|
Prof. Steven Gabriel (Civil & Env. Eng.) and Prof. Matthias Ruth (Public Policy and Civil & Env. Eng.) have recently won a $ 371,487 project funded by the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) to analyze the State of Maryland's potential participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). This work is through the Center for Integrative Environmental Research at the University and involves as subcontractors, The Johns Hopkins University, Resources for the Future, and Towson University.
Background
On April 6, 2006, Maryland Governor Robert Ehrlich signed into law the Maryland Healthy Air Act, which had been passed with large majorities in Marylands General Assembly. The purpose of the law is to improve air quality in Maryland by requiring power plants in the state to reduce a variety of emissions, including sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and mercury. In addition, the law requires the six largest power plants in the state to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide, a significant green house gas. Production of electric power is vital to the State of Maryland but greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide that are a byproduct of this production represent a significant negative externality. It is important to carefully balance the gains from inexpensive and reliable electricity with programs to mitigate the negative environmental effects of these gases. To this end, the Maryland Healthy Air Act (Senate Bill 154) was recently passed. This bill requires the State to become a full participant in RGGI no later than June 30, 2007. RGGI currently comprises seven Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic states that in December 2005 entered into a memorandum of understanding to develop and implement a carbon dioxide emissions trading program for electric generators located within their states. The trading program would begin in January 2009.
Project Description
Based on requirements from MDE, this project will analyze multiple aspects of the RGGI program and how it both positively and potentially negatively might affect the State of Maryland as well as neighboring regions. In particular, our impact study will evaluate whether the State's participation in the RGGI has or may have an adverse impact on the:
Preservation and enhancement of the economic welfare of the residents of the State;
Maintenance of a safe and reliable electric power supply in the State,
Adequacy of the energy supply in the State, including the potential for power plant shutdowns,
Ability of persons who own, lease, operate, or control an affected facility to compete in neighboring states, or,
Electric rates for residents of the State.
The study shall take into consideration a number of factors, including:
The number of states that are included as full participants in the RGGI,
The mix of energy resources in the states that are included as full participants in the RGGI; and,
Availability of credits among participating states.
(08-14-06)
August 17, 2006
|
