Two conservative public policy groups have issued warnings about environmental legislation moving through the General Assembly.
Both the Caesar Rodney Institute and A Better Delaware reported that the state Senate Energy Committee will vote Wednesday on a sweeping climate change bill SB 305.
As expected, the bill was moved out of the committee with one unfavorable vote.
According to the groups, the bill gives state agencies the power to implement carbon reduction programs without three-fifths votes from the General Assembly.
A Better Delaware, a public policy group formed a few years ago by Delaware ShopRite supermarket executive Chris Kenny, noted that such measures now required a two-thirds supermajority for mandates for wind and solar power, a carbon tax on electric generation and other measures..
The Caesar Rodney Institute (CRI0 a long-time free-market advocacy group, said the “Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control is studying “mandates for a large offshore wind project that could increase electric bills by $500 a year, ban gasoline-powered motor vehicle sales that would require paying $15,000 more/vehicle and ban the use of natural gas and propane for building heating, hot water heating, and cooking. Such changes should be passed by the legislature, not by unelected bureaucrats”
The cost estimates from the CRI, a longtime critic of Delaware energy policies, have been disputed by windpower advocates and a recent study that indicates costs are competitive, especially when environmental benefits are considered.
At various times, CRI has suggested that nuclear power and natural gas-powered generating plants would make the state energy independent. Much of Delaware’s electricity comes from outside the state.
Advocates argue that the state might lose the chance to take advantage of offshore wind projects that would generate construction jobs if such measures to move through the sometimes cumbersome legislative process.
Offshore wind has widespread support in Delaware and elsewhere in the region, with both neighboring Maryland and New Jersey green-lighting massive solar power projects.
The Biden Administration recnetly opened up bidding for offshore wind project sites about 20 mies off the coast of Delaware.
