The Rural County Coalition will hear about the state's one-time $64 million Local Government Energy Modernization Program (L-GEM).   MACo’s Rural County Coalition provides a forum for Maryland’s rural counties to share their unique perspective on critical state and federal policy issues. They will meet at the 2025 Winter Conference on Thursday, Dec 11, from 11:45 am – 12:45 pm. At this meeting, the University of Maryland’s Environmental Finance Center will walk through services and opportunities to…

A proposed plan for federal intervention in the interconnection of data centers to the energy grid raises questions over state and federal jurisdiction.  The U.S. Department of Energy is urging federal regulators to set national rules for how data centers and other large electric customers connect to the grid—a move that has sparked strong pushback from state regulators and lawmakers. Groups like the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners and the National Conference of State Legislatures argue…

EPA has delayed its rulemaking process for producing guidance on how to handle solar panels after decommissioning.  As the nation’s solar capacity continues to expand, federal regulators have yet to finalize a cohesive framework for managing end-of-life solar panels—leaving states, local governments, and the private sector to navigate a growing policy gap. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has discussed placing photovoltaic (PV) modules under a more flexible “universal waste” designation, which would simplify transport and…