Delaware Law Raises Renewable Portfolio Standard to 40 Percent by 2035

Delaware Governor John Carney, a Democrat, signed legislation on Feb. 10 which increases the state’s renewable portfolio standard for regulated utilities to 40 percent by 2035, up from the prior target of 25 percent by 2025. The bill also raises the solar carve-out to 10 percent by 2035, nearly tripling the previous level of 3.5 percent. Delaware generated 87 percent of its electricity from natural gas in 2019, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

The bill removes the cost-cap mechanism for freezing the standard and replaces it with a market-based mechanism. Regulated utilities are subject to an alternative compliance payment, or ACP, of $25 for each megawatt-hour deficiency in the credits needed for non-solar renewable resources and $150 for solar resources to meet the standard in a compliance year.

For both solar and non-solar renewables, if ACPs representing 15 percent or more of credits are paid for two consecutive years, the minimum cumulative percentage remains at the requirement specified by the preceding year until a year passes during which ACPs are used to satisfy less than 15 percent of the obligation. After that annual increases will resume, starting from the target year prior to the current compliance year. Freezing percentage requirements for non-solar technology does not permit a freeze for solar energy resources, and vice versa.