Governor Hogan’s Plans to "Kick-Start" a Gas Expansion Across Maryland

While other states and cities are moving away from powering homes and buildings with gas—a potent climate pollutant—Maryland Governor Larry Hogan plans to spend $6.5 million this year in his effort to “kick-start” a gas expansion across Maryland. This $6.5 million is a portion of the $30 million his Administration can spend on expanding gas infrastructure after he negotiated the terms of a settlement allowing a Canadian company to acquire a local gas supplier.

Among the projects his Administration is backing: a new, 11-mile pipeline providing gas to two state-run facilities on the Eastern Shore. In repowering these state facilities, the Hogan Administration foreclosed the possibility of any other type of energy source by only requesting applications for gas. The government should be leading the way towards zero-emission buildings, especially when it comes to state facilities, not putting its thumb on the scale for gas.  

“Natural” gas is primarily made up of methane, an extremely potent greenhouse gas. It’s 86 times more potent than carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere. Methane leaks during production and transportation and gas heaters themselves are inefficient. As a result, a leading scientist concludes that it may actually be better for the climate to heat your home with coal or oil than with gas. In an era of rapid climate change, we cannot wait to replace all of these polluting fossil fuels with electricity powered by clean sources like wind and solar.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, electric alternatives exist for all major energy end uses in buildings. Space heating, water heating, and cooking account for the vast majority of direct fuel usage. Electric technologies exist, and are in use today, that can supply all of these end uses.In 2017, Hogan signed a ban on fracking for gas in Maryland, saying that his administration had “concluded that possible environmental risks of fracking simply outweigh any potential benefits.” Since signing that ban, however, the Hogan Administration has continued to call gas “a bridge fuel” and has worked consistently to kick-start a gas expansion across the State.

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Statement: Hogan’s Climate Plan Is Late and Incomplete

Climate Plan Announced Two Weeks After MD Advocacy Groups Sent a Letter Calling for its Release

ANNAPOLIS, MD — Today, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan’s Department of Environment released its plan to reduce its legally mandated Greenhouse Gas Reduction Plan. This comes two weeks after 26 Maryland-based advocacy organizations sent a letter to the agency expressing “deep concern” that they had not yet released the plan nearly ten months after it was due. 

Mike Tidwell, Director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, stated in response: 

“Governor Hogan’s plan to fight climate change is like a homework assignment turned in nearly a year late and with incomplete work. The plan includes insufficient research, inattention to detail, and a failure to follow the assignment. The tardiness of the plan would seem to call into question the Governor’s seriousness in truly tackling the climate crisis. The plan was mandated by the General Assembly to come out in 2018. 

“The substance of the plan only deepens the skepticism. While promises of 100% ‘clean’ electricity sound good, the Governor counts fracked gas as clean energy. He also dramatically underestimates the atmospheric harm that comes from the use of fracked gas. And while pledging to expand the use of electric vehicles and to reduce carbon pollution in other parts of the economy, the Governor’s plan fails to specify exactly how Maryland will invest real resources to achieve real solutions. The Maryland public and the General Assembly should demand better from the Governor.”

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The Chesapeake Climate Action Network is the oldest and largest grassroots organization dedicated exclusively to raising awareness about the impacts and solutions associated with global warming in the Chesapeake Bay region. For 16 years, CCAN has been at the center of the fight for clean energy and wise climate policy in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. For more information, visit www.chesapeakeclimate.org 

CONTACT:
Denise Robbins, Communications Director, denise@chesapeakeclimate.org, 608-620-8819
Mike Tidwell, Director, mtidwell@chesapeakeclimate.org, 240-460-5838