When thousands of gallons of diesel fuel spilled into Baltimore’s Inner Harbor from Johns Hopkins Hospital on June 4, it didn’t just contaminate the waterfront and threaten aquatic habitat. It also cast a spotlight on a deeper, largely overlooked problem: Maryland’s continued dependence on fossil-fueled backup generators.

Hospitals, research campuses and critical infrastructure like data centers across the state rely on diesel and natural gas-powered generators for emergency backup. Yet these systems remain largely unaccounted for in Maryland’s decarbonization and emissions reduction plans, despite emitting significant quantities of greenhouse gases—especially when used in demand-response situations or during extended outages.

Under federal rules, diesel generators can operate up to 50 hours per year for non-emergency purposes like demand response. Stricter pollution controls are triggered if backup generators run beyond that federal cap, which experts say undermines air quality protections.

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