Delaware Clean Energy Jobs Package - Press Release

Fact Sheet:Delaware Clean Energy Jobs Package

Goal:To drive job creation and long-term competitiveness
These bills will incentivize capital investment to improve our environment, lift our economy, promote renewable energy, put Delawareans to work, and lay a foundation for long-term prosperity.

Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS):Sets Delaware on a course to receive 25% of its energy supplies from renewable sources by 2025 (from 20% by 2019) by adding a longer-range target to the existing RPS. The new target will reduce our reliance on variably priced fossil fuels as we move to more price-stable and sustainable sources. Moves Delaware towards a more uniform provision of renewable energy.
 
Job Creation:The new target, combined with other modifications to the existing RPS, will create quality jobs, expand local manufacturing and establish Delaware as a national leader in the adoption of renewable energy.

• Facilitates the potential installation of approximately 250 MW of new solar photovoltaic systems by 2025, resulting in the creation of hundreds of secure, quality jobs in the solar renewable energy sector.

• Facilitates the potential installation of over 1000 MW of utility-scale generation, likely in wind power offshore, resulting in thousands of new construction jobs and 150 new long-term operation and maintenance jobs by 2025.

Local Economic Development:Drives investment and manufacturing in Delaware, brings local jobs and ensures a secure energy source.The RPS bill rewards projects whose components are manufactured in Delaware and installed by Delaware workforce.

Modernizes Green Energy Fund:Proposes a market-based method for financing renewable energy projects, resolving the long wait time and inadequate overall funding for the current grant program.

• Authorizes the Secretary of the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) to adjust grant levels to achieve maximum renewable energy deployment and reallocate existing Green Energy Fund revenues to address the current backlog in recipients waiting for grant dollars.

Consumer Protections: The bill contains important consumer protection safeguards to ensure that any price impacts are small and manageable over the life of the standard, and requires monitoring by the Delaware Energy Office in consultation with the State Public Service Commission.


SS1 to SB 119 - Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS)
This bill makes strategic changes to Delaware’s existing RPS law to create a more robust market for renewable energy systems in Delaware, adding jobs to the state’s economy, and promotes more clean energy projects within our state through greater opportunities for long-term financing.

• The bill extends the RPS out to 2025, more evenly spreads the growth in solar photovoltaic (PV) requirements and extends the minimum solar requirements of the RPS to 3.5% by 2025.

• The bill also provides for incentives for manufacturing of solar PV components in Delaware and the use of Delaware workers in construction and operations of renewable energy systems.

• Furthermore, the bill contains important consumer protection safeguards to ensure that any price impacts are small and manageable over the life of the standard and requires monitoring by the Delaware Energy Office in consultation with the State Public Service Commission.

• Lastly, the bill allows for all electric customers in the state to participate in the program while recognizing the distinct management structure of utilities not regulated by the State and creates a task force of state experts to improve upon our renewable energy programs into the future.

SB 266 - Green Energy Fund (GEF)
This bill updates the Green Energy Fund law to address the large backlog of projects across the state currently awaiting incentive funds.With changes in the federal tax credit at the beginning of 2009, our state incentive program was flooded with applications, resulting in a backlog of hundreds of projects.

• This bill will amend the program to more closely align state incentives with needs, allow for a gradual transition from the over-reliance on the GEF for financing renewable energy systems and better align the program’s resources with current and expected demands.

• This bill also encourages program recipients to identify cost effective energy efficiency opportunities before investing in alternative energy projects and clarifies the state tax exempt nature of grants given out under the program.

SB 267- Net Metering

Net metering laws simply allow electric customers to sell electricity back the “grid” from solar or other renewable energy systems.

• This bill clarifies changes that were made last year to the net metering statute and allows renewable energy system owners to realize the full value of their investment.

• The bill also recognizes the possibility of “community” renewable energy systems where owners sharing a unique set of interests may aggregate their individual meters in conjunction with a community-owned generating facility.

• This bill also provides for aggregation of loads from separate meters or accounts under common ownership, allowing flexibility, especially within the agricultural sector, for owners of renewable energy systems to recoup their system costs more quickly.

SB 316 Solar Photovoltaic Systems and Real Property

Makes it possible for property owners to install and use ground-mounted solar energy systems on land zoned residential where the lots are one-half acre or greater in size without being restricted by the use of covenants, restrictions, and conditions in deeds, contracts and other legal instruments which might seek to prohibit or unreasonably restrict such construction.