The Delaware Municipal Electric Corporation (DEMEC), in partnership with American Municipal Power (AMP), a subsidiary of NextEra Energy Resources, and the Town of Smyrna celebrated the completion of the Smyrna Solar Facility community solar project today.

The Smyrna Solar Facility is designed to deliver 1.5 megawatts (MW) of electric energy to residents and businesses located in the Town of Smyrna. That is enough to power 158 homes, on average, for an entire year. DEMEC’s latest community solar project brings their total solar generation over 26MW, taking DEMEC and its member communities over 50% of the solar generation in the state of Delaware.

Local and state officials, business owners, and industry professionals joined DEMEC and its members to celebrate this momentous occasion at a ribbon cutting ceremony at the site of the solar facility in the Smyrna Business Park. Advantageously located, the Smyrna Solar Facility sits on nearly 14 acres of town property, making use of a dry retention pond that could not otherwise be developed.

“We are pleased to offer solar generation that is both beneficial and economical to our members’ customers. Thanks to the partnership of AMP, NextEra Energy Resources, and the Town of Smyrna, we are able to provide solar energy that is on par with the price of fossil fuels,” said Patrick McCullar, DEMEC President & CEO.

DEMEC and its member communities will continue to seek opportunities to grow the presence of renewable energy in Delaware that benefits customers environmentally and economically.

“We are so pleased to offer the residents and businesses of the Town of Smyrna the opportunity to use clean, economic, environmentally-friendly energy,” stated Gary Stulir, Smyrna Town Manager and DEMEC Board Director, “Through our partnership with DEMEC, the Town is able to benefit from a project that would have otherwise been cost prohibitive on our own.”