WHAT'S NEW:

No recent state activity has been identified.

AIR EMISSIONS REGULATIONS:

Air Quality Status	The whole state is in the ozone transport region: 3 areas are in moderate nonattainment for ozone and one area is in nonattainment with the PM 2.5 standard. EPA's Nonattainment Areas
Major Source Threshold	50 tons of NOx or VOCs or 250 tons of any other criteria pollutant. 25 tons of NOx or VOC in nonattainment areas.
Minor Source Permitting Exemption	Fuel and size-based
Minor Source Treatment	Opacity, sulfur and PM limits
Emergency Generating Limits	PTE based on 8,760 hours

DE MINIMIS EXEMPTIONS

To be exempted from permitting a source may use any fuel and have a rated heat input of less than 10 MMBtu/hr or use only natural gas, LP gas, or other desulfurized fuel gas and have a rated heat input of less than 15 MMBtu/hr. Additionally any internal combustion engine that has a standby power rating of 450 kW or less that is used only during emergencies, and any internal combustion engine that is not associated with a stationary generator and has an engine power rating on 450 hp or less is exempt.

In addition there is a registration and exemption process available. For units with emissions less than 0.2 lb/day of each criteria pollutant there is no state notification required and the unit is exempt from permitting. For units with emissions between 0.2 - 10 lbs/day registration is required. Registration requires modeling, but no permit is required.

MINOR SOURCE PERMITTING

Sources that are not exempt, but with potential emissions less than those listed below must obtain a permit that will include a 20% opacity limit, a PM limit of 0.3 lb/MMBtu over a maximum 2 hour average and a fuel sulfur limit less than 0.3% for diesel fuel and 1% for number 6 fuel oil. The state also has a clause that limits odor from plants.

· 100 tpy of CO

· 40 tpy of SO2

· 25 tpy of PM

· 40 tpy of NOx or VOC (25 tpy of either pollutant in severe nonattainment areas)

· 0.6 tpy of lead

These sources will also have NOx, fuel usage and hourly limitations to ensure that the unit stays a minor source. Sources with a potential to emit greater than the above limits will be subject to the same requirements as well as RACT, which is generally lean combustion technology.

Regulation No. 1144, “Control of Stationary Generator Emissions,” applies to new (installed or repowered on or after 1/11/2006) and existing emergency and distributed, stationary generators. Existing distributed generators (installed or repowered prior to 1/11/2006) must comply with the following emission standards

 

Pollutant	Emissions Limit (lbs/MWh)
NOx	4.0
NMVOCs	1.9
PM (liquid-fueled reciprocating engines only)	0.7
CO	10.0
CO2	1,900

 

A new distributed generator must met the emission limits listed in the table below -

 

	Emission Standards (lbs/MWh)
Pollutant	Installed on or after (typically 1/11/2006)	Installed on or after 1/1/2008	Installed on or after 1/1/2012
NOx	2.2	1.0	0.6
NMVOCs	0.5	0.5	0.3
PM (liquid-fueled reciprocating engines only)	0.7	0.7	0.07
CO	10.0	10.0	2.0
CO2	1,900	1,900	1,650

 

A new distributed generator using landfill, waste, or digester gases must meet the following emission limits –

Pollutant	Emissions Limit (lbs/MWh)
NOx	2.2
NMVOCs	0.7
CO	10.0
CO2	1,900

Additionally, any diesel or biodiesel fuel used by a generator on or after 4/11/2006 must have a sulfur content equal to or less than 0.05% by weight. Gaseous fuels, except for waste, landfill, or digester gases combusted on or after 4/11/2006 must contain no more than 10 grains total sulfur per 100 dry standard cubic feet on a daily average. Waste, landfill, or digester gases combusted in a generator on or after April 11, 2006 shall also typically follow the same limit of no more than 10 grains total sulfur per 100 dry standard cubic feet on a daily average; however an alternative total sulfur limit for these fuels may be determined on a case-by-case basis.

Regulation No. 1144 provides credit for the use of fuels (waste/landfill gases) that would otherwise be flared. The emission that were or would have been produced from flaring can be deducted from the actual emissions of the generator for compliance purposes. If the actual emissions from flaring cannot be calculated then the following default values will be used –

• NOx – 0.1 lbs/MMBtu
• Particulate Matter – N/A
• Carbon Monoxide – 0.7 lbs/MMBtu
• Carbon Dioxide – 117 lbs/MMBtu

Combined Heat and Power (CHP) applications can also receive credits related to their thermal output. CHP systems must meet the following criteria to be eligible – (1)at least 20% of the fuel’s total recovered energy must be thermal and at least 13% must be electric, corresponding to a power-to-heat ratio of between 4.0 and 0.15; the design system efficiency must be at least 55%.

