Why Should Delaware Care?
Delaware currently imports 80% of the power it uses, and officials have repeatedly emphasized the need to generate more power to help lower skyrocketing energy bills. With the delays to offshore wind, solar remains one of Delaware’s few options to generate renewable energy.
The solar energy industry in Delaware secured major wins this week, despite recent struggles with delays, federal funding cuts and community opposition.
On Tuesday, Gov. Matt Meyer announced at a press conference that he would fast-track permits for four solar projects across the state.
Hours later, the Sussex County Council approved three additional solar projects during a public meeting that notably included little overt opposition.
And on Wednesday lawmakers unanimously approved power bill discounts for households participating in community solar projects.
In all, the three events highlighted a growing momentum to develop more solar power in energy-hungry Delaware, despite a removal of federal incentives for the industry under the Trump administration.
During his press conference, Meyer gestured to hundreds of solar panels that covered what once was cropland near Dover, calling the developments “kind of crazy.”
“It’s science fiction to think that the sun could come down and literally turn into power for hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of Delaware families,” he said.
Nationally, utility-scale solar power is the fastest-growing source of electricity, according to federal data.
Pushback and delays
Despite the governor’s enthusiasm, some residents of communities where the state’s solar boom is happening say the momentum is unwelcome.
On Tuesday afternoon, about 50 people sat in a banquet hall of the Seaford Volunteer Fire Company to hear about one project that was part of the governor’s fast-tracked permit initiative – called the Jobs First permit accelerator.
There, they grilled the developers of the Meyer-endorsed energy project, while lamenting how solar arrays are taking over their rural landscapes.
“This farmland will be gone forever,” Seaford resident Brian Howard said at the event. “It will change the character of the landscape and neighborhood forever.”
Such resident backlash has slowed solar’s growth in Delaware at times in the past, causing counties to balk at approving projects. In 2023, Kent County even approved new restrictions that banned massive solar projects on farmland.
“I’m not opposed to solar, but I’m opposed to solar taking up valuable farmland,” Tricia Nash, a Kent County farmer who advocated for the solar limits, told Spotlight Delaware previously.
One solar developer said her company’s projects have also confronted delays in Sussex County, “for months, and in some cases years.”
Caroline Belmont of TurningPoint Energy said the delay is linked to rapid growth in new housing projects that have created a long line of developers seeking permit approvals.
Sussex County Planning & Zoning Director Jamie Whitehouse said 38 solar projects have been approved in the last decade.
The Sussex County Council held a hearing last month for eight of TurningPoint Energy’s solar projects, Belmont said, but has not yet decided on approvals.
The local obstacles to solar have added to delays companies have faced when trying to connect to Delmarva Power’s electricity grid – a phenomenon that some energy experts have said contributed to a recent power crunch in the state.
Last year, one industry magazine even called Delaware’s interconnection standards “among the worst in the country.”
Despite the challenges, the approval processes for solar may be speeding up.
Earlier this year, Sen. Stephanie Hansen (D-Middletown) authored two bills to expedite companies’ attempts to connect to the power grid. Meyer signed both into law.
The Sussex County Council’s approvals of three solar projects on Tuesday also may cause optimism within the industry.
Two of those fields will be located near Millsboro and one near Milford.
Power bill discounts for solar
On Wednesday, the State Senate passed Senate Bill 321 — legislation that solar energy developers hope will build on the momentum in the community solar industry.
Community solar projects are large solar arrays whose electricity is shared by a group of people. They allow people who don’t have the space or funds for rooftop solar to use the resource.
Senate Bill 321 guarantees that any Delmarva Power customer who signs up to be part of a community solar project will get a 10% discount on their energy bill from what the utility would have charged — even after participation fees. Low- and moderate-income residents would get a 20% discount.
Vincent Moschella with ECA Power said he hopes the bill will build trust within the community for the solar industry.
Some Delaware residents signed up for community solar projects when the program was first expanded in 2021, but because of permitting delays, the first project only came online last year, he said.
“Our customers are rightfully upset about it,” Moschella said.
Senate Bill 321 now needs Meyer’s signature to become law.
