Delaware General Assembly

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLES 26 AND 29 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO STATE GOVERNMENT, THE STATE ENERGY OFFICE, AND ELECTRIC UTILITY PUBLIC PURPOSE AND CONSUMER EDUCATION PROGRAMS.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE :

(a) This subchapter shall be known and may be cited as 'The Delaware Energy Act.'

(b) The General Assembly finds and declares that:

(1) An adequate, reliable, and continuous supply of energy is essential to the health, safety, and welfare of the citizens of this State and to the sustained growth of Delaware's economy;

(2) Shortages of non-renewable energy resources could threaten the reliable supply of energy in Delaware;

(3) Inefficient energy consumption leads to increased air pollution from traditional means of producing energy, which may be significantly mitigated by the development of efficiency programs and alternative energy resources;

(4) Growth and inefficient energy usage must be addressed programmatically to continue the social, economic, and environmental vitality of the State;

(5) The State must provide for the development of a comprehensive State energy policy which will ensure an adequate, reliable, and continuous supply of energy and which is protective of public health and the environment and which promotes our general welfare and economic well-being;

(6) The establishment of the State Energy Office is in the public interest and will promote the general welfare by assuring coordinated and efficient management of State energy policy.

(c) It is the purpose and intent of the General Assembly:

(1) To establish the State Energy Office within the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control;

(2) To provide for development and maintenance of a comprehensive State energy plan;

(3) To provide for the development and maintenance of a State emergency energy shortage contingency plan;

(4) To provide for the development of a State facilities energy management plan;

(5) To reduce, to the maximum extent possible, the environmental consequences of energy generation and use in Delaware;

(6) To achieve effective management of energy functions within the State government;

(7) To encourage and ensure full and effective public participation in the formulation and implementation of a State energy plan.

(1) 'Renewable Energy Technology' or 'Alternative Energy Technology' means and includes any of the following machinery, equipment, or real property:

a. Hydroelectric generators, located at existing dams or in free-flowing waterways, and related devices for water supply and control, and converting, conditioning, and storing the electricity generated;

b. Wind equipment, required to capture and convert wind energy into electricity or mechanical power, and related devices for converting, conditioning, and storing the electricity produced;

c. Solar energy equipment, and related devices necessary for collecting, storing, exchanging, conditioning or converting solar energy to other useful forms of energy;

d. Geothermal heat pumps and geothermal heat pump systems; and

e. Fuel cells and fuel cell systems.

(2) 'Solar Energy Equipment' means any equipment that uses solar radiation as a substitute for traditional energy for water heating, active space heating and cooling, passive heating, daylighting, generating electricity, distillation, desalinization, detoxification or the production of industrial or commercial process heat, and includes related devices necessary for collecting, storing, exchanging, conditioning or converting solar energy to other useful forms of energy.

(a) There is hereby established the State Energy Office within the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, Office of the Secretary.

(b) The administrator and head of the State Energy Office is the State Energy Coordinator, who shall:

(1) Be qualified by training or experience to perform the duties of the Office; and

(2) Perform such functions in the administration of the State Energy Office as the Secretary of the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control may from time to time require.

(c) The State Energy Office shall:

(1) Act as a central repository and clearinghouse for collection and dissemination of data and information on energy resources and energy matters in the State, including but not limited to:

a. Data on energy supply, demand, costs, projections, and forecasts;

b. Inventory data on energy research and development projects, studies, or other programs conducted in the State under public or private supervision or sponsorship, and the results thereof; and

c. The environmental impacts of energy generation and use and the means of reducing those impacts through alternative fuels, innovative energy technologies, conservation or other means.

