Solar United Neighbors isn’t done fighting for clean renewable energy in Maryland!

The Clean Energy Jobs Act may not have passed this year, but that doesn’t mean we are done fighting for local clean energy in Maryland. Sure as the sun shines, we’ll keep on fighting. With your support, we’ll win!

While we’ve been fighting for a stronger renewable portfolio standard (RPS) for several years, the Clean Energy Jobs Act was a unique opportunity to expand solar, improve public health, and create jobs for Marylanders in our nation’s fastest growing employment sector. We joined with more than 600 organizations to support the campaign, which would require 50% of Maryland’s electricity to come from renewable sources by 2030, including a 14.5% carveout for solar energy produced right here in our state. The bill would have also improved public health and supported job training in our nation’s fastest growing employment sector.

Since January, our solar supporters have flooded Annapolis with hundreds of emails, attended multiple State House rallies, and partnered with solar businesses to lobby their representatives in support of the Clean Energy Jobs Act. We also submitted testimony on behalf of the Act to the General Assembly committees considering the legislation. While the bill ultimately came up short this year, it still earned an impressive level of support from legislators throughout the General Assembly thanks to all your hard work.

Thank you!

But before we can look ahead, we first must say a sincere thank you to our growing army of solar supporters in Maryland. Those of you who emailed or called your representatives, who showed up at a rally or attended our lobby day, who told a friend about the Clean Energy Jobs Act or shared our action on social media—it’s because of you that we came so close to expanding Maryland solar production and increasing our renewable energy production to 50% by 2030, including a six-time increase in the amount of Maryland solar energy.

The bill’s legislative sponsors, Sen. Brian Feldman and Dels. Bill Frick and Cheryl Glenn, also deserve a big thank you for their commitment to clean and local renewable energy. We need legislative champions in office if we are going to succeed in winning fights like this in the future.

The Clean Energy Jobs Act came this far because of you—and it’s because of you that we have such a strong base to start from as we look forward.

Forward

With your support, we’ll continue to fight for locally-produced clean and renewable energy. And we will make sure that every elected official in Maryland understands that we want to expand solar, strengthen our renewable energy economy, and improve our health with local, clean energy.

You can keep the pressure on by contacting your representatives today. Use our action to create a personalized email that let’s your representatives know why you care about increasing solar energy production in Maryland. After you make your voice heard, you can share with family and friends to keep our solar movement growing.