Candidates for this year’s Delaware elections are working to convince voters that they know how to manage offshore wind, ‘forever’ chemicals, sea-level rise, and other environmental issues in ways that would boost energy independence, protect public health, and cut carbon emissions.
Less than a month before Delaware’s September primary and some three months before the General elections where voters will have their say in races for Governor, Congress, the Delaware General Assembly, and some local offices, the hopefuls are honing their positions on a range of environmental policies.
Those policies are designed to answer urgent questions, including where the state obtains its electric power, how its drinking water is protected from toxic PFAS chemicals, and how to shield the most vulnerable coastal residents from sea-level rise.
Democrats are supporting the development of offshore wind, calling for the increasing adoption of electric vehicles, and backing an existing policy that calls for the state to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
Republicans praise the proposed MACH2 hydrogen hub but say the Carney administration’s plan to increase the number of new electric cars sold in the state by 2032 limits consumer choice and is not workable with current charging infrastructure.
Still, candidates from both parties support the protection of underserved communities that have been especially exposed to environmental harm.
“Our administration looks forward to continuing and strengthening those efforts where necessary to ensure that every Delawarean has the resources they need,” said Mike Ramone, the current House Minority Leader who is running as a Republican candidate for Governor.
The call for progress on environmental justice is echoed by Democrats.
“Not only must we do more to protect these individuals from man-made environmental damage, but we should also work to remediate the harm that has already been caused,” said Sarah McBride, the Democratic candidate for the U.S. House seat being vacated by Rep. Lisa Blunt-Rochester who is running to succeed the retiring U.S. Senator Tom Carper.
Advocates for environmental protection note that, as the lowest-lying state, Delaware is unusually vulnerable to seas that are expected to rise by some two feet from 2000 levels by 2050, spreading saltwater into freshwater systems and threatening agriculture and tourism.
McBride, currently a state Senator for Wilmington, also urged Delaware to pursue its goal of increasing the availability of new electric vehicles sold in the state.
The Carney administration rolled back its initial goal that would have phased out the sale of new gasoline-powered cars by 2035. It is now requiring the phase-in of new zero-emission vehicles starting with the model year 2027. The regulation requires 82 percent of new cars sold to be zero-emission vehicles by 2032.
“Delaware is a small market, and working to ensure that manufacturers provide our Delawareans with the option to transition to an electric vehicle soon is incredibly important for the consumers who want to do so,” McBride said.
On PFAS ‘forever chemicals’ in some drinking water supplies, McBride called for advanced filtration technologies to remove the toxic substances, and regular monitoring of public water sources. She said that use of new filtration doesn’t have to mean higher water rates for individuals and can cut overall costs by improving public health.
McBride’s Republican opponent, Donyale Hall, said Delaware should adopt more forms of renewable energy but she doubted that the state’s revised goal for the adoption of electric vehicles is workable.
“We’ve talked about going to the EV mandates and it’s just not sustainable,” she told Delaware Public Media. “While we are having the conversation about moving more toward green energy, there are certainly some things we could do that move us away from the more harmful fossil fuels and be able to position ourselves well to where we can find that compromise.”
If elected to the U.S. House, she said she’s willing to have conversations about providing more federal tax incentives to boost Delaware’s use of green energy.
“It’s hard to say with just one broad brush stroke that we could offer an incentive at the federal level that would offset the local level. That calls for us to have a more in-depth conversation and figure out where those price points are."Donyale Hall, Republican candidate for Delaware's U.S. House seat.
“It’s hard to say with just one broad brush stroke that we could offer an incentive at the federal level that would offset the local level. That calls for us to have a more in-depth conversation and figure out where those price points are,” she said.
Kim Hoey Stevenson, the GOP candidate for the 6th Senatorial District, attacked the EV policy as “picking winners and losers in business.” Stevenson said it would require an upgrade of the electric grid to meet increased demand, and more charging stations.
In the Governor’s race, New Castle County Executive Matt Meyer, a Democrat, said he wants to ensure a better supply of EVs for Delaware drivers. As Governor, he said he would electrify the state’s vehicle fleet, and expand the network of chargers.
Meyer called offshore wind “one of the biggest opportunities for renewable-energy generation” for Delaware but said the large scale of wind farms require partnerships with other states. Recognizing public concern about the visual and environmental impacts of offshore wind farms, Meyer promised to seek community buy-in for the projects.
“Delawareans are rightly concerned about the impact of wind-farm construction and operations on the natural environment and on their local communities,” Meyer said. “As Governor, I will spearhead an inclusive, community-led process to understand community concerns and develop strategies to minimize disruptions.”
