OPINION:
It is nothing new for common sense to be struck down in Maryland politics, and the state’s Building Energy Performance Standards (MD BEPS) are a prime example.
Established in 2022 by the Climate Solutions Now Act, MD BEPS set greenhouse gas limits for commercial and multifamily residential buildings 35,000 square feet or larger, requiring them to electrify and reach net-zero emissions by 2040. Companies that fail to do so face hefty fees.
Two recent attempts at reining in this Maryland legislature power trip failed.
In April, a lawsuit brought by Maryland housing industry groups arguing that MD BEPS are preempted by the federal Energy Policy and Conservation Act was dismissed by — surprise, surprise — a Biden appointee, U.S. District Court Judge Deborah L. Boardman.
That same month, Maryland HB988, a bill introduced by Republican Delegate Wayne Hartman that would have repealed the infeasible and costly MD BEPS, died in committee after making little progress.
MD BEPS went into effect in late 2024. Last year, after sufficient outcry, lawmakers exempted hospitals but left the bulk of the bad-on-its-face law in place.
The requirements are wholly unattainable, placing businesses — which are already leaving Maryland in droves — in an impossible position. They mandate large buildings’ net-zero goals in phases leading up to the 2040 finale: a 20% reduction by 2030 and a 60% reduction by 2035.
None of these benchmarks is realistic, and the state surely knows it. When businesses cannot meet them, there is supposedly an alternative: the fee schedule the state has established.
Yet the fees are so steep as to be prohibitive. They start at $230 per metric ton of excess carbon dioxide, with an annual increase baked in. The federal standard, meanwhile, is $51 per ton.
One realty group that operates nearly 2,000 apartments in Baltimore City and Baltimore County told the Maryland General Assembly last year that, according to its internal estimates, the cost of BEPS compliance would be at least $40,000 per unit.
Since the company cannot afford to simply absorb the added cost, it will have to increase rent by about $400 on every unit, it said.
Then there is the cost of electrification that MD BEPS mandate, which can easily run into the millions of dollars per structure.
To meet the MD BEPS benchmarks, companies that currently run on natural gas will essentially be required to replace their boilers with electric ones. Because much of Maryland is rural and imports its power from West Virginia and Pennsylvania, a good deal of its power comes from coal.
Thus, Maryland businesses using natural gas instead are already reducing their greenhouse gas emissions by about 18%.
Yet none of this matters under MD BEPS. Businesses running on natural gas are subject to the same unworkable fines as every other company with large buildings in Maryland.
Letting this law stand is a mistake for everyone in the Free State.
“If the BEP standards are implemented as is, it will increase electric demand and exacerbate the ongoing energy crisis felt by all Marylanders,” State Sen. Johnny Mautz told the Baltimore Sun in October.
Here’s hoping Mr. Hartman reintroduces his legislation to repeal MD BEPS next session — and that this time, the General Assembly advances it.
• Anath Hartmann is deputy commentary editor for The Washington Times.
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