The head of the EPA praised Delaware’s progress in preemptively meeting new proposed federal carbon limits Thursday during a visit to the Garrison Energy Center in Dover .
Gina McCarthy toured the site along with Governor Jack Markell (D-Delaware) and other state officials.
The 309-megawatt plant, which also includes a nearby solar array, is part of a larger effort both statewide and nationally to reduce carbon emissions. The EPA issued a sweeping proposal this week that would reduce emissions nationwide by 30 percent by 2030.
McCarthy touted the energy center in Dover -- and the jobs it provides -- as a way for the First State to meet that goal.
"This represents American ingenuity, this represents everything that this country has to offer about how to build a good, sustainable economy while you protect the public health of the American people," said McCarthy.
She added what Delaware is doing at places like the Garrison Energy center can serve as an example for other states to meeting the new EPA standards laid out this week.
"I could not be in a better place today, so soon after we announced this rule, than in Delaware. Because this is where it’s happening -- they get in Delaware, and they get it big time," said McCarthy.
The new EPA proposal calls for a reduction of carbon emissions nationwide by 30 percent by 2030. States are allowed to craft their own plans to meet the standards under the proposal.
Calpine Corporation’s 309-megawatt power plant is expected to come online in 2015.