In June, the Legislature passed SB265, a bill that begins the process of Delaware buying offshore wind energy after years of false starts in the offshore wind business. State Rep. Debra Heffernan, lead sponsor of the bill in the House, called its approval “a monumental step toward embracing a cleaner, more sustainable future.”
Offshore wind will be a big part of Delaware’s efforts to cut carbon emissions, Heffernan said. But if that means higher electricity prices for consumers, the state should provide help for them, she said. “I believe that we need to reach net zero by 2050 but we can't do it on the backs of ratepayers with electricity prices that will put families in the red,” she said.
Collin O’Mara, a former secretary of the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, and now one of Meyer’s Democratic opponents in the Governor’s race, pledged his administration would implement the bill “rapidly”. He said Delaware will be able to negotiate a price for the offshore wind power that is competitive with other forms of electricity, thanks in part to federal tax incentives for climate initiatives provided in the Biden Administration’s Inflation Reduction Act.
Like Meyer, O’Mara recognized public worries about any visual or environmental impact of wind farms. He said there are “local opportunities” to build wind farms at least 13 miles offshore and to “minimize any ecological impacts” from the points where offshore wind power cables connect with the electric grid on the shore.
Lt. Governor Bethany Hall-Long, another hopeful for the Democratic nomination for Governor in the Sept. 10 primary, said offshore wind should “absolutely” be a part of Delaware’s diversified energy future. She backed the Carney administration’s goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 but said its revised target for increased EV ownership may have to be adjusted again.
“Achieving this target assumes we have the necessary infrastructure in place, and equitable access to EVs for all Delawareans,” said Hall-Long. “If those conditions aren’t met, the timeline will need adjustment.”
The state’s participation in the MACH2 hydrogen hub is a major opportunity to grow the economy and stimulate the use of the fuel in hard-to-decarbonize sectors like air travel and long-haul trucking, Hall-Long said.
In the race for House District 14, Republican Mike Simpler called for “diversified energy sources” but said offshore wind farm developers should have to pay upfront for decommissioning wind farms, as proposed in a recent resolution by two House Republicans. “We need to make sure we do it the right way,” he said.
Marty Rendon, one of Simpler’s two Democratic opponents in the 14th District race, said Delaware needs to work with the federal government to defend its low-lying shore from sea-level rise and the bigger storms that are coming with climate change.
Asked whether shore protection should include building more coastal defenses, requiring more homes to be elevated, or even relocating the most vulnerable residents to higher areas, Rendon called for “monitoring” coastal development.
“Monitoring new construction along the coast is important, mindful of the ocean’s encroachment,” he said. “Measures must be taken to protect the shore from rising ocean levels, increased storms, and potential hurricanes and nor’easters.”
Delaware’s vulnerability to bigger storms can be traced in part to overdevelopment, increasing the amount of paved surface and swelling contaminated runoff from heavy rains, environmentalists say. Activists are urging the state to clean up vacant post-industrial brownfield sites and put them back into productive use.
Environmental groups are also calling for action to stem Delaware’s loss of biodiversity. The number of many native birds has halved in the last 50 years, and more than 40 percent of birds that depend on forests are either rare or simply absent, advocates say.
“We need to have the difficult conversations about the places where managed retreat is necessary for health and safety."Collin O’Mara, Democratic gubernatorial candidate and current president of the National Wildlife Federation.
In the Governor’s race, O’Mara was more explicit about how Delaware should defend itself against rising seas that could flood up to 11 percent of Delaware by 2100, according to forecasts.
The state should at least quadruple its spending on climate resilience to some $30 million a year, and begin to look at preventing development in the most vulnerable areas, or withdrawing existing communities from them, he said.
“We need to have the difficult conversations about the places where managed retreat is necessary for health and safety,” he said. Possible solutions include gradually withdrawing public infrastructure and utilities from flood-prone areas and buying out primary residences in vulnerable locations.
O’Mara, the current president of the National Wildlife Federation, a nonprofit, also co-chairs the planned MACH2 hydrogen hub, a federally supported network of hydrogen producers, distributors and consumers that aims to supply hard-to-decarbonize sectors such as heavy industry and long-haul trucking in Delaware, southern New Jersey and southeastern Pennsylvania.
All hydrogen produced by the hub would come from electricity produced from wind, solar or nuclear sources, and so would qualify as ‘green hydrogen, O’Mara has said, rejecting accusations from some environmentalists that the hub will use some power produced by fossil fuels.
