Harris McDowell’s SEU Meets Next Monday
In anticipation of that meeting I looked up the SEU’s authorizing legislation to see what their actual responsibilities are.
I mean, is the SEU really supposed to be preventing the state from moving forward with vetted wind power projects?
CHAPTER 80. DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL
Subchapter II. The Delaware Energy Act§ 8051.
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 the State’s economy;
(2) Shortages of non-renewable energy resources could threaten the reliable supply of energy in the State;
(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;
(c) It is the purpose and intent of the General Assembly:
(5) To reduce, to the maximum extent possible, the environmental consequences of energy generation and use in the State;
(7) To encourage and ensure full and effective public participation in the formulation and implementation of a state energy plan. (74 Del. Laws, c. 38, § 1.)
§ 8052. Definitions.
(3) “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;
It is pretty obvious that according to Delaware Code, the SEU should be working its ass off to try and find a way to make the Blue Water Wind Deal happen.
How McDowell is getting away with using the SEU to help derail the wind power project is beyond me.
Jason once again journeys to the Chamber of Secrets to retrieve the ancient texts….
… is there any opportunity to, you know. VISIT this meeting?
Meeting Announcements
Next SEU Oversight Board meeting will be May 5th, 2008, 10 AM at the Buena Vista Conference Center, Wilmington.
I guess so. I mean it doesn’t say that it is closed to the public anyway.
I didn’t know where that was so I looked it up.
http://history.delaware.gov/conf_centers/bv/
The meeting room holds 32 people:
http://history.delaware.gov/conf_centers/bv/information/dining-room.shtml
We can’t overlook nuggets like these found in the bureaucratic gobbledygook and doublespeak amidst the byzantine SEU setup :
“furnish the SEU with authority to offer and manage “special purpose,” tax-exempt bonds in an amount not to exceed $30 million during the initial five years of its operation. The Sustainable Energy Bond series will create the necessary working capital to aggressively build the sustainable energy markets called for by this Policy Agenda.”
http://www.seu-de.org/docs/final_report_4-21.pdf
(Meta data shows the above SEU report’s author as “rwalker”. A Rebecca Walker is listed as “Research Staff” for the SEU Task Force. Isn’t she running for something?)
From the other “Final Report” :
“It is also wrong to think that our State’s renewable energy sources are too expensive. While they may be too expensive to meet all energy needs presently, there are many opportunities which can now be cost-effectively met if we create a ‘level playing field.’”
“Recent price spikes remind us that the consequence of depending on non-renewable energy is that we will inevitably experience periodic volatility in fuel costs, without much time to respond to their appearance. Renewable energy has no fuel cost volatility – the ‘price’ of received solar or wind energy does not vary – but this fact is not reflected in the way that non-renewables are priced in the U.S. Indeed, through oil depletion allowances and other measures, we actually use policy to subsidize fuel cost volatility.”
“Fast-tracking Permitting of Competitive Electricity Suppliers: Competitors able to meet
specified financial and technical standards and warranties and who can demonstrate business plans that address the sustainable energy criteria of price stability, energy affordability for low- and moderate-income residents and small- and medium-size businesses, environmental stewardship and community involvement in policy-making
should receive fast-track attention in State licensing.”
http://www.seu-de.org/docs/SEU_Full_Report.pdf
Maybe McDowell should read his own report.
I’m also wondering since the statutory authority of the SEU oversight board ended on January 31st this year per statute, exactly under what law is this “SEU Oversight Board” even validly operating?
“(1) There is hereby created the SEU Oversight Board which shall, from June 28, 2007, until January 31, 2008, consist of all members of the Sustainable Energy Utility Task Force (“Task Force”) appointed pursuant to Senate Concurrent Resolution 45 from the 143rd General Assembly and Senate Concurrent Resolution 6 from the 144th General Assembly. By December 31, 2007, the Task Force shall recommend to the General Assembly the composition of the Board to serve after January 31, 2008.
Del. C. 29 Sec. 8059(e)(1)
The statute has no provisions for further appointments after January 31st, only “recommendations” from the Board to the GA without legally vesting any authority in any legislative or executive entity to make or approve such appointments.
Basically McDowell is operating this as a rogue agency with him as the Chairman of an apparently unlawfully self-perpetuating Oversight Board.
Interestingly enough, as Pat Gearity pointed out last week (http://delawareliberal.net//2008/04/21/mcdowells-latest-money-grab-on-tomorrows-agenda/#comment-30546) SB 228 had addressed in detail this huge black hole in the how and who of the SEU’s governing body….until McDowell struck out all this clarifying language out, leaving only the language changing “non-profit entity” to just “entity”.
The question is will Senator McDowell be rushing to get a bond issue for an agency he is operating outside of law, with no legal governing board?
