Executive Order Number Thirty-One Creating The Delaware Energy Task Force
WHEREAS, reliable and affordable energy is of great importance to all sectors of Delaware’s economy; and
WHEREAS, long-term sustainability of energy supply and efficient and effective distribution of energy is becoming increasingly important as the State continues to grow; and
WHEREAS, the State faces challenges in meeting the electricity and heating needs of a rapidly growing population, particularly south of the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal; and
WHEREAS, the existing transmission and distribution systems for electricity and natural gas need to be sufficient to meet long-term needs; and
WHEREAS, environmental constraints impact the State’s ability to site new fossil fuel power plants and sole reliance on petroleum-based transportation fuels further impairs Delaware’s air quality; and
WHEREAS, these constraints also present opportunities to diversify the State’s energy supply and provide new opportunities for agriculturally based products and Delaware-based clean energy technologies;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, RUTH ANN MINNER, by virtue of the authority vested in me as Governor of the State of Delaware do hereby declare and order as follows, this 26th day of April 2002:
1. The Delaware Energy Task Force is hereby created for the purpose of developing the Delaware Energy Plan to recommend to the Governor courses of action to address the State’s long-term and short-term energy challenges.
2. The Task Force shall consist of seventeen members, who shall be selected as follows:
a. A Chair of the Task Force, to be selected by the Governor;
b. One representative of the Delaware State Senate, to be appointed by the President Pro Tempore;
c. One representative of the Delaware House of Representatives, to be appointed by the Speaker of the House;
d. A representative of the Governor’s Office, to be appointed by the Governor;
e. The Chair of the Public Service Commission;
f. A representative from an electricity generation company, to be appointed by the Governor;
g. A representative from an electricity distribution company, to be appointed by the Governor;
h. A representative from an electricity transmission company, to be appointed by the Governor;
i. A representative from a natural gas and/or propane distribution company, to be appointed by the Governor;
j. A representative from a company involved in renewable and/or alternative energy generation or development, to be appointed by the Governor;
k. A representative from the transportation fuels industry, to be appointed by the Governor;
l. A representative from agriculture, representing the bio-fuels industry, to be appointed by the Governor;
m. A representative from an environmental organization, to be appointed by the Governor; and
n. Representatives from each of the following government agencies, who shall be appointed by the Governor: Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, Department of Agriculture, Delaware Economic Development Office, and the Department of Administrative Services.
Members of the Task Force shall serve at the pleasure of the persons appointing them.
3. The Chair of the Task Force shall form working groups that shall include members from the Task Force as well as members of the public with interest and/or expertise in the objectives of the Task Force. Each working group shall be chaired by a member of the Task Force.
4. The Task Force shall provide the Delaware Energy Plan to the Governor no later than July 31, 2003.
5. The Delaware Energy Plan shall address the following goals and objectives:
a. The expansion of the diversity of fuels used to meet Delaware's current and future energy needs, through:
i. Encouraging the development of clean, base load electric supply on the Delmarva Peninsula;
ii. Encouraging a diverse fuel mix among electricity supply generation to avoid reliability impacts due to shortages;
iii. Promoting production and use of bioenergy and clean alternative energy;
iv. Broadening the existing diversity and decreasing the environmental impact of fuels that meet Delaware's transportation needs; and
v. Expanding electric generation infrastructure utilizing clean distributed energy resources (e.g., natural gas, photovoltaics, fuel cells, micro turbines, combined heat and power and wind energy).
b. The development of conservation programs to reduce the need to build more electricity generation facilities, through:
i. Identification and promotion of business and residential energy use reduction opportunities;
ii. Increasing the usage of energy efficient products and clean energy sources through the State procurement process; and
iii. Incorporating energy efficiency and conservation into the design and operation of State buildings.
c. Ensuring that energy infrastructure will meet Delaware’s future needs for efficiently transporting energy resources, through:
i. Increasing transmission capacity in existing rights-of-way;
ii. Developing new transmission lines to provide natural gas to western and eastern Sussex County; and
iii. Upgrading transmission lines below the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal to increase the capacity to transport additional electricity supply from other parts of the PJM transmission grid and eliminate congestion on the Delmarva Peninsula.
d. Encouraging producers of clean energy technologies and producers of energy efficient products to locate their business operations in Delaware, through:
i. Expansion of the market for renewable energy technologies in Delaware; and
ii. Increasing the number of producers/developers of clean energy technologies located in Delaware.
6. The Delaware Energy Plan shall include for each goal:
a. An identification of actions already in process;
b. A prioritized list of recommended non-legislative action items, including estimated costs;
c. Recommended legislative proposals, if necessary, including estimated costs; and
d. An identification of areas on which further evaluation or research is recommended.
