By Veronica Cassilly
The Promotion of Incineration in Maryland The Maryland legislature established our state’s Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard (RPS) in 2004 to promote the economic and environmental benefits of renewable energy and establish a market for electricity from these sources. The RPS law specifies that at least 20% of electricity that must be generated from “renewable” sources by 2022. The law also has intermediate goals. The Maryland Sierra Club, as part of the Maryland Climate Coalition, will seek to raise the RPS to 40% by 2025.
Maryland’s RPS is organized into a two tier system which distinguishes between different technologies and allows targets to be set for each. Tier 1 credits include solar, wind, geothermal, hydroelectric and biomass and are considered to have greater value under the RPS than those in Tier 2. Tier 2 sources include transitory forms of renewable energy, not a long term solution, and were to be faded out after 2018. Energy generated from Waste to Energy (WTE) Incinerators where originally classified as Tier 2 sources.
Unfortunately, in 2011 Governor O’Malley signed a law promoting energy from WTE incinerators to Tier 1 status, despite the fact that incinerators do not harness renewable energy. This reclassification increases the incentives for the operation and construction of incinerators with state and federal tax dollars under the pretense of promoting clean renewable energy.
Maryland’s Clean Energy Production Tax Credit Program established a tax credit for utilities that produce renewable energy. Under this program, renewable facilities are eligible to receive a tax credit of 0.85 cents per kilowatt-hour with a maximum credit of $500,000 per year or $2.5 M over five years, a substantial incentive for the construction and operation of WTE generation.
In addition to Maryland’s programs, the federal government has several incentives that promote the construction of some energy facilities, including incinerators. The Renewable Electricity Production Tax Credit (PTC) is similar to Maryland’s Clean Energy Production Tax Credit, except that it offers an incentive of 1.1 cents per kWh rather than the 0.85 cents per kWh. In addition, the federal programs do not have the $500,000 annual limit imposed by Maryland rules so the PTC offers substantial incentives for incinerators.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2008 (ARRA) provides grants for the construction of WTE incinerator in lieu of PTC tax credits. Under ARRA renewable energy producers can forego their tax credits for upfront payments of between 10% and 30% of the total cost of construction. This provision makes it much easier to finance the construction of facilities classified as renewable, and WTE incinerators in particular, because of their enormous construction costs. The statute specifically identifies WTE incinerators as eligible to receive the maximum allowable stimulus funds: 30% of construction
WTE incinerators in Maryland typically emit more pollutants per unit of energy produced than Maryland’s largest coal-fired power plants. Emissions include pollutants like mercury and lead that disproportionately harm children, are harmful even in small doses and bioaccumulate over time.
The time has come for Maryland’s leadership to do what the citizens fifty years from now will wish that they had done. Maryland should avoid giving RPS incentives WTE incinerators operators and implement a waste management plan which reduces our reliance on incinerators by reducing waste, by increasing the rate of recycling and composting and by rewarding conservation efforts. The State currently offers a $2,500 tax credit to residents for installing geothermal or solar devices. While this is a great idea, in reality is serves only those residents who can afford such a system in the first place. A tax credit for residents who recycle could benefit citizens at every income level. As it is, citizens can recycle if they feel like it but are given no incentive to do so. We need a mandatory or incentive based program that is serious about reducing waste.
Maryland currently exports 36% of its garbage which costs tax payers over $130 million per year. This is not an environmentally or economically sustainable waste management strategy. At the very least we should be recycling plastic, glass, aluminum and paper and composting food waste.
It’s already 2015. Burning thousands of tons of trash seven days a week seems like an archaic proposal when there are so many smarter choices available for generating electricity and reducing waste. Options exist that are not only better for the environment but for the economy. Technologies such as wind and solar are available and increasingly affordable to generate electricity and they don’t add toxins to the air. Recycling and composting are both excellent strategies to reduce and manage waste.
http://www.environmentalintegrity.org/documents/FINALWTEINCINERATORREPORT-101111.pdf