Data centers in Delaware

📜 State laws

HB 233 (2026): data centers get their own electric rate and must pay their own grid costs · Aug 26, 2026
Signed by Governor Meyer on August 26, 2026, and in effect right away. It covers 'large energy use facilities': data centers that use or can use 30 megawatts or more, and any facility using 100 megawatts or more (or 75 megawatts running almost all the time). Before such a facility can start operating on Delmarva Power's grid, the Public Service Commission (PSC) must approve its electric service contract. The contract must last at least 15 years, make the data center pay for at least 90% of the power capacity it reserved even if it uses less, require a 5-year notice and exit fees if it leaves, and require bonds or letters of credit in case it goes bankrupt. The PSC must decide on each contract within 90 days (plus up to 90 more for good cause). The data center must also tell the PSC how much backup power it will have and how it will cut power use in emergencies, and it can be cut off first in a grid emergency unless it brings its own new power. The PSC must first write regulations; utilities then have 180 days to file the new rate. Data centers also pay higher amounts into the low-income and green energy funds. Refineries are exempt. Facilities already operating when the law took effect are not covered unless they expand past these sizes. Source

HB 445 (2026): data centers must supply 100% of their own clean power · Aug 26, 2026
Signed August 26, 2026, in effect right away. A large data center (same size rule as HB 233: 30 megawatts or more) may not operate in Delaware unless it makes or buys enough new power to cover 100% of its yearly use, from power plants in Delaware or the nearby grid zone. The power must meet Delaware's renewable energy standard; wind, solar, nuclear and storage count, but simple-cycle gas plants do not. A facility that can't do this at the start must file a plan with the PSC to reach 100% within 10 years, can be cut off when prices or the grid are under stress, and must run at least half of its emergency backup on batteries or clean energy. Before connecting to the grid, at least 25% of its power and 25% of its backup power must already be clean and running, and it must sign a 15-year contract with an insurance bond. Facilities that fall short pay penalties. Source

SB 312 (2026): no secret deals (NDAs) about big data centers · Aug 26, 2026
Signed August 26, 2026. State agencies, counties and towns may not sign secret deals (non-disclosure agreements) that stop them from telling the public about a possible or actual data center of 100 megawatts or more. Any such deal or clause is void. This covers written and spoken deals, side letters and memoranda of understanding. Source

HB 310 (2026): no job-creation tax credits for data centers · Aug 26, 2026
Signed August 26, 2026. Large data centers (30 megawatts or more) can no longer get Delaware's tax credits and business license fee cuts for creating jobs and investing in new facilities. A data center that supplies 100% of its own clean power, as described in HB 445, can still qualify. Source

SB 276 (2026): electric co-ops do not have to supply very large users · June 10, 2026
Signed June 10, 2026. Delaware Electric Cooperative (and any electric co-op) no longer has to supply electricity to a new customer that will use more than 50 megawatts. It must still serve all smaller customers. Source

SB 308 (2026): Load Forecast Accountability Act · July 23, 2026
Signed July 23, 2026. The Public Service Commission must check the power-use forecasts that Delmarva Power sends to the regional grid operator (PJM), because data centers are driving most of the predicted growth. The PSC can see confidential customer contracts for this and must report every year by May 1 and post the report online. Source

SB 353 (2026): statewide pause on big data centers did not pass · June 30, 2026
This bill would have stopped all permits for data centers of 100 megawatts or more until January 31, 2027. It needed a two-thirds vote. On June 30, 2026, a Senate vote to bring it up without a committee hearing failed, 6 yes to 15 no. The 2025-2026 legislature has ended, so the bill is dead; it would have to be filed again in 2027. Source

SB 205: PSC permit to operate for big power users did not pass · March 11, 2026
This bill would have required a 'Certificate to Operate' from the Public Service Commission before any business started using a lot of electricity (30 megawatts or more; an amendment proposed 100 megawatts). It left committee on March 11, 2026, but never got a final vote. HB 233 now requires PSC approval of a data center's electric contract instead. Source

HB 479: rules on heat from data centers did not pass · June 30, 2026
This bill would have let the state environment agency (DNREC) order data centers and some other businesses to cut back if they make nearby homes hotter during heat waves, with fines up to $10,000 a day. It was filed in June 2026 and stayed in committee. Source

Coastal Zone Act: no new heavy industry along the coast · March 26, 2026
Delaware's 1971 Coastal Zone Act bans new heavy industry in the state's coastal zone and requires state permits for manufacturing there. In February 2026 the state environment secretary ruled that Project Washington, a 1.2-gigawatt data center planned near Delaware City, counts as heavy industry because of its 516 diesel backup generators and about 2.5 million gallons of stored diesel. The Coastal Zone Industrial Control Board upheld that ruling on March 26, 2026. The developer later dropped its court appeal. Any big data center inside the coastal zone may face the same test. Source

