Delaware

Projects

  • Proposed Development:  A five-year lease was signed on November 1, 2009 between the US Minerals Management Service (MMS) and NRG Bluewater Wind to conduct wind resource data collection activities in lease block Salisbury NJ 18-05 Block 6325, under the Interim Policy (IP).  Under its January 23, 2008 power purchase agreement (PPA) with Delmarva Power & Light (DPL), NRG Bluewater Wind was authorized to develop an offshore wind farm as large as 600 MW, with Delmarva purchasing a pro-rated share equal to 200 MW.  On December 12, 2011, utility NRG announced that it had transferred its wind project's assets and lease to GSOE/Deepwater Wind. BOEM is processing the assignment of the lease. 
  • Wind Energy Area (WEA) Expressions of Interest:  NRG Bluewater Wind submitted the only qualified nomination to the US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s (BOEM's) April 26, 2010 Request for Interest (RFI).  BOEM issued a Determination of No Competitive Interest (DNCI) on April 12, 2011.   The area of interest included 11 full Outer Continental Shelf blocks and 16 partial blocks (approximately 103,323 acres in area).
  • BOEM Lease Reassignment: On December 2, 2016, BOEM received an application to assign 100% of commercial lease OCS-A 0482 to GSOE I, LLC. BOEM approved the assignment on December 20, 2016. The approved assignment is available here.

Policy, Planning, & Regulations

  • Energy Demand/Incentives:  Delaware’s renewable energy portfolio standard (RPS) requires electricity suppliers to provide at least 25% of retail electricity sales from renewable sources by 2025-2026.  A 2008 law authorized Delmarva Power & Light (DPL), the state’s only investor-owned utility, to receive a 350% renewable energy credit (REC) multiplier for energy derived from offshore wind facilities sited on or before May 31, 2017.
  • Regional Offshore Wind Initiatives:  Delaware signed an inter-state memorandum of understanding (MOU) in 2009 with Maryland and Virginia to coordinate policies for electric transmission, supply chain facilities, research and development, and workforce development.
  • Regional Ocean Management Planning:  Delaware is a member of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Council on the Oceans (MARCO).
  • Regional Electricity Transmission Planning:  Delaware's electricity transmission is coordinated by the PJM Interconnection regional power grid, which is a member of the Reliability First Corporation (RFC).

Supporting & Complementary Assets/Infrastructure

  • Supply Chain:  The Port of Wilmington is capable of offloading imported components from deepwater ships and loading them onto barges.  The port has space for a wind turbine manufacturing facility, and a steel plate manufacturer, Evraz Claymont Steel, is located less than seven miles from the port.
  • R&D:  The University of Delaware has been a leader in offshore wind research through its Center for Energy and Environmental Policy (CEEP), and Center for Carbon-Free Power Integration (CCPI). Delaware's sole commercially-sized wind turbine is sited on the University of Delaware's Hugh R. Sharp campus in Lewes.

Economic Fundamentals

  • Population:  1.0 million (0.3% of US, 2016)¹
  • Population change (2010-2016): 6.0%²
  • Civilian labor force:  0.5 million (0.3% of US, 2017)¹
  • Median hourly wage (all occupations): $18.25 (2016)³
  • State corporate income tax rate: 8.7% (2017)⁴
  • Per capita personal income:  $48,697 (22st in US, 2016)¹
  • Residential electricity prices:  14.77 cents/kWh (2017)¹
  • Commercial electricity prices:  10.48 cents/kWh (2017)¹
  • Industrial electricity prices:  7.83 cents/kWh (2017)¹
  • Total energy production: 4 trillion Btu (0.0% of US, 2015)¹
  • Net electricity generation:  390 thousand MWh (0.1% of US, 2017)¹
  • Total energy consumption per capita:  294 million Btu (29th in US, 2015)¹
  • Carbon dioxide emissions:  13 million metric tons (0.2% of US, 2015)¹
  • Nitrogen dioxide emissions: 2 thousand tons (0.1% of US, 2015)¹
  • Total estimated technical offshore wind potential generation: 20,604 GWh/yr (0.3% of US, 2016)⁵

References:  U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration (EIA)¹; U.S. Census Bureau²; U.S.  Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)³; Tax Foundation⁴; and, U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)⁵