Sarbanes Delivers Energy Policy Speech at Maryland Clean Energy Center Advisory Council Meeting

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman John Sarbanes (D-Md.) today delivered a speech at the Maryland Clean Energy Center advisory council conference about national energy policy and about Maryland-led clean energy efforts. Below are the Congressman’s remarks.

“Thank you very much for having me today. And thanks to George Ashton and Kathy Magruder for their tremendous leadership of the Maryland Clean Energy Center.

“We’ve been working very closely with the Maryland Clean Energy Center and the Department of Energy on a very exciting initiative in the City of Baltimore that I want to take a few moments to talk about.

“Expanding on a pilot program already underway in Baltimore, we are developing a sustainable low-income solar financing model that will allow us to accelerate the deployment of solar energy in Maryland with a focus on low-income and underserved households, train unemployed or underemployed community members to become part of the tremendous growth field of solar energy and secure full-time employment for trainees in Maryland.

“With partners on the ground like the Abell Foundation, Civic Works and Grid Alternatives – along with DOE consultants that specialize in delivering private sector capital for clean energy projects – I’m very excited about what we can accomplish for the City of Baltimore.

“And I’m confident we can develop a scalable model to ensure that Maryland households of more modest means aren’t left behind by the tremendous growth in solar energy that is happening in our state and across the country.

“I’m also very supportive of MCEC’s green bank proposal, and I hope that the Governor and the General Assembly move forward with legislation to establish a Maryland Green Bank, which would utilize modest public resources to leverage private capital in a way that successfully advances the economic and energy priorities of our state.

“A green back could finance a local innovator who has created a new way to improve energy storage. A green bank could help a small business owner reduce costs by becoming more energy efficient and switching to renewable energy. A green bank could make solar and other forms of energy a reality for all homeowners, including low- and moderate-income households.

“The Department of Energy cannot fill this role. But green banks in other states around the country have done so very successfully. In those states, green banks sustain innovation and push new technologies and energy solutions into the mainstream of private capital. And they grow the economy.

“More broadly, a green bank will help Maryland meet the related goals of addressing climate change and staying at the forefront of a dynamic energy industry.

“On the first point, the scientific consensus is overwhelming – climate change is happening and human activity is the most significant cause. In fact, it seems more and more that Washington, D.C. is the only place where climate change denial is considered a reasonable position to take.

“Once the political consensus in Washington finally catches up with the scientific consensus everywhere else, action on climate change becomes unavoidable. After all, it would truly be shameful to do nothing – leaving the consequences of climate change to our children and grandchildren. It is an environmental and moral imperative that we act.

“I think for most Americans that’s enough of a reason. But if that doesn’t quite do it, I’d say to the remaining skeptics that there is also an economic imperative to revolutionize energy generation in this country.

“Too often, I hear the false dichotomy that addressing climate change equals less jobs and a less vibrant economy. The choice is not fossil fuel jobs or no jobs. This is the tired rhetoric of those who profit from the status quo.

“The real choice is between an orderly transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy that spurs economic growth, or continuing on our current course until the consequences of climate change cause market disruption and economic disaster on top of environmental disaster.

“By investing in clean power technologies and infrastructure, we can spur tremendous growth and offer long-term relief to the American economy. The Maryland Green Bank will ensure that our state helps lead this energy revolution and reaps the economic benefits for workers and consumers.

“For too long, we have imported our energy needs from the Middle East and other volatile parts of the world. Let’s not spend the next century importing green energy too. If we act now, we can still become the international leader, manufacturer and exporter of the next generation of energy technologies.

“Unfortunately, I must report that in Congress we have not done our part to meet these challenges. As a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, I am serving on a conference between the House and Senate that will try to hammer out a final energy bill this year. We will be meeting for the first time tomorrow.

“The criteria I will use to evaluate the final bill are twofold. First, does this bill advance our efforts to address climate change? And second, does this bill increase our investments in energy infrastructure and, in particular, our electric grid?

“Unfortunately, the House-passed bill, which I opposed, misses the mark on both those questions. The Senate-passed bill I would say takes a few steps forward in places and a step or two back in others. My mindset going into these meetings is open-minded, but I am skeptical that we will be able to produce a final bill that can be signed into law by the President.

“The Obama Administration, by the way, has done its fair share. In fact, its done almost everything possible to address climate change in the face of a hostile Congress. The President should be commended for putting forward the Clean Power Plan and for working with the international community at the Paris Climate Change Conference.

“Rather than criticizing the President for taking action on climate change, Congress needs to work with him. Let’s pass a cap and trade system or a similar framework that gives the private sector some measure of certainty about our nation’s energy policies moving into the future. One that provides market signals and price points to begin our transition to cleaner sources of energy.

“I also mentioned the need to invest in our energy infrastructure to bring it into the 21st Century and make sure it is equipped for a whole new paradigm of energy generation, distribution, transmission and consumption.

“In that vein, I’ve introduced bipartisan legislation called the 21st Century Power Grid Act – a bill to finance public-private partnerships that carries out innovative projects related to the modernization of the electric grid.

“Today, the U.S. electric grid is still operating in the 20th Century. We must improve grid reliability, flexibility, efficiency and security. There are literally a limitless number of ways in which the federal government can play a part to help modernize the electric grid. What we cannot afford is the status quo.

“Whether it’s the application of digital technologies, advanced communications and control, distributed energy resources, resilience, cybersecurity, or providing customers with more choice in energy source, usage and rates; it’s a completely new world for how we can generate, transport and consume electricity.

“To deny the Department of Energy the resources it needs to invest in smart grid research and development would be akin to preventing the National Institutes of Health from doing medical cures research. The electric grid is an indispensable element of modern society and is critical to our national security, economy and the general well-being of all Americans.

“Unfortunately, my Republican colleagues in Congress have opposed even the most modest investments in our nation’s infrastructure and are likely to oppose the inclusion of this sort of proposal in the energy bill I discussed earlier.

“I apologize for painting such a bleak picture of the current state of affairs in Congress. But I am always optimistic that positive change is around the corner. I go to work each day trying to effect that change and will continue to do so moving forward.

“In the meantime, we should look to the states, and in particular to the State of Maryland, to be laboratories of change. With the leadership of the Maryland Clean Energy Center and other energy industry stakeholders across our state, I am confident we can lead the way toward a dynamic and exciting clean energy future.

“Thank you again for having me. I applaud your hard work and vision. Thank you for your leadership.”

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