Bill to Scrap Subsidies for Incinerators, Biogas Facilities Rehashes Memories of Proposed Frederick Project

BioRefineries/Renewable Fuel Production, Delaware, Maryland, Opinions, Policy, Sustainability

March 11, 2023

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by Emmett Gartner (Frederick News Post) Nearly a decade after Frederick County scrapped plans to build a trash incinerator, the state is considering a bill that would cut subsidies for existing incinerators and other waste-powered facilities.

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The bill, called the Reclaim Renewable Energy Act of 2023, SB590, would remove trash incinerators, along with biomass and manure-derived thermal energy facilities, from the state’s renewable energy portfolio.

Currently, such facilities, like the Wheelabrator trash incinerator in Baltimore City and a similar incinerator in Montgomery County, are eligible for ratepayer-funded credits that utilities must purchase to meet a mandated portion of renewable energy sources.

Their Tier 1 classification in the portfolio puts them on par with energy sources like wind and solar, which the bill’s proponents say are more worthy of subsidies and better fit the title of renewable energy because they lack greenhouse gas emissions.

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The coalition includes Baltimore City Councilwoman Phylicia Porter, whose district includes the Wheelabrator incinerator, and an environmental group from the Delmarva peninsula that opposes a planned facility in Delaware that would convert poultry manure and other organic waste into methane.

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One study links older waste incinerators with some cancers and preterm deliveries. Another from the Environmental Integrity Project shows that Maryland incinerators produce more pollutants like mercury and nitrogen oxide per energy unit than some fossil fuel plants, including coal.

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Opposition to the bill was mounted by other waste trade groups and representatives from the forestry products and agricultural industries, who said removing incinerators from Tier 1 would disincentivize foresters and farmers from selling their waste, whether woody debris or chicken manure, for energy production.

Opponents and proponents of the bill also debated the facilities’ impacts on greenhouse gas emissions.

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Despite the wide-ranging support that Eader and Gallagher thought meant the bill would be viable, Lewis Young said in an interview Friday that the wide-ranging opposition made her skeptical.

Even with amendments that might appease industry representatives and remove their facilities from the bill, like woody biomass incinerators or manure-to-methane facilities, Lewis Young said, it’s a tough sell.

“I haven’t given up yet, but the prospects are fairly grim for this year,” she said. “If I were to bring it back next year, I’d probably modify the bill somewhat and make it not quite as aggressive. Progress occurs very incrementally.” READ MORE

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