The Governor’s Energy Advisory Council held its first public input session at the Dover Public Library on Wednesday.
The Governor’s Energy Advisory Council provides recommendations to the DNREC State Energy Office for its 2024 update to the Delaware Energy Plan.
Before providing official recommendations in January, the Council is holding a public input session in each county to provide information and get feedback on potential ideas.
“This is a chance for members of the public to come and talk with us, not in a big meeting format, but one-on-one, and learn more about what we’re doing – and a chance for us to hear what they’re concerns are, what they’re experiences are, and use that to inform our policy development," said Tom Noyes, the Principal Planner for Energy Policy for the DNREC Division of Climate, Coastal and Energy.
He explains that by law, the state’s Energy Plan must be updated every five years, and the updated plans help Delaware reach its goal of deriving 40% of its energy from renewable sources by 2035 and reaching net-zero emissions by 2050.
“We’re not going to be able to map out how we get to 2050 at this stage, but we can do this lap. We can work on the next five years, look further down the road on what we need to know – what’s out there as possibilities to help us get to the 2050 vision," he said.
After the GEAC recommendations are released, a second round of community engagement meetings will be held in the spring of 2024.
New Castle County’s public input session will be held on Nov. 6 at the Route 9 Library & Innovation Center, and Sussex County’s will be held on Nov. 15 at the Cheer Community Center.
