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The Delaware General Assembly passed a renewable portfolio standard (RPS) early Sunday morning that will require 20% of the state's electricity to come from renewable resources by 2019, with 2% of that energy coming from solar.
"The signing of SB18 and the creation of the [Sustainable Energy Utility] will enable us to move away from the old command and control approach of energy policy."
-- Senator Harris McDowell, Delaware Sustainable Energy Utility Task Force, chair
Along with the RPS requirements, Delaware now allows net metering for residential renewable energy systems up to 25 kilowatts (kw) and commercial systems up to 2 megawatts (MW).
Passage of the RPS comes days after Governor Ruth Ann Minner signed Senate Bill 18 into law, which created a Sustainable Energy Utility (SEU) to manage the state’s emerging renewable energy program.
The SEU is a public/private partnership that uses public funding sources and consumer savings, combined with private sector funds and management skills, to address Delaware’s consumer energy issues through promotion of energy efficiency and renewable energy.
“As Governor, I have focused a great deal of effort on creating a Livable Delaware for all of our residents,” said Governor Minner. “The SEU will work to provide less expensive, clean energy, which is necessary to preserving the quality of life we enjoy in our state.”
The SEU will focus on all energy fuels and use a market-based and market-driven approach to address energy efficiency, renewable energy use, and energy conservation in the state.
“The signing of SB18 and the creation of the SEU will enable us to move away from the old command and control approach of energy policy. The SEU now makes Delaware the leader in sustainability and energy efficiency policy,” said SUE Task Force Chair Senator Harris McDowell.
Proposed by Sen. McDowell and created by the General Assembly in June 2006, the bi-partisan Task Force convened in October to recommend statewide access to energy efficiency, customer-sited renewable energy, clean vehicles, sustainable architecture, and affordable energy services for all Delawareans.
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