There comes a moment when the noise of short-term thinking must give way to the demands of long-term vision. For Maryland, that moment is now.

PJM Interconnection’s recent announcement made as part of its Reliability Resource Initiative — fast-tracking 51 new electricity generation projects totaling nearly 12 gigawatts — is a sobering acknowledgment that our current energy infrastructure is insufficient for the future barreling toward us. It is also a clear signal: There are alternatives to building more high-voltage transmission lines. For Maryland, this presents an opportunity to reduce dependency on imported electricity and to invest in local, firm, zero-carbon energy sources, aligning with broader goals of energy security and sustainability.

The PJM decision affirms what thousands of Marylanders already understand — that reliability challenges can and must be addressed, not just with wires through forests and farmland, but with increased local, firm, zero-carbon power production. Yet here at home, we remain trapped in a policy vacuum. The state’s existing infrastructure constraints, highlighted by the need for reliability-must-run agreements to keep certain plants operational, underscore the urgency of enhancing in-state generation capacity. Despite the opportunities before us, Maryland lacks a bold, executable strategy to solve the real energy crisis: the coming mismatch between demand and dependable supply.

Let us be clear: We do not oppose modern energy infrastructure. We oppose wasteful, outdated thinking that trades local impact for system-wide inefficiency. The proposed Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project (MPRP) is a symptom of such thinking — a costly, disruptive workaround that avoids the real challenge. The power lines it proposes would not generate a single additional megawatt of electricity. They merely move the problem from one part of the map to another.

Instead, Maryland must step forward and embrace its role as a leader — not just a passive recipient — in America’s clean energy future.

We have the capability. We have the intellectual capital, the universities, the public-private partnerships and the access to federal programs. What we need now is the political will.

Gov. Wes Moore has repeatedly said that Maryland must be a place of bold ideas and progressive values. But progressive rhetoric must be matched by technical realism and fiscal responsibility. We cannot educate tomorrow’s leaders, power tomorrow’s technologies or attract tomorrow’s jobs without a reliable, resilient and clean energy supply.

A good start would be the General Assembly’s S.B. 909/H.B. 1037 — the Energy Resource Adequacy and Planning Act — which would establish a Strategic Energy Planning Office. This is a call for an Integrated Energy Resource Plan for Maryland — one that does not shy away from the hard choices. It is a call to recognize that nuclear energy, both traditional and advanced, must be central to our planning. That distributed energy resources, next-generation microgrids and smart public-private siting of energy assets must all be part of the mix. And yes — it is a call to hit pause on the MPRP until a real plan is in place that Marylanders can trust and embrace.

We stand at the threshold of a new industrial era — one driven by AI, electrification, data infrastructure and constant connectivity. Maryland can either seize this moment or miss it. The PJM projects are a start. They buy us time. But that window will close, and if we fail to act now, our state will fall behind.

Let’s make Maryland the national model — tech-friendly, tech-savvy and tech-powered — with a clean energy strategy at its heart.

This is your moment, Gov. Moore. Lead us.

Mark A. Aitken lives in Parkton and is senior vice president of advanced technology at Sinclair Broadcast Group, whose executive chairman is The Baltimore Sun’s principal owner David Smith.