How Wasteful is Delaware?

According to an article (that thankfully was cut out of my paper by my mom) in The News Journal on March 15th, Delaware uses more energy per capita than its three neighbors, New Jersey, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. My initial reaction to just this opening statement was, how could this be true since of the four states, Delaware is the smallest. The article continues by stating that the homes, businesses, and industrial sites located in Delaware consume a great deal of energy. Also, another surprising statement suggested that Delawareans drive more than those in Maryland. Delaware is ranked as 32rd in energy efficiency in the country. This may be due to missed opportunities to update new energy efficient construction codes as well as the consistent cheap energy prices. Keeping energy prices low is not always a good things, despite happy Delaware residents. If energy prices are very low, residents have no incentive to be energy efficient. Higher prices may get people thinking! New construction projects in the lower counties were not built as efficient as projects built in the surrounding states during the same time period. Again, this falls under the "missed opportunity" category. This lack of energy efficiency was only due to the fact that lawmakers failed to update residential and commercial Building Energy Code Standards. The article also lists a few ways in which homeowners can improve energy efficiency on their own. A few are as follows: 1. Seal gaps in windows, doors, etc to prevent air leaks 2. Turn off computers and monitors 3. Close fire place when not in use 4. If you have a second refrigerator, turn it off if it is not regularly used 5. Lower water heater thermostat to 120 degrees. The article, State Codes Cost Billions in Wasteful Energy Use can be read online.
Hopefully with the construction of the offshore wind farm in Reboboth, Delaware will begin to climb up in the rankings from number 32 in energy efficiency. Maybe this wind farm will start a positive trend in using renewables. The last part of the article mentions that buildings such as the Bank of Delmarva in Rehoboth, are switchingto solar energy. Johnnie Miller and his company are taking on the job. The bank project has has gained so much positive attention that Miller said he continues to run out of business cards. At least we are making some steps, however small they may be, in the right direction.