💡 Who pays for the power

Delmarva Power's data center rate case at the PSC (Docket 25-0826) · April 9, 2026
On September 3, 2025, the Public Service Commission opened a case to write special rates for very large users like data centers, and paused new large-load hookups in Delmarva Power's area until those rates exist. Delmarva filed its proposal on December 19, 2025, for customers of 25 megawatts or more (it also suggested 50). The PSC held a public workshop and comment session in February 2026. In April 2026, PSC staff, the Public Advocate and DNREC filed joint comments warning of serious risks to customers and asking for a slower, more careful approach. As of October 8, 2026, we found no final decision. The new HB 233 law now requires the PSC to write regulations first, and then Delmarva has 180 days to file the new rate. Source

How much Delmarva bills went up in 2026 · Aug 31, 2026
Two increases hit Delmarva Power customers in Delaware in 2026. (1) Supply: from June 1, 2026, the price of electricity itself went up; the Public Advocate says a typical home using 811 kWh a month pays about $14.64 more per month (about 9%), averaged over the year. Delmarva said this is mainly due to higher regional power costs. (2) Delivery: Delmarva asked on December 9, 2025, to raise its delivery (base) rates; by August 31, 2026, it asked for $75.8 million a year (24.25% more). The PSC let it charge half of the increase from July 9, 2026, subject to refund. If the full request is approved, a home using 834 kWh a month would pay about $11.63 more per month. A 2026 state study cited in HB 233 found that 2,400 megawatts of new data centers in Delaware could raise wholesale power prices by about 82% by 2029. Source

SB 326 (2026): limits on what Delmarva can charge customers · July 13, 2026
Signed July 13, 2026. It adds more PSC oversight of utility rate requests: more open rate information, regular audits, limits on how much a utility can collect in temporary (interim) rates before a decision, and limits on optional spending that can be passed on to customers. Source

💵 Tax breaks

Data centers lost job-creation tax credits in 2026 · Aug 26, 2026
Since HB 310 (signed August 26, 2026), data centers of 30 megawatts or more cannot get Delaware's tax credits or business license fee cuts for new jobs and investment, unless they supply 100% of their own clean power. We did not find any other state tax break written just for data centers. Source

🤐 Secret deals and public records

Public records law (Delaware Freedom of Information Act) · 2026
You can ask any state agency, county or town for public records in writing (in person, mail, email, fax or the agency's online form). The law gives this right to 'any citizen'. The agency must answer within 15 business days: give the records, deny them, or say why it needs more time. The first 20 black-and-white paper copies are free; after that 10 cents a page. If you are denied, you can ask the Attorney General's office to review it (it must answer state-agency petitions within 20 days) or sue within 60 days. Source

Secret deals (NDAs) about big data centers are banned · Aug 26, 2026
Since August 26, 2026 (SB 312), no state agency, county or town may sign a secret deal that keeps information about a data center of 100 megawatts or more from the public. Any such clause is void. Smaller data centers are not covered. Source

Utility forecasts: PSC can see secret contracts · July 23, 2026
Under SB 308 (2026), the PSC can review confidential customer contracts behind Delmarva's power-use forecasts. These contracts are not made public, but the PSC must publish a yearly progress report by May 1. Source

💧 Water

Who approves the water a data center uses · 2026
A data center that pumps more than 50,000 gallons a day from its own wells or a stream needs a water allocation permit from DNREC's Division of Water. A data center that buys water from a town or water company uses that supplier's permit. In the Delaware River basin, a withdrawal over 100,000 gallons a day (averaged over 30 days) also needs approval from the Delaware River Basin Commission, and wastewater discharges over 50,000 gallons a day do too. Source

🌫️ Air and generators

Diesel backup generators (DNREC Division of Air Quality) · 2026
Every stationary generator in Delaware must be registered with DNREC's Division of Air Quality under the generator emissions rule (7 DE Admin. Code 1144), whether or not it needs a permit. Larger ones also need a construction permit under Regulation 1102. Big fleets of generators matter: in 2026 the state ruled that Project Washington's 516 diesel generators made it heavy industry under the Coastal Zone Act. Under HB 445, a data center that keeps running during grid emergencies must run at least half of its backup on batteries or clean energy, and at least 25% of its backup power must be clean before it connects. Source

