BALTIMORE, March 27 (UPI) — A Senate panel in Maryland recently passed legislation that would significantly increase solar power use in the state.

The proposed bill, which still needs to pass the General Assembly, would require state electricity suppliers to include a percentage of solar energy in the portfolio they sell to customers, the Daily Record reported.

“It really would be one of the strongest solar energy bills in the country,” said Gary Skulnik, executive director and president of the Clean Energy Partnership, an advocacy group in Silver Spring, Md.

The goal is to make solar power more affordable and more appealing to homeowners and businesses. Those who already bought into the grant program wiill be able to sell their energy credits to the utilities.

The standard the utilities would need to meet will increase incrementally between 2008 and 2022. If the companies don’t comply, they will be forced to pay a fee.

The bill’s chief sponsor, Sen. Rob Garagiola, D-Montgomerey, said if the bill is passed, by 2022, it’s predicted that more solar energy will be produced than the energy being produced at some state power plants.

Utilities are protesting, saying higher costs of production would have to be passed on to consumers. Solar energy, proponents say, helps to offset peak demand, especially during hot summer days, when costs go up as well.

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