If he wins the Governor’s race, O’Mara said he would resign from the MACH2 board, “largely to ensure that MACH2 has the dedicated board leadership necessary to succeed.” Since the governors of all three MACH2 states have at-large positions on the board, filled by their energy advisers, Delaware will still be involved regardless of the election result but O’Mara would not lead the board if he is elected as Governor, he said.
State Rep. Heffernan said she supports MACH2 but said it should be powered by renewables rather than some fossil fuels – as proposed in some of the other six hydrogen hubs around the country. “We have to be careful and thoughtful as MACH2 moves forward in Delaware, we must ensure the plan's promise of nearly 100% green hydrogen is upheld and that hydrogen is utilized in sectors without viable alternatives,” she said.
In the race for U.S. Senate, Independent candidate Dr. Mike Katz said he wants to use private-sector knowledge and technology to address environmental challenges. He said he supports nuclear energy as a carbon-free emissions source, and if elected will support a bill sponsored by outgoing Sen. Carper that promotes efficient project permitting practices and advanced nuclear technology development.
“Innovation and research are cornerstones of my environmental and energy policies,” said Katz, a physician and former State Senator.
Katz’s Democratic opponent, Rep.Lisa Blunt-Rochester, also called for innovative technologies to be used to diversify low-carbon energy sources such as offshore wind power. Like Meyer in the Governor’s race, she said communities should be involved in decisions on how federal waters off the Delaware shore are used for energy development.
She reiterated her support for the planned hydrogen hub, which she said will have big benefits for Delaware’s economy, generating some 20,000 jobs across the region while helping to curb carbon emissions.
“The program [hydrogen hub] positions Delaware as a leader in the fight for a clean-energy future, and bolsters the First State’s workforce by creating good-paying jobs close to home."Rep. Lisa Blunt-Rochester, Democratic candidate for the state's U.S. Senate seat.
“The program positions Delaware as a leader in the fight for a clean-energy future, and bolsters the First State’s workforce by creating good-paying jobs close to home,” she said.
Asked how she would protect coastal residents from sea-level rise, Blunt-Rochester said she supports building up coastal infrastructure and has supported federal legislation including a bill that provides federal money for protecting coastal homes.
Eric Hansen, the Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate seat, blamed India and China for boosting carbon emissions and said the United States should place tariffs on products made with “dirty energy” such as coal in those countries. “They are the ones poisoning the planet,” Hansen said on his website.
He called for incentives on American innovation, such as the ‘fracking’ technology that has enabled the growth of the domestic natural gas industry.
“Innovation will let U.S.-made solar begin to compete with Chinese-made solar,” Hansen’s website said. “Regulation will simply increase costs for everyone, it will slow down innovation and let China win the green-energy race.”
In the 6th Senate District, incumbent Democrat Russ Huxtable is seeking re-election to the seat he has held since 2022. Huxtable, a resident of flood-prone Lewes, highlighted beach nourishment as a way of defending low-lying areas from sea-level rise and argued for using more natural defenses such as living shorelines to defend the coast.
Asked whether he supports the Carney administration’s goals of increasing the share of new electric vehicles sold in Delaware, Huxtable praised the rollback of the recent clean-cars initiative, saying the new goal that 82 percent of new cars sold by 2032 should be zero-emissions provides more consumer choice than the previous policy of phasing out new gasoline-car sales altogether by 2035. He said the revised policy gives the state more of a chance to examine whether it needs to build more charging infrastructure to meet demand.
He voiced support for a recent Senate bill that would provide incentives for installing EV chargers at home. If so, “for most local travel, I would not need to find a public charging station,” he said.
Huxtable’s Republican opponent, Kim Hoey Stevenson, said Delaware should be building coastal barriers, raising roads, relocating infrastructure and restoring wetlands in its efforts to protect the state from rising seas and bigger storms. She said solar is a way to diversify and strengthen the state’s energy mix.
And she said underserved communities deserve special protection from environmental harms. “It shouldn’t matter where you are or your economic status, we should all have the same protections,” she said.
Despite the pressing nature of many of the environmental issues facing Delaware, they are likely to take a back seat in most voters’ minds this year to topics including Supreme Court reform, women’s rights, and the preservation of democracy in the face of fears it would be curtailed if former President Donald Trump is returned to the White House, predicted Dustyn Thompson, director of the Delaware Sierra Club.
In particular, politicians seeking public backing on climate-change policies should express the issue in terms that most people understand, he said.
The average person does not call it climate change; they want to know, ‘what are you going to do about flooding’?” he said. “If you want to make it an issue that voters are going to engage on, you are likely going to have to use terminology that they are familiar with.”
