240/SB 56 – Paves the way for a “Municipal Waste Portfolio Standard” that would phase in the burning of 87.5% of Maryland’s non-recycled trash
-Use the zero waste hierarchy instead of one that puts burning above burying.
-Change bill’s objectives to diverting waste from landfills AND INCINERATORS.
Signed,
- Energy Justice Network
- Assateague Coastal Trust
- Chesapeake Physicians for Social Responsibility
- Clean Water Action
- Envision Frederick County
- Food & Water Watch
- Institute for Local Self-Reliance
- Wicomico Environmental Trust
Individual signers:
- Hye Mi Ahn – Baltimore
- Alison Chicosky – Greenbelt
- Antonia Daniels – Baltimore
- Marion Edey – Silver Spring
- Thomas Hervey – Baltimore
- Ed Huling – Bethesda
- Pearlyne Johnson – Columbia
- Jennifer Kee – Baltimore
- Jessica Kee – Baltimore
- Lynne Kee – Baltimore
- Karen Leu – Takoma Park
- Dr. Emily Parker – Baltimore
- Annie Rice – Severna Park
- Mary Schor – Bethesda
To sign on, email us and let us know your name and address and, if you’re signing on as an organization, your group’s name. Thanks!
