Maryland, which has seen BGE residential electricity prices spike 85 percent since the industry was deregulated in 1999, has been called likely to experience rolling blackouts as early as 2011 if other energy sources aren't established. Calvert Cliffs could become home to the country's first new nuclear plant in three decades if BGE's parent, Constellation Energy Group, moves forward with a proposal to build there.
Maryland recently passed legislation requiring that 20 percent of the state's energy come from renewable sources by 2022; at least 2 percent of that must be solar-generated, creating a predictable market for companies like SunEdison, O'Malley said.
"This is a state that's good for this sort of business," the governor said.
Kelly Speakes-Backman, a spokeswoman for privately held SunEdison, declined to say how much the project would cost or what rates the company planned to charge GM, saying only that they were "close to or under retail." The company operates like a traditional power supplier in many ways, providing the materials and maintenance, then charging for the energy used. Should the GM plant produce surplus power, it will go back into the grid for SunEdison to sell to someone else.
Maryland's current energy prices put the state at a competitive disadvantage, said David S. Iannucci, executive director of Baltimore County's Department of Economic Development.
GM's commitment to solar speaks to "the long-term viability of the plant," he said.
tricia.bishop@baltsun.com
