Dover's Utility Committee will be reviewing one of the foundational contracts, a solar energy purchase agreement, at its regularly scheduled Committee meeting July 13, 2009 at 5pm followed by a recommendation to City Council.

The Dover SUN Park would be the first, utility-scale, solar power plant in the region and would be owned by White Oak Solar Energy, LLC, an affiliate of LS Power. The project would supply enough clean power for more than 1,700 homes and create about 150 local jobs during construction. In addition to Delmarva Power, the Delaware Municipal Electric Corporation (DEMEC) and the state's Sustainable Energy Utility (SEU) are also considering participation in the project.

"This is a very exciting project for the City of Dover, the State of Delaware and our nation as we all work together to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by investing in clean energy," said Dover Mayor Carleton E. Carey, Sr.

"Dover's leadership in this project demonstrates not only our commitment to renewable energy but also the wisdom of the State's legislators who allowed for the creation of voluntary renewable energy programs. We look forward to finalizing this agreement with LS Power and working with Delmarva Power, as well as other utilities, and state and federal agencies."

"Dover also wishes to recognize Pace Global Energy Services for its guidance and expertise - Pace represents our interests and has managed the process for all participants and stakeholders," Mayor Carleton said.

Delmarva Power President Gary Stockbridge said: ""The Dover SUN Park, when finalized and combined with our four wind energy projects, will go a long way toward ensuring Delmarva Power meets the state of Delaware's clean energy goals, which is for 20 percent of our power supply to come from renewable sources by 2019.

"Delmarva Power is extremely proud to partner with the City of Dover and LS Power for such a ground-breaking renewable energy project," Stockbridge said.

Dover has already initiated reduction of its carbon footprint by constructing a 5kW photovoltaic solar array at its Electric Administration building; a second photovoltaic solar array at the Dover Power plant is currently planned. Dover has also upgraded its power plants to utilize a cleaner fuel mix.

The City recently began offering to all residents a free residential energy audit, where they will come to your home and, with the aid of a thermal image camera, identify cost effective upgrades to conserve energy. In experimenting with energy efficiency, the city also has installed LED street lights which can be viewed along Walker Road.

Delmarva Power ranks among the first of its Mid-Atlantic Region peer utilities to meet the aggressive, renewable energy goals mandated by any one state. For instance, the company expects to be receiving energy for the first of its three new land-based wind farms by the end of this year; the solar project to be completed in 2010; and the offshore wind project to be up and running between 2012 and 2014.

The SEU and Dr. John Byrne are thanked for innovative suggestions and efforts to support this project. As Senator Harris B. McDowell notes, "The Dover SUN Park is exactly the sort of initiative we need to move our State toward a sustainable energy future and the SEU is proud to promote its development."

The proposed Dover SUN Park resulted from a request for proposals initiated by the City in March 2008 seeking power-generating sources that were reliable, cost competitive and environmentally prudent. Following nine months of careful analysis, in December Dover selected a leading developer, LS Power, as its partner in planning and constructing the 90-acre solar pv project, the largest planned for the region to date.

Dover, Delmarva Power, DEMEC, the SEU and LS Power with support from the State legislative and executive branches have been developing this project for the last six months to be a model of cooperation in the pursuit of innovative solutions to our collective energy and climate challenges. The Dover Sun Park will be the first tenant within the 389 acre Garrison Oak Technology Park, owned by The City of Dover.

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