COAL NO MORE
Annapolis, MD – Something utterly rare happened in the last hours of Maryland’s 2016 legislative session: coal was removed from the state’s “clean energy” grant program.
“Whatever people think of coal, in all its abundance,” argued Manno, “it is not a clean renewable energy source, and has no place in a clean energy program.”
Under legislation authored by Senator Roger Manno, the successful Clean Energy Incentives program was reauthorized — preserving the benefits for clean sources like wind, solar, hydro and geothermal — but it was fundamentally altered to finally remove coal from receiving preferential tax treatment. “When the bill passed the Budget and Taxation Committee,” explained Manno, “it came before the full Senate, but was then referred to the Finance Committee in an attempt to restore the coal credit. When that effort failed (adding coal back in to the clean energy program) the bill passed the full Senate unanimously. In the House, the vote was far more political. And in the end, it was a great victory for clean energy in the State of Maryland.”
With the program reauthorized by the legislature, it awaits funding in Governor Hogan’s upcoming budget.
http://www.rogermanno.com/coal-no-more/
