PROVIDENCE — Two bills
aimed at boosting the residential renewable energy business were heard recently
in House and Senate meetings.
On May 15, the Senate
Finance Committee discussed Sen. Joshua Miller’s, D-Cranston, bill to restore the 25 percent state credit for small-scale solar,
geothermal and wind installations. The credit covers 25 percent for a
photovoltaic system costing $15,000 or less, a solar hot water system $7,000 or
less, a wind system $15,000 or less and a geothermal system $7,000 or less.
Projects exceeding the cost threshold qualify for the credit up to the cap.
There also are income restrictions.
NOTE: Under Charlestown's anti-wind power ordinance, it is nearly impossible for homeowners to meet the criteria, regardless of the size of the wind generator. Click here.
NOTE: Under Charlestown's anti-wind power ordinance, it is nearly impossible for homeowners to meet the criteria, regardless of the size of the wind generator. Click here.
Several installers of solar projects testified during a recent House hearing that the failure of the General Assembly to renew the tax credit in 2010 destroyed the residential solar business. The cost for the state to fund the tax credit was about $150,000 a year, while the economic benefit was $1.1 million, according to Abel Collins of the Rhode Island chapter of the Sierra Club.
“It’s a winning
proposition any way you look at it,” Collins said during the Senate hearing.
Brown University
student Emily Koo spoke about a state grant program that funds small-scale
renewable projects. She wrote a case study about a West Side neighborhood solar
project that drew interest from 125 residents. Eventually, eight solar
installations were funded.
“I just want to assure
you demand is there,” Koo said.
On May 14, the House
Finance Committee heard a bill that allows homeowners to borrow
against their residence to pay for renewable-energy and energy-efficiency
upgrades. The Property
Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) program allows homeowners to pay
for energy projects through their city or town as the do for property taxes or
a sewer assessment. A municipality must first approve the program.
The program is modeled
after Vermont's PACE program, which allows any unpaid amount for an energy
project to continue with a home if it is sold. Thus, PACE allows homeowners to
receive the benefit of an energy upgrade even if they sell a home before the
debt is repaid over a 20-year term. The debt, much like a sewer upgrade, would
then continue with a new owner. A $2.5 million reserve fund, provided by
federal stimulus funds, subsidizes unpaid loans.
“(PACE) is something
that is really in the sweet spot for middle-income families,” Rep. Art Handy,
D-Cranston, the bill’s sponsor said.
National Grid, the
state’s largest energy provider, supports the PACE program.
All five other New
England states and 23 other states have passed legislation for PACE programs.
The bill was held for
further study. The Senate Committee on the Environment and Agriculture heard
the bill May 8. It also was held for
further consideration.
Green jobs
The Senate passed a bill that adds three jobs-focused members to the state Energy Efficiency and Resource Management Council. The bill implores the governor to consider members with municipal energy expertise and energy efficiency and employment training. The director of the state Department of Labor and Training is also added to the energy board as an ex-officio member.
The council will also
be required to hold two public meetings annually with the state Renewable
Energy Coordinating Board or Advisory Council to coordinate program and funding
for the greenhouse gas initiative and the diversification of energy resources
for energy security for distributed generation renewable energy.
“This is going to
strongly encourage the number of opportunities in the state’s workforce, not
just for recent college graduates, but for workers who have long been displaced
or unemployed,” said the bill’s sponsor, Sen. Susan Sosnowski, D-South
Kingstown.
The bill moves to the
House for consideration.
Landfill waste
Sosnowski is withdrawing a bill that would allow the Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation (RIRRC) to use non-hazardous, contaminated waste from out of state as daily cover for the landfill. According to Sosnowski, a recent opinion from the attorney general’s office states that RIRRC is already allowed to use non-hazardous, contaminated waste from out of state, such as construction debris.
Cats
The Senate Committee on the Environment and Natural Resources passed a bill to the Senate floor that imposes a $300 fine on any licensed animal shelter, pound or humane society that sells or offers unsprayed or unneutered cats for sale or adoption.