DAGSBORO, Del. - Delaware Republican senators say they are in active talks with stakeholders to determine what it would take to bring the long-closed Indian River Power Plant back online, pointing to rising electricity demand and growing concerns about the reliability of the power grid.
State Sens. Brian Pettyjohn and Gerald Hocker said they are in talks with energy and utility stakeholders to assess whether restarting the Dagsboro facility is feasible. The plant officially shut down last February after operating for 68 years.
During its decades in service, the plant was fueled primarily by coal and supplied electricity to Delaware and as many as 12 other states. In a statement posted by Delaware Senate Republicans, the lawmakers said bringing the plant back online could help strengthen the regional power grid and reduce energy costs for consumers.
In a recent podcast, State Sen. Brian Pettyjohn said that if the plant were to reopen, converting it to natural gas would be ideal to better meet Delaware’s current power supply and demand.
Pettyjohn has identified Chesapeake Utilities as one of the companies involved in discussions, though details of the talks remain limited. Since the plant went offline, the electrical substation located on the same property has been targeted by U.S. Wind as part of proposed offshore wind projects planned off the coast of Ocean City, Maryland. The power plant and the substation are separate facilities, though they share the same site.
Local residents say the future of the plant matters regardless of how the energy is generated. “I’m all for renewable energy,” said Cheryl Stewart, who has lived in Dagsboro for more than 20 years. “If they can do solar farms and, of course, this with the power plant if they could power that back up it would affect all of us in the residential area.”
For now, the Indian River Power Plant remains empty and out of service. But with electricity demand climbing and energy costs continuing to rise, state lawmakers say discussions about its future are gaining momentum.