Maryland Targets 3 GW of Energy Storage in Ten Years

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Last week, Maryland state governor Wes Moore (D) signed into law a bill that establishes a state goal of reaching 3 gigawatts (GW) of energy storage by yearend 2033. The state aims to be carbon-neutral by 2045, and Industrial Info is tracking $1.3 billion worth of renewable-generation projects in Maryland--nearly all of which is attributed to solar power.

The newly enacted law, H.B. 910, also establishes a target of 750 megawatts (MW) of energy storage by the end of 2027 and 1,500 MW by the end of 2030. It allows for the utilization of battery storage, thermal storage, virtual power plants, and hydrogen-based storage. The Democrat-led state legislature approved the measure last month.

The American Clean Power Association (ACP) applauded the bill's passage. In a press release, Moira Cyphers, Eastern Region State Affairs Director of the ACP, said: "As storage is critical to meeting our nation's emissions and energy goals, Maryland's passage of this energy storage bill signals important progress toward building clean energy capacity."

A report commissioned by the ACP and conducted by Synapse Energy Economics Incorporated (Cambridge, Massachusetts), released April 11, noted Maryland needs between 2.5 GW and 3.6 GW to meet the state's emissions-reduction and clean-energy goals, which include: a renewable portfolio standard (RPS) that requires 50% clean-energy sales by 2030; a 60% reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2031; and net-zero emissions by 2045.

The report said that meeting those goals "will likely require the construction of energy storage facilities that will help to ensure clean wind and solar generation is available" when demand is high and supply is low. The report noted that fossil fuels accounted for nearly one-third of the state's electricity in 2022 and nuclear power provided 24%, while renewable energy (including hydropower) accounted for just 5%.

Among the renewable-generation projects in Maryland is a brownfield solar plant in Garrett County, the westernmost county in the state. The project is located at the site of a recently decommissioned coal mine. The plant is owned by CPV Backbone Solar, LLC (Silver Spring, Maryland), which is a unit of Competitive Power Ventures Incorporated (CPV).

According to the CPV website, the CPV Backbone plant is the largest solar project under development in western Maryland and has enough generation capacity (up to 175 MW) to power more than 30,000 homes and eliminate 200,000 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) per year. DEPCOM Power Incorporated (Scottsdale, Arizona) began site preparation in the second quarter of 2022, and the completion is expected in early 2024. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Power Project Database can click here for more information.

A Maryland solar-generation project in the development stage is Enel Green Power North America's (Andover, Massachusetts) 92-MW, Waypost Solar Plant in Templeville. According to Enel, that's enough capacity to power more than 15,000 households and avoid 113,000 tons of CO2 per year. The project is expected to kick off in October, with completion planned for late 2024. Enel Green Power North America is the renewables subsidiary of Enel SpA (Rome, Italy). Subscribers can click here for a detailed project report.

In terms of wind projects, a subsidiary of Exelon Corporation (NYSE:EXC) (Chicago, Illinois), Criterion Power Partners, LLC, is repowering the 70-MW Criterion Windfarm in Garrett County. The project entails replacing 28 wind turbines to generate more power. Site preparation is underway, and the project completion is expected by the end of the year. Click here for the project report.

Subscribers to the GMI Database can click here for a full list of active renewable-generation projects in Maryland.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).