Maryland
‘black liquor bill’ resurrected in legislate after special deal for NewPage
mill.
Some Annapolis lawmakers have gotten in the Easter spirit a
little early. A bill that would curtail millions in renewable-energy subsidies
for mostly out-of-state paper mills comes to the Senate floor Monday, after
being killed last week and then revived with a special deal for Maryland's only
paper-making plant.
The bill, SB684, pushed by environmentalists, would phase
out the ability of paper facilities to cash in on Maryland's renewable energy
law by burning "black liquor," a tarry byproduct of the pulping
process, and other wood waste to power their operations.Under the 2004 law, paper mills collectively received $3.8 million in 2011 by selling "renewable energy" credits to companies supplying power to Maryland's households and businesses. The state's electricity customers.