By the way, you don’t have to disagree with the worth and validity of an effort to advance renewable or, well, “sustainable” energy policies in order to see that the way the SEU is being manipulated by Senator McDowell is highly dubious, at best.
One thing I said about Senator McDowell when I ran against him was that I felt as though his whole “energy expert” as Senator PR, nominally linked to alternatives and renewables, in that order of priority, was cover for his own ulterior agenda…Senator Delmarva or otherwise.
The kind of shenanigan of running a rogue agency with $30M in statutory bond authority while you write the legislation for it and craft it to allow, say, a company like Delmarva to become the primary if not sole entity that benefits from the RE credits generated by consumer end-users drawn into any of state subsidies under SEU’s rubric….need I say more?
But, hey, maybe I am missing something. Maybe the good Senator really has a more grand and beneficent vision about which we all just don’t know.
Yeah. Sure.
Meanwhile, our neighbors continue to eat what could be our lunch (thank you Carper-Minner-Carney) :
Solar plant planned for Philadelphia
Associated Press
Exelon Generation Co., a unit of Exelon Corp. in Chicago, is joining forces with Epuron LLC to build, operate and sell energy from a solar power plant in South Philadelphia.
At a cost of $8 million to $12 million, the 1.0- to 1.4-megawatt solar power plant will be built on six to eight acres of brownfields.
About 6,000 to 8,000 solar photovoltaic panels will generate enough juice to power 200 homes a year.
The plant will break ground in the third quarter and should be up and running by year’s end.
Exelon, the parent company of Philadelphia electric utility Peco Energy, and Epuron, a unit of Conergy AG of Germany, are also collaborating on a $20 million solar energy plant in Falls Township, Bucks County.
Great additions Tyler. Thanks!
Now I am starting to wonder if the rest of the Delaware Senate ever reads anything.
It seems like they defer to McDowell because of his “green energy expert” status – which is based on (unless I am missing something) Harris McDowell’s claims to be a “green energy expert.”
This is a serious question: Has McDowell ever held a job other than “self employed energy consultant” that anyone knows about?
There is no bio info on him anywhere in the internet tubes that I can find.
I think I may be able to make it to this SEU meeting. I wonder if I can catch some video of the event and ask some of these questions…
Check out the home of the current legislation, which is Senate Substitute No. 1 for Senate Bill 18… “By December 31, 2007, the TASK FORCE shall recommend to the General Assembly the composition of the [Oversight] Board to serve after January 31, 2008.” Homework not done! The “Oversight Board” was legally constituted in 2007, but it ceased to exist lawfully on January 31, 2008. Technically, there’s no one who should be operating as an Oversight Board as they have lost authority. That’s why Harris McDowell submitted his Amended Bill in mid-March to constitute a Board of Directors in a hurry. Except he withdrew the amendments. So the SEU has no authority to act at this point. Not even to nominate a Board. My opinion only. Disclaimer: I am an attorney but not licensed in Delaware, and no warranties regarding knowledge of Delaware law are expressed or implied!
You nailed it Pat.
I AM an attorney licensed in Delaware and I’m not seeing where the SEU Oversight Board has any operating authority under present Delaware law.
Its size, scope, and agenda are a bit too big and ambitious a deal for the governing body’s statutory appointment and operating authority to be vaguely inferred from ambiguous passive language.
Or perhaps that is exactly what McDowell wants.
To Pat Gearity’s list (in the other thread) of potential beneficiaries of this new funding stream include Pepco Services, Pepco Company that is a consultant and GC for building-specific energy solutions.
It struck me in reading the report at Tyler’s link that for an agency that is supposed to be “creating a market” it has not established an end state for itself — what would the state of this new market need to look like for this agency to go out of business? But I guess that is just silly since this SEU exists to be a conduit of bond funds to Delmarva and friends, and why should that ever end?
Do not forget that the University of Delaware (whose board is run by the duPont family) has John Byrne on the SEU and he and McDowell are very close.
What angle could Byrne’s UD Energy Center be playing here? THINK.
Tyler :
Solar plant planned for Philadelphia
Indeed, I wonder what our so-called Energy Experts in Delaware are reading ? It’s all there in the major publications.
BrightSource to Build 500 Megawatts of Solar-Thermal Power in Mojave Desert
Science & Technology (alternative energy)
……..These first three plants will add up to 500 megawatts of capacity, but PG&E has also signed contracts for options on an additional 400 megawatts, which could bring the total to 900………. The first of these solar power plants, sized at 100 MW in Ivanpah , California , could be operating as early as 2011 and is expected to produce 246,000 megawatt hours of renewable electricity per year. BrightSource will build and place in commercial operation each of its plants as quickly as permitting and infrastructure allow….
