A boost for clean energy

Generations later, mill waste would become the renewable resource that helps keep the machines running.

In 2004, to give clean power generation a head start, Maryland offered financial incentives to the renewable energy industry. The policy, known as a Renewable Portfolio Standard, was spreading across the country as a way for states to create high-paying jobs in high-tech industries and to advance a green energy agenda.

The idea was to create a bonus revenue source for companies that generate power from renewable energy, such as wind and solar, to reward them for their environmental benefits. For each megawatt of electricity they produce and sell, they can sell a certificate.

The state law requires utilities and retail electric companies such as Baltimore Gas and Electric, Direct Energy and Pepco to buy those certificates from power producers within the PJM energy grid, which serves the Mid-Atlantic and part of the Midwest. Some of those producers are in Maryland, but most of the certificates bought by Maryland utilities come from producers in other states.

The utilities pass the cost on to residents and businesses in the rates they charge for electricity. Proponents say it’s a reasonable way of attaching a value to the support many residents have for green energy.

The amount residential ratepayers pay for the renewable energy certificates is at most a few dollars a month, but it adds up.