Although Maryland is not always known for its sunshine or heat, solar energy is something it takes seriously — enough to surpass several other states ranking high on a solar power-use list.
This state took the No. 12 spot out of 30 states ranked for solar power capacity per person in 2014, according to a report released earlier this month from Environment Maryland, a state advocacy group.
“The biggest takeaway from the report is the presence of favorable clean energy policies rather than any sort of plethora of sunshine that’s determining which states are leading the way on solar,” said David Beavers, the campaign organizer for Environment Maryland. “Maryland is the perfect example for this.”
Beavers said the team compiled information from the Solar Energy Industries Association and the U.S. Senate to calculate the amount of solar power that can be attributed to or used by any given individual over a year’s time.
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With this state’s success overshadowing some sunnier states such as Florida and Texas, Beavers said, he recognizes it is not the sun itself that makes for a clean-energy state — it includes the use of several clean-energy practices.
Ray Adomaitis, a University of Maryland chemical and biomolecular engineering professor, said there are advantages and benefits for the state in maintaining its high standard for solar power.
“Solar power is very important, because it is a true renewable resource, as opposed to some of the other technologies that are potentially replacing coal and long-term natural gas,” Adomaitis said. “It has a lot of advantages; it can be installed in relatively small scales, and scaled up to massive solar farms. It just has a lot of flexibility.”
Junior Maya Spaur, the Student Government Association’s sustainability committee director, identified more advantages of solar energy, including its ability to be used in different places.
Scientists “are finding cheaper ways to manufacture solar power,” said Spaur, an environmental science and technology and government and politics major. “In a lot of developing countries, it’s a really good option to bring electricity that isn’t harmful to the environment to low-class areas.”
Although this state is making strides toward more renewable energy use, this university is still struggling to do its own part, Adomaitis said. But he said he is confident the incentive to “go green” is pushing students to consider clean, alternative energy.
“There are so many possibilities for solar power, especially on campus,” Adomaitis said. “We have so much open space in terms of parking lots, garages and buildings. … There are tremendous opportunities for making better use of solar energy.”
With this university working toward going green, Marques Gilliam, the energy management coordinator with the Engineering and Energy Department, said it could achieve its goal.
“It’s important to first set a precedence to just start somewhere, and this is what Maryland has already done,” Gilliam said. “Once you set the precedence and establish that resource, then you can start setting targets — Maryland and the University of Maryland have done a great job with that.”
