Maryland politicians love to tout their environmental credentials. From Annapolis to Baltimore, they celebrate ambitious climate goals, promote expensive renewable energy projects, and impose stringent regulations on businesses, all under the banner of making Maryland a “green” leader. But in reality, Maryland is not green—Maryland is irresponsible.

The state’s environmental policies are not about sustainability; they are about virtue signaling. Instead of practical, balanced solutions, Maryland pursues costly and inefficient programs that burden taxpayers, drive away businesses, and produce little measurable benefit for the environment.

Take offshore wind, for example. Governor Wes Moore has aggressively pushed for an expansion of offshore wind energy, promising jobs and clean energy. Offshore wind is a promising technology, but it remains in its early stages of development and has yet to prove itself as a reliable, cost-effective energy source. These projects are often plagued by cost overruns, delays, and unpredictable energy production, making them an uncertain foundation for Maryland’s energy future.

Maryland’s broader commitment to renewable energy follows a similar pattern. While the transition to cleaner energy sources is an important and worthwhile goal, the reality is that renewables—at least in their current state—are insufficient to meet the high and rising energy demands of businesses and households. 

Instead of acknowledging this reality and ensuring a measured, practical transition, Maryland’s leadership is charging ahead with premature policies that retire fossil fuel generation without securing adequate replacement capacity. The result? The rather ridiculous situation in which Maryland is phasing out its own fossil fuel generation, only to turn around and import… fossil fuel-generated electricity from other states at a premium price.

Maryland’s energy crisis further exposes the state’s failures. As Pennsylvania State Senator Kristin Phillips-Hill recently pointed out—as reported in a recent article by Fox 45 News’ Jessica Babb—Maryland already imports about 40 percent of its energy from other states, including Pennsylvania. Many of these electric generation plants use fossil fuels. With the upcoming decommissioning of the Brandon Shores power plant in Maryland, that number is set to rise. Phillips-Hill didn’t mince words:

“Governor Moore likes to tout that he is green, and Maryland’s green, and nothing could be further than from the truth, absolutely nothing could be further from the truth. Maryland is not green. Maryland is irresponsible.”

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