Several Maryland Democrats criticized Republican lawmakers for stalling a bill that would enable renewable energy projects to move forward, including one that would benefit Worthington Elementary School in Ellicott City.
Gov. Martin O’Malley, Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., and Howard County Executive Ken Ulman spoke at the school Wednesday in support of a U.S. Senate bill that would extend investment tax credits needed to install these technologies, including solar panels and wind turbines, beyond the Dec. 31 deadline.
In Howard, officials want to install the solar panels at a former landfill site off New Cut Road that would provide some electricity and help offset the school’s electrical costs, said Ulman.
“Solar energy can be a huge part of the solution, but we’re also going to have to use wind and other resources,” said Cardin, who added that Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., missed the vote on the bill several times and has not indicated any support for it.
“We’re not going to drill our way out of this problem.”
Cardin said the bill now needs the support of at least 60 senators — not simply a majority — because of a Republican filibuster. Lawmakers said they are still a few votes shy of passing the bill.
The bill, called the Jobs, Energy, Families and Disaster Relief Act, was defeated for the eighth time July 30, and Cardin said he hopes the bill can pass within the next month now that Congress is returning from its recess next week.
“If Sen. McCain indicated he’d be for this, we might have a better chance,” said O’Malley.
Still, O’Malley and Cardin praised Ulman and Howard County for being a state and national model for their initiative in supporting alternative energy sources.
U.S. Rep. John Sarbanes, D-District 3, also expressed support for the bill, although he didn’t attend the event.
“Maryland families are depending on Congress to enact policies that move us away from our addiction to oil,” he said in a statement.
“If we take steps now to end this addiction, we can ensure that our children have alternatives to foreign governments and bill oil companies for their energy needs.”
