Advanced Energy Perspectives

Last Friday in Baltimore, I watched as Maryland Governor Wes Moore signed the Promoting Offshore Wind Energy Resources (POWER) Act into law, a foundational step for the state as it works to build out its electric grid infrastructure, build up its offshore wind industry, and reach its ambitious renewable energy goals.

With the passage of the POWER Act, Maryland will serve as an example for state legislators across the country in showing the type of action that must be taken for states to make the transition to clean energy. Specifically, this law will greatly improve the planning processes needed to build transmission lines and get the electric grid ready for Maryland’s noteworthy 8.5 GW offshore wind power production goal, as well as for increased onshore clean energy production. Improving the grid will also boost the state’s grid efficiency and resiliency, lower utility bills for homes and businesses, and create good-paying union jobs that will connect Maryland to both wind and solar resources.

Florida currently has the nation's second-highest number of electric vehicles and the second-largest network of charging infrastructure in the Southeast. But those numbers – and the potential economic and consumer benefits that additional EV adoption offer Floridians – aren’t always reflected by how legislators in Tallahassee treat the issue of an electric transition. That’s why Advanced Energy United, the Electrification Coalition, the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, Drive Electric Florida, the Alliance for Transportation Electrification, and several others sponsored an Electric Vehicle Day at the Florida Capitol last week.