A recent commentary in The Baltimore Sun suggested that the costs associated with the Brandon Shores fiasco are a direct result of Maryland’s policies (“Policymakers to blame for Maryland’s rising power bills,” Sept. 3). However, the potential deactivation of Brandon Shores is merely an early warning of a much larger issue. A rational climate policy would involve replacing coal plants with cleaner natural gas. Instead, Maryland, along with Delaware and New Jersey, is pursuing a policy of closing all fossil fuel plants without establishing functional replacements.
Offshore wind is an energy source, but it is not a reliable capacity source; its production drops to zero for hundreds of hours per year. The inevitable consequence of Maryland policy is long-term electricity shortages that will extend well beyond the Baltimore-Washington, D.C., region, eventually leading to a national electric power emergency.
The damage is already done. As evidenced by Brandon Shores, reversing it will be both difficult and costly. The most effective solution we see is for the U.S. military to take charge and rapidly build numerous nuclear plants as quickly as possible on federal land.
— Alex Pavlak, Severna Park
The writer, an engineer, is chair of the Future of Energy Initiative which advocates for the development of sustainable, clean energy systems.
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