No New Gas in Maryland

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Take Action: Join Fossil Free Fridays

Proposed legislation (SB0937/HB1035) could cost up to $3 billion, will trigger more fracking, will spawn methane leakage, and will harm the climate and public health.

There are many ways to address rising electricity usage and ratepayer bills in Maryland. These include investing in more solar power and utility-scale battery storage and improved efficiency. We also need to manage data center growth and reform the flawed management practices of the regional grid operator PJM. Meanwhile, a HARMFUL step legislators can take – harmful to ratepayers’ pocketbooks and the rapidly warming planet — is to pass SB937/HB1035. This bill will fast track construction of up to 3.1 gigawatts of new gas-fired power plants in the state. The cost of construction: Over $3 billion. Social cost of carbon: $425 million annually. And that’s not all.  GET THE FACTS!  

Independent Research Shows Clean Energy is More Cost Effective

To meet Maryland’s growing energy needs, some lawmakers are proposing to build one or more new gas plants in Maryland. However, building new gas plants will be MORE expensive, MORE time consuming, and MORE polluting than clean energy solutions that are available to Maryland.

Google, Inc. recently commissioned Brattle, a respected independent research group, to determine the least expensive way to meet new electricity demand. They found that building a new gas power plant will be less cost effective than prominent zero-emission alternatives, including building new utility-scale batteries and building virtual power plants. Simply put: Building a new gas power plant in Maryland will increase energy costs unnecessarily.  

See the full report here.

Press Release: Top Environmental Groups Announce Opposition to Building Gas Plants in Maryland

Leading groups spotlight cost-effective alternatives to gas, including modern battery storage, solar power and other steps to address rising grid congestion and energy bills.

Read The Press Release Here

Watch the virtual press conference here>>

Clean Energy Solutions Should Be Prioritized for Maryland's Future

Delegate Lorig Charkoudian and Senator Ben Brooks are sponsoring legislation that would deploy utility-scale batteries and virtual power plants. The bill is  called the Abundant, Affordable Clean Energy (AACE) Act (SB0316/HB0398). Maryland can meet our new electricity demand with clean solutions and without using old, expensive fossil fuel technologies. In fact, no publicly available modeling has yet to find that Maryland needs new gas power to balance the grid.

 AACE is just one of the clean energy alternatives that Maryland legislators should consider including the solar energy siting legislation from Senator Katie Fry Hester and Delegates C.T. Wilson and Brian Crosby (SB0804/HB1036), the Better Buildings Act of 2025 (SB0804/HB0973), and more.

Gas Cannot Solve Near-Term Energy Needs

Gas plants take a very long time to get built. In 2023 the Virginian utility Dominion proposed building a new gas plant at the location of an old coal power plant, which they promised would be operational in 2026. Now they say it won’t be running until at least 2030.

New gas power plants are massive undertakings, even when they are renovating a pre-existing coal plant, which can take upwards of 7 years to complete. New Gas generation cannot provide any additional energy resources to Marylanders in the 2020s. Batteries, on the other hand, can be deployed in a matter of months, rather than a matter of years, and are already meeting surging energy demand in states like Texas.

Projected Data Center Demand is Uncertain

In late January 2025 the Chinese company DeepSeek demonstrated that it could produce the same quality of AI while using only a small fraction of the electricity used by previous models. On the day of this announcement, Nvidia, the primary company selling chips used in AI datacenters, saw its stock price fall by $600 billion, an unmistakable signal that fewer chips will be sold. Fewer chips being sold could mean reduced electricity demand from datacenters.

Building an expensive new gas plant today to meet uncertain data center demand could be a risky investment.

Renewables and Batteries Can Keep The Lights On

Wind, solar and batteries have proven that they are reliable. Renewable energy sources are pouring onto the Texas grid, meeting growing demand and keeping energy prices low. Wind and solar make up more than 30% of annual electricity generation, and there are days when renewables provide 70% of the power to the grid. Batteries in Texas can provide 4 gigawatts of power to meet peak demand. Doug Lewin, who writes The Texas Energy and Power Newsletter said last summer that Texas “almost certainly would have been rolling outages without (batteries).” Texas has demonstrated concretely that renewables and batteries can provide the energy necessary to meet growing demand.

Gas Pollution Costs Marylanders

Pollution from gas power plants drives up public health risks and costs for Marylanders.

Local air pollutants, which include Ozone, Sulfur-Dioxide and Nitrogen-Dioxide, contribute to asthma and other health conditions that increase healthcare expenses.

Gas is a fossil fuel that contributes to climate change, the effects of which are felt across Maryland. Clean energy alternatives are cheaper to build and have no additional pollution costs.

Tell Maryland Lawmakers to REJECT Legislation to Build New Gas Plants

Send YOUR legislators a quick email urging them to protect Marylanders from higher utility bills caused by building an expensive and unnecessary new gas plant.

TAKE ACTION NOW

350 MoCo, Arundel Rivers Federation, Baltimore Green Space, Baltimore Phil Berrigan Memorial Veterans For Peace, CASA, Cedar Lane Environmental Justice Ministry, Center for Progressive Reform, Chesapeake Life Center, Chesapeake Waterkeepers, Citizens Climate Lobby, Climate Action Plan Coalition of Montgomery County, Climate Emergency Mobilization Workgroup, Climate Parents of Prince George’s, Earth Justice, Elders Climate Action Maryland, Evergreen Action, Food & Water Watch, Green & Healthy Homes Initiative, Green Team at St. Vincent’s, Healthy St. Mary’s Partnership, Howard County Climate Action, Indivisible HoCoMD, Interfaith Partners for the Chesapeake, IPL DMV, KPMG, Laszlo Strategies, Maryland Citizens’ Health Initiative, Maryland Conservation Council, Maryland League of Conservation Voters, Maryland Legislative Coalition – Climate Justice Wing, MD Ornithological Society, MD Sierra Club, Mobilize Frederick, Nuclear Information and Resource Service (“for a nuclear-free, carbon-free world”), Ocean Research Project, Progressive Maryland, Progressive MD, Public Justice Center, Rachel Carson Council, Resources for the Future, Safe Skies Maryland, Sugarloaf Citizens Association, The Climate Mobilization, Montgomery County Chapter (TCM MoCo), Third Act Maryland, UU Legislative Ministry of MD,Waterkeepers Chesapeake, Zion Hill Baptist Church

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