Partnerships Forging for Delmarva
Peninsula’s First Solar Park
Dover-based 10 MW Facility Would Create Green Jobs,
Green Energy for Region
DOVER, Del. June 15, 2010
– A statewide partnership
involving five entities – City of Dover, Delmarva Power,
Delaware Municipal Electric Corporation (ation (DEMEC),
Delaware Sustainable Energy Utility (SEU) and LS Power –
will lead to the construction of one of the Mid-Atlantic
region’s largest solar power plants – and the first on
the Delmarva Peninsula.
The 10 megawatt (MW) solar power plant – called Dover
SUN Park – will be built on 103 acres of Dover-owned
property in the Garrison Oak Technology Park. The
utility-scale, solar power plant, which will be owned by
White Oak Solar Energy, LLC, an affiliate of LS Power,
is expected to create between 100-150 local jobs during
construction and would supply enough clean power to
serve 1,300 homes. Construction of Dover SUN Park is
planned to start later this year, with full-scale
operations expected to begin next summer.
The initial concept for building Delaware’s first solar
facility stemmed from a request for proposals initiated
by the City of Dover in March 2008 seeking
power-generating sources that were reliable, cost
competitive and environmentally prudent.
“Working closely with the city’s energy manager, Pace
Global, we recognized the value in partnering for such
an innovative solution to our collective energy and
climate challenge, which is what led us to today,” Dover
Mayor Carleton E. Carey, Sr. told a crowd of more than
100 people gathered Tuesday at Dover City Hall to
witness the ceremonial signing of an agreement to build
the Dover SUN Park.
“This is a coming together of many entities that will
enable job growth in our area and put Dover ahead of the
rest in green energy,” Mayor Carey added.
Several agreements were signed as part of the larger
commitment to build Dover SUN Park. The highlights of
those agreements include:
- The City of Dover has signed a 20-year agreement to
purchase all of the energy produced by the Dover SUN
Park and a portion of the Solar Renewable Energy Credits
(SREC) at a competitive cost. The energy volume will
supply more than two percent of the current energy
requirements of Dover’s system.The solar plant has
leased approximately 100 acres at the Garrison Tract and
will interconnect with Dover’s 69 kV electric network.
- Delmarva Power signed agreements with White Oak Solar
Energy, LLC for the purchase of SRECs associated with
the solar energy output from Dover SUN Park, and with
the Delaware SEU for the preservation of SRECs and the
ability to buy them back at a later date. Delmarva’s
agreements are subject to the approval of the Delaware
Public Service Commission.
- DEMEC, representing the nine municipal electric
utilities in Delaware, signed an agreement with White
Oak Solar Energy, LLC for the purchase of SRECs and
other environmental attributes to be produced by the
10MW solar generation facility.
“We are extremely pleased to execute the purchase
agreements with the City of Dover, Delmarva Power,
Delaware Municipal Electric Corporation and the Delaware
Sustainable Energy Utility and are looking forward to
beginning the next phase of the project,” said Joe
Gorberg, Senior Vice President, LS Power. “This clean
source of renewable energy produced by this facility
will energize the local community and help improve the
environment.”
Delmarva Power Region President Gary Stockbridge said:
“Today, Delmarva Power is another step closer to meeting
Delaware’s very ambitious clean energy goals, which
require 20 percent of Delmarva Power’s energy supply to
come from renewable sources by 2019. It also makes us
extremely proud to be part of bringing green energy and
green jobs to Delaware.”
The project will help Delaware achieve its
nation-leading, solar power goals by supplying more than
25 percent of the state’s required solar power
production through at least 2015.
Patrick E. McCullar, President and Chief Executive
Officer of DEMEC, said: “The Delaware municipal electric
utilities are again leading by example with another
first-of-its-kind renewable energy generation project in
Delaware. We were the first wholesale electric utility
in the nation to have an outtake agreement for off-shore
wind generation with our commitment to the Bluewater
Wind Project in 2007, and we are continuing DEMEC’s
long-term goal of developing innovative and economic
utility-scale, renewable energy generation projects
located in Delaware by being a part of the Dover SUN
Park Project.”
Dr. John Byrne, Co-chairman, Delaware SEU, said: “Dover
SUN Park will play an integral role in our efforts to
move Delaware toward a sustainable energy future. This
is just the beginning, but a big beginning and we are
proud to be a partner.”
Dover, Delmarva Power, DEMEC, the SEU and LS Power, with
the support of the state legislative and executive
branches, have been developing this project for more
than a year as a collective effort to bring green energy
and green jobs to Delaware. The Dover SUN Park will be
the first tenant within the 389-acre Garrison Oak
Technology Park, which is owned by Dover.
###
About City
of Dover
The City of Dover is
located in central Delaware in Kent County and is the
capital of Delaware. Dover is approximately 90 miles south
of Philadelphia, Pa., and 90 miles east of Washington, D.C.
While its population is significantly less than that of
Wilmington, DE, Dover encompasses a larger area than any
other city on the Delmarva Peninsula. In contrast to most
major cities in the Northeast, Dover is continuing to grow
economically, in population and in land mass. The city has
an estimated population of 36,359. Visit us on the web at
www.cityofdover.com.
About Delmarva Power
Delmarva Power, a
public utility owned by Pepco Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: POM),
provides safe and reliable energy to nearly 500,000 electric
delivery customers in Delaware and Maryland and about
123,000 natural gas delivery customers in northern Delaware.
Visit us on the web at www.delmarva.com.
About DEMEC
The Delaware Municipal Electric Corporation, Inc. (DEMEC, www.demecinc.net)
is a public power
joint action agency and wholesale electric utility providing
power supply and related services to nine municipally-owned
distribution utilities in the state of Delaware through
owned generation assets and power purchased from other
generators in the PJM region.
About SEU
The Sustainable Energy Utility (SEU,
www.seu-de.org)
serves the green energy needs of all households and
businesses through a comprehensive package of services that
includes high efficiency technologies and appliances,
expansion of weatherization services, and implementation of
distributed renewable energy such as solar electric systems.
About Pace Global Energy
Services, LLC
Since 1979, Pace has
provided innovative energy services to support execution of
business strategies, complex energy transactions, asset
development and operations in more than 40 countries on six
continents. Headquartered outside of Washington, D.C., Pace
provides expertise and represents clients in all segments of
the energy value chain from exploration, production and
generation through transportation and distribution down to
end use consumption. For more information, visit
www.paceglobal.com.
About LS Power
LS Power is a power
generation and transmission group with a proven track record
of successful development activities, operations management
and commercial execution. LS Power has been involved in the
development, construction, or operations of more than 20,000
MW of power generation throughout the United States. LS
Power is actively developing both power generation and
transmission infrastructure to serve the need for new
generation and improve the aging transmission system. Highly
regarded in the financial community, LS Power has raised
more than $13 billion in debt and equity since 2005.
Media Contacts:
|
City of
Dover
Kay Sass
302-736-7003
kdietzsass@dover.de.us |
Delmarva
Power
Bridget
Shelton
302-283-5808 (o)
866-655-2237 (pager)
Bridget.shelton@pepcoholdings.com |
DEMEC
Patrick E.
McCullar
302-653-2733
public@demecinc.net |
|
Pace Global
Tricia W.
Bruns
703.227.1025
Tricia.Bruns@paceglobal.com
|
LS Power
Eric
Crawford
925-201-5234
314-374-8879 (cell)
ecrawford@lspower.com |
Delaware
SEU
John Byrnee
302-831-8405
jbbyrne@udel.edu |
|
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