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DE — Power Infrastructure Updated 2026-01-08

Delaware

PJM Natural Gas Nuclear Solar Wind Storage Queue Bottlenecks Transmission Constraints

Overview

Delaware’s power infrastructure is dominated by natural gas generation, with no in-state nuclear plants but critical ties to New Jersey’s Artificial Island nuclear complex. The state is building out solar capacity and planning for up to 1,700 MW of offshore wind tied to regional procurement efforts. Regulators have paused new large-load connections — including data centers — until a new rate structure is finalized.[8]

Generation Projects

Solar

Delaware’s solar pipeline includes two utility-scale projects and several smaller installations.

  • Cedar Creek Solar (114 MW, New Castle County) — listed as an active or planned project in the EIA Form 860M dataset.[2]
  • Raceway Solar (50 MW, Kent County) — another active or planned solar project.[2]
  • Multiple smaller utility-scale projects (2.5–4 MW each), including KE73, Delaware Ave Solar, Rifle Range Road Solar, and Grears Corner Solar.[2]

Wind

Offshore wind is Delaware’s largest future generation opportunity, though no projects have reached final approval.

  • Offshore wind procurement (up to 1,700 MW) — state legislation (SB 159) targets siting for a large offshore wind project, with state leaders citing up to 1,700 MW of potential regional supply.[4]
  • PJM’s Delaware state report shows wind as the largest share of interconnection requests (49%), with offshore wind projects physically located in Delaware tied to Maryland public policy procurements.[1]
  • DNREC’s offshore wind procurement strategy work includes transmission impact studies with PJM (regional transmission organization — the entity that manages the grid).[5]

Natural Gas

  • No large in-state gas additions — Delaware’s installed capacity is 65% natural gas, but the current EIA Form 860M pipeline lists no new gas projects.[1][2]

Nuclear

  • No in-state nuclear projects — Delaware does not host nuclear generation, but the Artificial Island nuclear complex in Salem, New Jersey (Salem and Hope Creek) is tied to Delaware via a PJM-approved transmission project across the Delaware River.[3]

Transmission and Grid

Delaware’s transmission upgrades focus on cross-river reliability and substation expansions.

  • Artificial Island Project (230 kV line, Salem NJ to Silver Run DE) — PJM approved a new 230 kV transmission line across the Delaware River to support reliability of the Artificial Island nuclear complex, plus a new Silver Run substation in Delaware.[3]
  • Silver Run Expansion Project (capacity increase on existing 230 kV line) — DNREC’s 2025 federal consistency notice describes a project to increase capacity on the existing Silver Run–Hope Creek 230 kV line, including new submarine cables and in-river work.[6]
  • Zoar transmission line and substation (Sussex County) — Delaware Electric Cooperative reports a 4.2-mile transmission line rebuild and a new Zoar substation to improve reliability in eastern Sussex County.[7]

Battery Storage

Delaware’s battery storage pipeline is thin.

  • ENGIE Solidago Solar Project – Hybrid (12.5 MW BESS) — listed in the EIA Form 860M dataset as an active or planned battery project (BESS — battery energy storage system — a utility-scale battery facility).[2]
  • The EIA planned list for Delaware includes a single battery project and otherwise skews to solar.[2]

Interconnection Queue

PJM’s Delaware queue is dominated by offshore wind and storage, with system-wide delays affecting all new projects.

  • Queue mix — PJM’s 2024 Delaware report shows 49% wind, 25% storage, and 24% solar in interconnection requests, with offshore wind projects tied to Maryland policy counting in this mix.[1]
  • PJM-wide backlog — PJM reports a 63 GW transition queue as of June 2025 and a 1–2 year study timeline for new projects under its reformed process.[9]
  • Large-load pause — Delaware regulators voted to stop large-load customers like data centers from connecting to the grid until a new tariff is set, a near-term bottleneck for new data center load.[8]

What to Watch

  • Offshore wind project approvals — up to 1,700 MW of offshore wind capacity is tied to state siting legislation (SB 159) and DNREC procurement decisions.
  • Data center rate tariff — the Delaware Public Service Commission’s new rate structure for large-load customers will determine whether and how data centers can connect to the grid.
  • Artificial Island transmission completion — the cross-river 230 kV line to Salem, NJ, is critical for Delmarva Peninsula reliability and access to out-of-state nuclear generation.

Sources

[1] PJM Interconnection, “2024 Delaware State Infrastructure Report (January 1, 2024 – December 31, 2024),” June 2025, https://www.pjm.com/-/media/DotCom/library/reports-notices/state-specific-reports/2024/delaware.pdf (accessed 2026-01-08).

[2] Interconnection.fyi (EIA Form 860M data), “Delaware Power Plant Projects — EIA Power Plants Database,” https://www.interconnection.fyi/eia/projects/state/DE (accessed 2026-01-08).

[3] Delaware Public Service Commission, “The Artificial Island Project,” https://depsc.delaware.gov/artificial-island-project/ (accessed 2026-01-08).

[4] Spotlight Delaware, “Democrats advance offshore wind bill after contentious hearing,” 2025-06-03, https://spotlightdelaware.org/2025/06/03/offshore-wind-bill-sb159-advances/ (accessed 2026-01-08).

[5] DNREC, “Offshore Wind,” https://dnrec.delaware.gov/climate-coastal-energy/renewable/offshore-wind/ (accessed 2026-01-08).

[6] Delaware DNREC, “Federal Consistency Certification: Silver Run Expansion Project (2025.0010),” https://dnrec.delaware.gov/public-notices/cce20250012/ (accessed 2026-01-08).

[7] Delaware Electric Cooperative, “Transmission Project to Improve Reliability,” https://www.delaware.coop/press-room/transmission-project-improve-reliability (accessed 2026-01-08).

[8] Spotlight Delaware, “Data centers will pay higher rate for electricity, state commission decides,” 2025-09-08, https://spotlightdelaware.org/2025/09/08/data-centers-will-pay-higher-rate-for-electricity-state-commission-decides/ (accessed 2026-01-08).

[9] PJM Interconnection, “Generation Interconnection Reform Progress Fact Sheet,” Updated June 2025, https://www.pjm.com/-/media/DotCom/about-pjm/newsroom/fact-sheets/interconnection-reform-progress-fact-sheet.pdf (accessed 2026-01-08).