FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 8, 2005

From:

                Environmentalists for Truth

                Green Delaware

                Green Party of Delaware

                Sierra Club--Delaware Chapter

Environmentalists Oppose "Renewables" Bill SB74

Press Conference: 

Wednesday, June 8, 2005, 12:30 p.m.

        Outside the main entrance of Legislative Hall, Dover, DE

Leaders of Delaware's environmental community oppose SB 74, the so-called "Renewable Portfolio Standards" (RPS)bill before the Delaware legislature.

The idea of an RPS is to require some proportion of electricity to come from designated sources, presumably ones more desirable than the usual coal and nuclear plants.

In fact, SB 74 would serve special interests such as Conectiv and the Delaware Solid Waste Authority.

It promotes the use of landfill gasses as a "renewable" energy source and does almost nothing to promote the use of really clean sources of power like solar (photo voltaic) and wind.

"The Delaware Chapter of the Sierra Club supports the notion of greater reliance on renewable resources and also on conserving energy so that not as much needs to be generated.  However, we oppose Senate Bill 74, as amended, as it is presently before the Delaware House of Representatives," said David Keifer, the Sierra Club's Conservation Chair.

"SB74 was crafted for special interests, not to encourage the use of clean energy. Several key elements actually promote an outcome opposite that of any good-faith renewables initiative. While encouraging landfills, the bill does little or nothing to promote the use of solar and wind energy and efficiency standards," according to Ellen Lebowitz, a member of the Board of Directors of Green Delaware.

"This bill is the boogey man in sheep's clothing; it is being held up as an environmental bill, but would actually promote landfilling and potentially harm Delaware's air quality without doing anything to establish markets for clean renewable sources like wind and solar," says John Kearney, Executive Director of Environmentalists for Truth.

Alan Muller, Executive Director of Green Delaware, said, "Shifting to new energy sources is vital to fighting global warming, but SB 74 doesn't do it. The Bill delivers special favors to utilities and big industrial polluters but will do little or nothing to promote wind, solar and conservation."

"This Bill does not promote clean electricity," says John Atkeison, a member of the Green Party of Delaware Coordinating Council. "Instead, it promotes using the Cherry Island Dump as a source of fuel. Any RPS Bill should promote clean solar equipment made here in Delaware! Clean wind power is already competitive in cost with dirty coal power. Solar and wind can generate jobs as well as electricity in Delaware."

Contacts:

John Atkeison, Green Party of Delaware, 345-0607

Alan Muller, Green Delaware, 834-3466

John Kearney, Environmentalists for Truth, 575-1737

David Keifer, Sierra Club, Delaware Chapter, 678-2713

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Green Delaware is a community based organization working on environment and public health issues.  We can be reached at 302.834.3466, greendel@dca.net, http://www.greendel.org/