The City of Dover Electric Department is a publicly owned municipal utility serving Dover and the surrounding Capital Region. As a DEMEC member utility, Dover Electric participates in the Delaware Green Energy Program but under DEMEC’s incentive structure — not Delmarva Power’s. DEMEC municipal customers (including Dover) receive $1.00 per watt for the first 5kW of installed capacity and $0.50 per watt for capacity above 5kW, with a maximum incentive of $3,500 per residential installation. On a 6kW system, this delivers $5,000 for the first 5kW plus $500 for the additional 1kW — reaching the $3,500 cap. On a 10kW system, the calculation reaches the cap at a somewhat smaller total percentage of system cost than Delmarva Power’s $6,000 maximum allows.
Unlike Delmarva Power’s Green Energy Program, Dover Electric’s DEMEC incentive structure does not require SREC sign-over as a condition of receiving the rebate — Dover Electric customers may retain their SRECs and pursue the DEMEC incentive simultaneously, subject to current program terms. Confirm this with DNREC and your installer before finalizing, as program terms can change.
Dover Electric provides full 1:1 retail-rate net metering under Delaware’s statewide net metering mandate. The same 12-month true-up framework, homeowner-selected true-up month, and year-end credit expiration that apply to Delmarva customers apply to Dover Electric customers. Fixed monthly charges — meter connection and distribution fees — cannot be offset by kilowatt-hour credits. System size cap is 110% of the previous 12 months’ consumption, consistent with Delaware’s statewide standard.
Dover benefits from the same Delaware-wide structural solar advantages as Wilmington: no statewide sales tax on any purchase (preventing approximately $1,700–$2,500 in sales tax cost on a typical system), and a property tax exclusion preventing solar installations from increasing assessed values in Kent County. These advantages apply to Dover Electric customers as they do to Delmarva Power customers, providing a lower baseline cost structure than neighboring Pennsylvania or Maryland markets that tax solar equipment.
Dover’s solar production profile sits in the middle of Delaware’s range: the city’s central location, away from the coastal marine influence that moderates temperatures in the Wilmington corridor, produces slightly more consistent summer production. Peak sun hours in Kent County average approximately 4.5–4.8 per day annually — adequate for viable solar economics at Delaware’s electricity rates, though below the sun-rich markets of the Southwest or Florida. Dover’s housing stock — a mix of state government employee suburban homes, historic downtown properties, and newer development on the city’s outskirts — provides a varied but generally favorable rooftop candidate pool.
The Dover installer market is smaller than Wilmington’s, which serves the denser Philadelphia suburban corridor. Dover homeowners may need to solicit bids from installers based in Wilmington, Annapolis (Maryland), or Salisbury (Maryland/Delaware Eastern Shore) alongside any locally based contractors. Getting multiple qualified bids remains important — pricing variation of 15–20% between proposals is typical in smaller Delaware markets.
Delmarva Power’s Green Energy Program offers up to $6,000 for residential solar installations ($0.70/W), while Dover Electric’s DEMEC incentive caps at $3,500 ($1.00/W for first 5kW, $0.50/W thereafter). For smaller systems (under 5kW), Dover’s per-watt rate is higher than Delmarva’s. For average and larger systems (7kW and above), Delmarva’s higher cap ($6,000 vs $3,500) delivers more absolute value. A 7kW Dover Electric system earns the $3,500 DEMEC cap; the same 7kW system in Delmarva territory would earn $4,900 through the Green Energy Program. Additionally, Delmarva’s rebate requires signing over SRECs while Dover Electric’s DEMEC rebate may allow SREC retention — potentially making Dover Electric customers eligible for both the DEMEC rebate and independent SREC income, subject to current program terms. This SREC flexibility could narrow the gap between the two rebate programs for homeowners whose systems generate meaningful SREC income.