🙋 How to have your say

Who decides a data center near you · 2026
Delaware's cities and towns zone land inside their limits. The three counties zone land outside towns: New Castle County Council, Kent County Levy Court, and Sussex County Council. County rules do not apply inside towns. Big projects can also need state approvals: the Public Service Commission must approve a large data center's electric contract (HB 233), DNREC rules on Coastal Zone, water and air permits, and the Office of State Planning Coordination reviews large projects in its PLUS review before local approval. Source

State early review (PLUS): see plans before the town votes · 2026
Many large projects go through the state's free Preliminary Land Use Service (PLUS) before the county or town decides. Applications are due on the first state business day of each month; the meeting is about five weeks later, and state agencies post a comment letter within 15 business days after it. Applications and comment letters are posted online and on a public map. For example, both parts of Project Washington went through PLUS (2025-10-02 and 2026-02-06). Source

Deadlines to challenge a zoning decision · 2026
If a town's Board of Adjustment decides something you disagree with, you can ask Delaware Superior Court to review it within 30 days after the decision is filed (22 Del. C. § 328). The same 30-day rule applies to New Castle County's Board of Adjustment (9 Del. C. § 1314), and appeals from County Council decisions on use variances go to Superior Court the same way. Kent and Sussex counties have their own rules; check with the county. Source

How to speak up at the Public Service Commission · 2026
Search for a case (for example the data center rate case, Docket 25-0826) on DelaFile, the PSC's online docket system, and sign up for updates. You can file a written public comment on DelaFile, by mail to the PSC (861 Silver Lake Blvd, Suite 100, Dover, DE 19904), or by email to psc@delaware.gov with the docket number in the subject line. The PSC also holds public comment sessions in person and on Zoom; they are listed on the state public meeting calendar. Source

How to ask for records about a data center · 2026
Send a written FOIA request to the town, county or state agency (each must have a FOIA coordinator and an online form). Ask for things like the developer's applications, emails, any agreements and PSC filings. They must answer within 15 business days. Since August 2026, any secret deal about a data center of 100 megawatts or more is void, so it cannot be used to hide the records. If refused, petition the Attorney General or sue within 60 days. Source

Coastal Zone decisions · 2026
DNREC decides whether a project in the coastal zone is banned heavy industry or needs a permit. These decisions can be appealed to the Coastal Zone Industrial Control Board, which holds public hearings. The board's meetings are listed on the state public meeting calendar. Source

🧾 Help with your bills

LIHEAP: help with heating and cooling bills · 2026
Winter heating help runs October 1 to March 31 for homeowners and renters (electric, gas, oil, propane, kerosene, wood or coal). Crisis help is available all year if you have a shut-off notice, past-due bills, or your fuel tank is at 10% or less. There is also summer cooling help. Income must be at or below 60% of Delaware's state median income. Apply online through the ASSIST portal, or call Catholic Charities (New Castle County 302-654-9295, Kent 302-674-1782, Sussex 302-856-6310) or First State Community Action Agency (1-800-372-2240). Source

Delmarva Power Customer Relief Fund (2026) · July 16, 2026
A one-time grant for Delmarva residential customers in Delaware who owe at least $250. It is for households that qualify for LIHEAP or earn up to 350% of the federal poverty level, and you must complete Energize Delaware's free Home Energy Checkup. Run by Energize Delaware (302-883-3048, energizedelaware.org). Source

Free home weatherization · 2026
DNREC offers free weatherization for eligible households (insulation, weather-stripping, heating and cooling upgrades, windows and doors) to cut energy bills. Call DNREC at 302-735-3480. Source

📞 Who to contact

Delaware Public Service Commission (PSC) · 2026
Sets electric rates and rules, including the data center rate case (Docket 25-0826) and approval of each large data center's electric contract under HB 233. Takes public comments and complaints. Source

Division of the Public Advocate · 2026
Represents home and small business customers in PSC rate cases, including the data center rate case. Source

DNREC Coastal Zone Act Program · 2026
Decides whether projects near the coast are banned heavy industry or need a Coastal Zone permit. Phone 302-739-9283. Source

DNREC Division of Air Quality · 2026
Registers and permits diesel and gas generators. Phone 302-739-9402. Source

DNREC Division of Water (water allocation) · 2026
Issues permits for withdrawals over 50,000 gallons a day. Source

Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) · 2026
Approves big water withdrawals (over 100,000 gallons a day) and discharges in the Delaware River basin. Source

Office of State Planning Coordination (PLUS) · 2026
Runs the state's early review of big land-use projects and posts state comment letters. Source

Delaware General Assembly · 2026
Bill pages, votes and texts for data center laws; the 2027 session starts in January. Source