DNREC’s official report on offshore wind strategy calls for Delaware to take steps to authorize offshore wind procurement.
In its Proposed Offshore Wind Procurement Strategy for Delaware, the report offers recommendations for the General Assembly and Governor to consider when developing wind energy in the First State.
Delaware is currently the only northeastern coastal state without an official commitment to buy offshore wind power, but DNREC now recommends Delaware proceed with legislation to authorize the procurement of offshore wind.
DNREC Climate, Coastal and Energy Director Dayna Cobb says being thorough in their research allowed them to watch how procurement affected other states and develop a more holistic approach.
“We’re looking at all the moving parts. We’re having a lot of conversations with our federal partners, and we’re looking to overcome some of the issues with supply chains that we’ve seen happening in neighboring states with their projects," she says.
Cobb is referring to developers in other states requesting anywhere from a 26% to 48% increase in project funds due to post-COVID-19 inflation and supply chain shortages.
She explains the state has been intentionally methodical in their decision to procure offshore wind, and they will continue to do so as the project develops.
“We have to make a decision based on what we know, and we’re recognizing that we’ll learn even more as the time goes on. But this won’t be something that will happen tomorrow as far as procurement – this is a long term view, but we need to start the ball rolling now.”
In addition to procurement, the report recommends looking into partnerships with neighboring states on transmission and supply chain development to compensate for the size of Delaware’s economy.
The report includes calculations from environmental consultant group Synapse Energy Economics, provisionally showing an 800 MW offshore wind project's projected power prices would not be inconsistent with the range of recent power prices.
The report states Delaware would need about 800 MW of offshore wind to meet its Renewable Portfolio Standards for all utilities by 2035.
You can read the full report here.