MAJOR NSR/PSD PERMITTING

Since the state is located in the OTR a potential to emit 50 tons per year of NOx or VOCs results in NSR, a potential to emit 250 tons per year of any other criteria pollutant triggers a PSD evaluation. In the severe nonattainment areas a potential to emit 25 tons per year of NOx or VOCs triggers NSR.

Air permitting forms can be found here.

TREATMENT OF EMERGENCY ENGINES

Regulation No. 1144 applies to new and existing emergency, and distributed, stationary generators. Emergency generators must comply with 1144 guidelines by April 11, 2006. Generators with a standby power rating of 10 kW or less are exempt from these 1144 requirements. The 1144 regulations require existing emergency generators to operate in conformance with the manufacturer’s instructions such as following the right maintenance and operating requirements to minimize emissions. New emergency generators must meet the EPA’s emissions standards for non-road engines (40 CFR 89, 90, 91, 92, 94, 1039, 1048 July 1, 2004 edition). There are no specific limits on total hours of operation; however, emergency generators cannot be used during testing or maintenance purposes before 5 p.m. on a day that has a Ground Level Ozone Pollution Forecast or Particle Pollution Forecast of “Code Red” or “Code Orange” as announced by the Department.

An emergency generator is defined by the DE regulations as used only during an emergency, testing or for maintenance purposes. It cannot be used in conjunction with a voluntary demand reduction program or ay other power supply arrangement with a utility.

SITING REQUIREMENTS FOR NON-UTILITY GENERATORS:

The Delaware Public Service Commission, which has regulatory authority over investor owned utilities in the state, does not have jurisdiction over the siting of new non-investor owned generation facilities. There is no central siting authority in Delaware, although permits from the Department of Natural Resources and compliance with local zoning authorities are required.

BUILDING, ZONING AND FIRE CODES:

Building Codes: Delaware does not have a statewide building code. Each county and municipality enacts its own codes.

Energy Codes: Commercial and multi-residential buildings must conform to ASHRAE/IESNA 90.1-1999 with no adaptations.

• State Energy Office
• Text of the Act

Fire Codes: Delaware enforces its 2006 State Fire Prevention Regulations which are based on the NFPA’s 2006 Uniform Fire Code with amendments.

• Office of the State Fire Marshall

Zoning: For the most part, Delaware counties and municipalities have primary authority on zoning. Consult each community for zoning codes in the locality.

Resources (information may not be as current as provided above)

A general overview of each state’s enacted codes can be found HERE.

The International Code Council Adoption page gives state-by-state adoption status of specific ICC codes, as well as information about code adoption by some municipal governments within that state.

Information about energy codes can be found at the DOE’s Building Codes for Energy Efficiency page or at the Building Codes Assistance Project

INTERCONNECTION REQUIREMENTS:

Delmarva Power and Light, Delaware's only investor-owned utility, and the Delaware Electric Cooperative (DEC) have interconnection rules divided into six categories based on system size, energy source (renewable or non-renewable), and whether the system is inverter-based or uses a rotating generator. The rules allow interconnection for all systems up to 1 MW for Delmarva customers, or unlimited for DEC customers; there are simplified rules for small systems up to 25 kW.

In July 2007 SB 8 required that the Delaware Public Service Commission (PSC) and municipal utilities consider new interconnection rules based on the Interstate Renewable Energy Council’s (IREC) model and the U.S. Department of Energy best practices for interconnection. In September 2007 the PSC, in docket 07-234, concluded that no revisions to the state's interconnection standard were necessary under EPAct 2005.

For more information visit the Delaware Energy Office website for either Delmarva or Delaware Energy Cooperatives. Or contact:

Scott Lynch
Energy Program Planner II
1203 College Park Drive, Suite 101, Dover , DE 19904
Telephone: (302) 735-3480
Fax: (302) 739-1840
Scott.Lynch@state.de.us

EXIT FEES:

There are no exit fees for DG in the state of Delaware. (See below)

According to Order No. 5424(01/00), the PSC found that Delaware Electric Cooperative had no stranded costs and any attempts to recover such costs should be discontinued and refunded. Likewise, the Commission mandated that Delmarva could not recover stranded costs through Competitive Transition Charges. Information on Delaware’s restructuring activities, including stranded cost information can be found here, http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/electricity/page/restructuring/delaware.html.

UTILITY STANDBY RATES:

Delaware does not have a statewide policy on standby rates. Delmarva Power and Light Company (the state’s main utility) currently has no specific standby rate in their rate schedule, but customers desiring standby service would be supplied under the primary general service rate which has very high demand charges but no demand ratchet. Rate available at: http://www.delmarva.com/_res/documents/DE-Tariff.pdf