(2) Coordinate with other state and federal agencies including, but not limited to, the Delaware Public Service Commission, the Office of State Planning and Coordination, the Department of Administrative Services, the Delaware Economic Development Office, the Delaware Emergency Management Agency and the Department of Agriculture in carrying out its duties under this Act;

(3) Recommend legislative or other initiatives to the Secretary, and hence to the Governor and General Assembly, that will enable or assist the State, its instrumentalities, or private citizens, to secure federal funds made available to states and individuals to support energy conservation programs and initiatives, whatever form those funds take;

(4) Provide for a program of energy audits of facilities owned by instrumentalities of the State in cooperation with designated representatives of said facilities;

(5) Provide for the training and certification of energy auditors to conduct energy audits as may be necessary and proper to carry out the purposes and policies of this subchapter, or any other energy related law applicable to this State;

(6) Assist the Division of Facilities Management in developing the state facilities energy management plan as required in 29 Del C. § 8806(c); and

(7) Facilitate the development of a comprehensive State Energy Plan designed to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the citizens and economy of Delaware and which shall include, but not be limited to:

a. encouraging and promoting conservation of energy through reducing wasteful, uneconomical, or inefficient uses of energy;

b. encouraging and promoting the use of renewable electric generation facilities and alternate energy technologies by residential and small commercial consumers; and

c. encouraging and promoting such other energy efficiencies and conservation goals, methods, standards, training, programs and policies that are consistent with the intent of this subchapter, especially those directed toward improving end-use efficiency among Delaware's energy consumers.

(a) The State Energy Office shall administer moneys in the Green Energy Fund, in consultation with the Delaware Economic Development Office, the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, and the Division of the Public Advocate through a program of environmental incentive grants and loans for the development, promotion, and support of renewable or alternative energy technology in the State;

(b) The State Energy Office shall establish standards, procedures and regulations governing the administration of the Green Energy Fund which are not inconsistent with this subchapter. Up to 7.5% of the moneys deposited in the Green Energy Fund each year may be used for administration of the Fund.

(c) The goals which shall guide use of the Green Energy Fund include:

(1) Fostering use of energy efficient, renewable and environmentally friendly energy technologies throughout Delaware in the residential, commercial, industrial, public, and agricultural sectors;

(2) Promoting research, development, and demonstration projects in the fields of energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies;

(3) Advocating green public policy initiatives;

(4) Establishing and supporting education and public awareness programs;

(5) Pursuing community outreach programs;

(6) Supporting the development of green industries and generators in the State;

(7) Encouraging the construction, maintenance, and operation of green buildings, schools, and residential developments; and

(8) Creating market incentives for the pursuit of renewable energy resources by energy providers in Delaware.

(d) The Green Energy Fund shall be used for programs in Delaware including, but not limited to:

(1) A Green Energy Endowment Program (to repay electric consumers for the installation of renewable energy technologies in Delaware) available to:

a. Persons in Delaware receiving services from DP&L, or its successor, after the adoption of a restructuring plan pursuant to 26 Del. C. § 1005(a); and

b. Persons in Delaware receiving services from a non-regulated electric supplier which is contributing to the Green Energy Fund;

(2) A Technology Demonstration Program, to provide a grant no greater than thirty-five percent (35%) of the cost of a project for the demonstration of an energy efficiency, environmentally friendly, or renewable energy technology for the purpose of demonstrating the market potential of the technology in Delaware; and

(3) Research and Development Programs:

a. To support qualifying research and graduate studies in Delaware in energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies; and

b. To provide grants equal to no greater than thirty-five percent (35%) of the cost of a project for the development of a product in Delaware directly related to renewable or alternative energy technology, including but not limited to any product improving the engineering of, adapting, or developing renewable or alternative energy technology either as an independent piece of renewable or alternative energy technology, or as a component thereof.

"Such fund shall be known as the 'Green Energy Fund' and all moneys deposited into the Green Energy Fund shall be transferred in their entirety on the first day of July of each year to the State Energy Office to fund environmental incentive programs for conservation and energy efficiency in Delaware. The State Energy Office shall submit to the General Assembly by May 30 of each year a written accounting of moneys received from the fund during the previous year and how those moneys were used or disbursed during that year."

Approved June 2, 2003