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Delaware releases first comprehensive State Energy Plan in nearly 15 years

DNREC Secretary Shawn Garvin delivers 2024-2028 State Energy Plan Thursday outside Legislative Hall in Dover, Del.
Sarah Petrowich
/
Delaware Public Media
DNREC Secretary Shawn Garvin delivers 2024-2028 State Energy Plan Thursday outside Legislative Hall in Dover, Del.

The state releases its first five-year energy plan since 2009, updating its playbook to meet ultimate emission and clean energy goals.

After two years of work and dozens of meetings, the Governor’s Energy Advisory Council reviewed and approved 82 recommendations to inform the new 2024-2028 State Energy Plan.

Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) Secretary Shawn Garvin says the 76-page playbook should be referred to as a “living document” and a tool utilized on a daily basis to inform state energy decisions.

Garvin compared the plan to Gov. John Carney’s State Climate Action Plan released in November 2021, which at the time was referred to as a GPS to navigate the deployment of greenhouse gas reduction and climate resilience measures.

“In much of the same way, the 2024-2028 Delaware State Energy Plan maps out strategies we can deploy to meet the state's energy and emission reduction goals while maintaining a reliable and resilient grid and increasing energy justice in disadvantaged communities," Garvin said.

The new plan acknowledges Delaware’s unique energy transition needs in order to meet its ultimate goal of net zero emissions by 2050 and a 50% reduction of statewide greenhouse gas emissions from the 2005 baseline by 2030.

“Conditions will evolve and new technologies will be developed, so while energy and climate planning efforts require looking ahead as far as 2050, this iteration of the plan is designed to guide us for the next five years.”

The plan has five categories, including energy justice, renewable energy and clean technologies, energy efficiency and beneficial electrification, grid modernization and workforce development.

A new plan intends to be released every five years moving forward.

Sussex County Council just this week rejected a permit that would have advanced Delaware’s involvement in a Maryland offshore wind project spearheaded by private company US Wind.

Garvin is confident wind energy will remain a part of Delaware’s future, but he believes the book is not closed on this particular project despite the permit rejection.

US Wind intends to appeal Council’s decision, setting up the stage for a lawsuit, which would mark the project’s third legal case.

The full 2024-2028 State Energy Plan can be found here.

Before residing in Dover, Delaware, Sarah Petrowich moved around the country with her family, spending eight years in Fairbanks, Alaska, 10 years in Carbondale, Illinois and four years in Indianapolis, Indiana. She graduated from the University of Missouri in 2023 with a dual degree in Journalism and Political Science.
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