Maryland Gov. Wes Moore has proposed a record $306 million for renewable and clean energy programs in the fiscal 2027 budget, but advocates are alarmed that he plans to raid a clean-energy fund to help plug general-fund gaps.
On Wednesday, Moore unveiled a $70.8 billion budget proposal that accounts for an estimated $1.5 billion cash shortfall through spending cuts, level funding for many programs and transferring money between accounts.
The focus of the proposed budget is “on driving down costs for working families, and strengthening our state’s economic competitiveness” while “dealing with devastating cuts and draconian economic impacts from the Trump-Vance Administration,” said a statement from the Moore administration.
It called the funding for renewable and clean energy programs “historic,” much of that money drawn from the Strategic Energy Investment Fund (SEIF), which is managed by the Maryland Energy Administration. SEIF is funded by utility payments and proceeds from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.
Climate funding from SEIF in the fiscal year 2027 budget stood at about $328 million, according to estimates that advocates compiled and shared with Inside Climate News, covering items such as building efficiency and electrification, decarbonizing public schools, resilient infrastructure, clean energy rebates and climate‑related research.
At the same time, the fund is being tapped for $100 million in energy‑bill support for ratepayers and $292 million to plug gaps in the general fund, leaving a projected balance of just $164 million. Some criticized the move, calling it an over-reliance on one-time withdrawals for major general‑budget backfilling and short‑term bill relief, rather than being reserved as a stable, long‑term climate funding source.
SEIF funds are supposed to finance projects related to energy efficiency and conservation, renewable and clean energy and programs that reduce or mitigate the effects of climate change, as well as related equity and affordability initiatives.
Climate‑related allocations from SEIF have more than doubled in recent years, going from $148 million in 2024 to around $365 million in 2026. The 2027 proposal would reduce that to $328 million, according to advocates’ calculations.
They are now questioning whether the latest spending proposal is enough to reach Maryland’s climate targets, including 60 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from 2006 levels by 2031 and net zero by 2045.
Josh Tulkin, Maryland director of the Sierra Club, acknowledged that the administration’s budget contains “the largest allocation from SEIF to climate programming that we’ve ever seen.” But he criticized transferring SEIF funds to the general fund and using another $100 million for broad ratepayer relief, calling it “unacceptable use of SEIF funding.”
Tulkin warned that last year’s drawdown was sold as a one‑time emergency. “If it happens again, it is not an emergency measure—it becomes the norm,” he said. If the more than $800 million fund drops under $200 million, that raises “serious concerns” about how Maryland will pay for climate and energy programs “next year and the year after,” he said.
Rhyan Lake, a senior communications strategist with Moore’s office, said in an emailed statement that the administration has worked across state agencies to reduce pollution, lower energy costs and protect communities from the rising costs of climate change.
“Building on that progress, the historic investments in this year’s budget reflect the governor’s ongoing commitment to climate action and a clean-energy economy,” Lake said. “While the federal government has spent the past year rolling back climate protections and funding, Gov. Moore has focused on moving Maryland forward through record investments in clean energy and climate action.”
Kim Coble, executive director of the Maryland League of Conservation Voters, sees SEIF annual revenues as “an indication of failure” because utilities “cannot and will not meet” emission-reduction requirements and are choosing to pay compliance charges instead.
Coble said environmental groups will push legislation to guarantee at least $365 million a year in SEIF‑backed climate funding for the next four years and argued that, even with the governor’s proposal, “more money needs to be invested this year, next year, every year” to make real progress toward the state’s climate mandates.
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Adam Dubitsky of the Land and Liberty Coalition, a center‑right group, framed the SEIF as “our ratepayer dollars” collected on electric bills to support low‑income energy programs, energy efficiency and efforts “both to reduce the environmental impact of energy, but also to make energy more affordable.”
When those dollars are siphoned into the general fund instead, he said, “it has the effect of raising rates on Marylanders,” because the money is no longer available to lower bills through long‑term clean‑energy investments. It’s not fair, he argued, to use SEIF money “to plug general budget holes.”
Dubitsky said SEIF has effectively become “a debit card in a budget crisis,” and warned that “as long as these dollars are being held by or controlled by the executive branch, they are going to be a temptation. The more money in there, the bigger the temptation will be to use it for non‑intended purposes.” He urged lawmakers to put SEIF in a “true lockbox,” suggesting it should be run as a green bank by the Maryland Clean Energy Center or held in escrow accounts by utilities so that “these dollars were for an intended purpose, and that’s what they should be used for.”
“There is not a lot of alignment between the climate pollution reduction plan and the spending that’s happening in the state,” said Brittany Baker, Maryland director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network. She said SEIF dollars were meant to build durable clean‑energy and efficiency programs, stressing that the fund should be used to lower energy burdens and cut emissions, especially for low‑income households.
Despite the Moore administration pledging historic funding for renewables and clean energy initiatives, the state funding for mitigating greenhouse gas emissions and clean energy transition is facing a shortfall of hundreds of millions of dollars, advocates warn.
In its latest report, the Maryland Commission on Climate Change urged the administration to spend $1 billion a year on climate investments. That’s the amount recommended by the state’s Climate Pollution Reduction Plan, published in 2023.
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Aman Azhar is a Washington, D.C.-based journalist who covers environmental justice for Inside Climate News with focus on Baltimore-Maryland area. He has previously worked as a broadcast journalist and multimedia producer for the BBC World Service, VOA News and other international news organizations, reporting from London, Islamabad, the United Arab Emirates and New York. He holds a graduate degree in Anthropology of Media from University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) and an MA in Political Science from the University of the Punjab, and is the recipient of the Chevening scholarship from the UK government and an academic scholarship for graduate studies from the Australian government.
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