By
TIM FAULKNER/ecoRI News staff
PROVIDENCE
— Rhode Island will soon begin marketing its solar-energy program to the
public.
Through a joint initiative with the Office of Energy Resources (OER)
and the Renewable Energy Fund, Rhode Island will join Massachusetts and
Connecticut with the rollout of its own "Solarize" program that markets solar-energy
projects in specific communities.
North
Smithfield will test the pilot program this fall, followed by Little Compton
and Tiverton next spring. EDITOR’S NOTE: as long as the CCA Party controls Charlestown town government, we’ll probably NEVER participate.
The
program works by aggressively marketing installation discounts, along with
state and federal incentives, for solar-energy projects in those communities.
“It’s
the future,” Gold said after the Aug. 25 meeting, where the Rhode Island
Commerce Corporation (Commerce RI) approved taking on a fiduciary sponsorship
of the program.
Actual reading from Tom Ferrio's meter due to solar panels on his garage, in the woods, in January |
The
$250,000 cost for the pilot program is funded through a matching grant from the
Boston-based John Merck Fund and Rhode Island’s share of payouts from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a nine-state cap-and-trade program.
In
all, 84 communities in Massachusetts, Connecticut and New Hampshire have
participated in the Solarize program, which is managed by consultants at SmartPower Inc. of
Washington, D.C.
SmartPower says the Solarize programs have resulted in up to
10 percent of homes in a community installing new solar systems. Bulk purchases
of equipment led to as much as a 20 percent reduction in installation costs,
according to the organization.
“It’s
been proven across the region and it’s something we’ve wanted to sink our
teething into. And now we have the opportunity,” said Hannah Morini,
renewable-energy program manager for the Renewable Energy Fund.
The
Solarize program works by pre-selecting a solar-energy installer for a
community. All of the equipment is standardized and there is no fee for an
estimate. Financing programs are offered. A renewable-energy task force and
ambassadors within a community market the program.
Town
councils in North Smithfield and Little Compton already approved their
participation in the program. Tiverton heard the proposal Aug. 25.
North
Smithfield was selected because it lobbied aggressively for the program, Morini
said. Little Compton and Tiverton are already working on a solar-energy
initiative as part of a project with the OER and National Grid to reduce energy
demand in the two communities. Both towns are considered to have insufficient
electric infrastructure for energy needs. New solar energy is expected to
lessen the need for building new electricity infrastructure.