. No Recession for Wind Power Industry
Business & Politics
Many industries are currently worried about their short to medium-term prospects. Not the wind power industry, apparently. The Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) forecasts a 155% growth, with installed capacity reaching 240 gigawatts by 2012.
Part of the optimism is due to the fact that both the U.S. and Chinese markets for wind power are growing faster than was expected only a year ago,
The forecast for annual installation is also promising. By 2012, Asia (led by China) is expected to be #1 with 12.5 gigawatt/year, with North-America in #2 at 10.5 gigawatt/year and Europe #3 with 10.3 gigawatt/year………
Wind Power Is Spain’s Top Energy Source This Week
Science & Technology (alternative energy)
Taking advantage of a particularly gusty period, Spain ‘s wind energy generators this week reached an all-time high in electricity production, exceeding power generated by any other source, the nation’s electricity network authority said in a statement. Wind power generation rose to contribute 27 per cent of the country’s total power requirement………
There are developments in Delaware who do not allow solar panels , as specified in their deed restrictions.I understand that Oberly and Mcbride are sponsors of a bill to disallow this restrictions. Why is this bill not moving ?
Liberalgeek: I have never attended a meeting where I was afraid to ask a question.I simply declared myself “out of order” at the onset and asked away. Why is it so hard for people to understand who is the employer and who the emlpoyee. Or as Omar Khayyamm would say “who is the Potter and who is the Pot”
Freida – thanks, I’ll see how it goes. I’ll see how it goes. Best question: under what authority is the SEU operating during this meeting? It seems to me that there is always food at these events and I am not sure how that expenditure can be made without a valid charter.
As for solar panels, I live in a neighborhood that has deed restrictions against them. I will call Oberle on Monday to see where that bill stands.
I think the problem with the bill is that it may be unable to break existing covenants and restrictions in existing communities, since they are legal documents. It may be that the best we can do is to prevent future communities from banning solar panels.
I remember looking into similar legislation about a year ago and that’s what I was told by attorneys.
How the News Journal could write this article and not talk to Jason Scott is beyond me.
Too true, Dave. Bloggers get no respect. Jason should have been called for comment.
Tyler Nixon should have been called for comment too.
Dave – it is easy to make deed restrictions illegal. There are plenty of deed restrictions out there that still state that the home can only be sold to white people.
Most modern deed restriction covenants state that one part being invalidated does not invalidate the rest. The hold up is that the Greenville crowd doesn’t want some green neighbor screwing up the property values…
What do you mean, FSP, Jason got a mention in the article:
Critics contend that a bigger SEU would put too much control and money into too few hands.
Come on, Jason got a “Critics contend” mention!!! What more could you ask for? *snark*
What got me was the title of the article:
“State energy policy at heart of dispute”
I would have preferred: “Blogger catches moth-eaten Senator with hand in cookie jar” but I guess that’s asking too much.
It’s a classic MSM template:
“Science at issue in dispute on Earth’s shape… critics contend Earth is round”
Bans on satellite dishes were all voided by Congress in 1996. You can go ahead and put up a dish under 1 meter no matter what your deed restrictions say. Same should go for solar.
Jason also got a “many of the activists” reference!
Many of the activists say McDowell’s philosophy has too closely mirrored that of Delmarva Power, which also is emphasizing conservation and talking down the need for new local generation. Delmarva has mounted a large-scale campaign to fight the Bluewater contract.
And a mention from McDowell himself (this quote is a keeper):
McDowell said he doesn’t understand the criticism.
“It’s illogical. It doesn’t flow from the facts. They have constantly misrepresented. It saddens me, but what can I do if people want to make a mistake?” McDowell said.
Of Delmarva, he said, “If sometimes they say the right things, that’s OK.”
This is spot on.
Hamilton, of Vermont, said he was surprised to hear of the conflict between Delaware’s offshore wind proponents and SEU leaders. Even if a state can reduce its electricity usage by a third, “you’ve still got that other two thirds,” he said. Large-scale wind would, economically, be at the top of the list to deal with that, he said.
“It’s a question of how fast do you want to ramp up the other stuff toward a sustainable future. For me, we need everything we can get.”
If you read the SEU’s authorizing legislation there is no question that the SEU should be pushing hard to get the BWW deal done.
NOT trying to sink it.
..and WTF ius this…
Asked about these questions, McDowell said, “There are no conflicts of interest, period, end of sentence. I’m just better off not addressing it.”
Uhhmm…Okay(?)
“….and WTF is this….”
The earth is flat, or square at best, everything is perfect, we should all forget about science and technology and leave that to government regulators who are always correct, honest, trustworthy and doing what is good for all of us. Is that the only answer the people get?
Interesting. Well, while we ruin our own ability to be independent as a state and producer of energy, other states are not so short sighted or scientifically illiterate.
If I was a DuPont seeing this, I would move all the operations to China.