Members of the Montgomery County Council are hailing a bill that they say would make it easier for contractors and developers to access funding for green buildings in Maryland.
Bill 44-21, the Montgomery County Green Buildings Now Act, received unanimous support from council members. County Executive Marc Elrich also spoke in favor of the bill Wednesday afternoon.
The bill would earmark 10% of county energy tax revenues, about $20 million annually, for the Montgomery County Green Bank. They would then leverage the money with lenders to get better loan rates and terms for clean energy projects, according to a news release.
“I’m a strong supporter of the Green Bank, Elrich said. “They play an important role in helping our county meet our aggressive climate goals.”
Council member Tom Hucker, who co-sponsored the proposal, said that it would ultimately lead to savings for both builders and consumers during a Wednesday morning news conference.
“Once it’s in effect,” Hucker said. “It will save tens of millions of dollars in energy bills for our residential and commercial tenants, and our residential and commercial building owners.”
Hucker estimates that the fund could leverage about five times that amount, around $100 million, to help builders offset their costs for green building practices, everything from insulated windows to installing solar panels.
“We have needed a game-changer that provides our partners in the private sector the financial tools and the practical incentives to meet our climate goals. This bill is the game-changer that we need to provide our partners the financial tools they need,” he said.
Maryland Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen praised the effort as a way to lower emissions.
“You, in Montgomery County, have set a very ambitious target, a good target, a target in line with the science,” Van Hollen said. “But it’s clear that in order to meet that target of greenhouse gas emission that we’re going to have to do more. And you’re going more.”
The proposal awaits Elrich’s signature before taking effect, and while the county executive said he’d sign it, he does have some questions.
“I do look forward to signing the bill.” Elrich said. “But I also look forward to the council making suggestions on what we would cut in order to make room for this, since the $17 million comes out of the revenues that actually build the base budget in the county.”
