By TIM
FAULKNER/ecoRI News staff
Rhode Island’s renewable-energy sector has so far produced 138 megawatts of
energy and nearly 14,000 jobs, according to state officials.
Gov. Gina Raimondo
now wants to sharply increase the Ocean State’s renewable-energy output to
1,000 megawatts and reach 20,000 new jobs — both in less than four years.
State officials have a
goal of doubling the number of people working in the ‘green economy’ by the end
of 2020, but no concrete plans on how to get there.
How that will happen is
not entirely clear. But any major growth in renewable-energy projects will
likely rely on offshore wind farms, land-based wind power, solar and hydropower
from states across the Northeast and Canada.
One thing this renewable
challenge won’t replace is the proposed Burrillville fossil-fuel power plant.
Although the governor’s renewable-energy goal matches the electrical capacity
of the proposed 850- to 1,000-megawatt Clear River Energy Center, it will not
supplant plans to build the controversial facility in the woods.
“I see it as unrelated,”
Raimondo told ecoRI News during a March 1 press event for her renewable-energy
challenge. “The thought behind this is we need more clean energy and more
affordable clean energy.”
Raimondo said she
expects Rhode Island to reach its goals for mitigating climate change. “We can
meet the challenge and we can create ten of thousands of good-paying jobs for
the people of Rhode Island in the process.”
Some of the state's new
"green" energy is expected to spring from Rhode Island’s collection
of renewable-energy development enticements that have made the state one of the most attractive for
new wind and solar developers.
Rhode Island is
experiencing rapid growth in renewable-energy development thanks to incentives that
offer fixed-rate power-purchase agreements and cash rebates. Popular federal
tax credits also remain in place, at least until 2020. Prices for
renewable-energy systems have dropped about 50 percent in five years, and the
overall payback on a residential solar array is now four years.
There’s also room for
job growth in the state’s renewable-energy sector. According to a 2016 report, most of Rhode Island’s
green-energy jobs are in energy efficiency (59 percent) and renewable heating
and cooling (25 percent). Wind and solar development only account for 14
percent of these jobs.
Large renewable-energy
projects will be needed to reach the governor's 1,000-meagwatt target.
Rhode
Island will likely have to look to projects outside its borders to boost its
renewable-energy use.
The three-state New England Clean Energy RFP program
encourages developers of utility-scale wind, solar and hydroelectric projects
to submit bids to local utilities such as National Grid to buy their renewable
power. By doing so, the utilities meet their renewable-energy mandates for
Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Connecticut.
The renewable power can
come from across New England, New York and even Canada. It’s not known yet
which out-of-state projects will qualify for the Rhode Island 1,000-megawatt
challenge. But large Canadian hydro-energy projects using the controversial Northern Pass power-line
project have submitted bids to the New England Clean Energy RFP.
Rhode Island has 138
megawatts of in-state renewable power. State officials want to reach 1,000
megawatts by 2020. (Office of Energy Resources)
Solar energy developers,
nevertheless, are embracing the renewable challenge and intend to build new
arrays in Rhode Island. The launch of the renewable target was made at the
Quonset Business Park, where the governor announced that the business campus
will soon have all of its infrastructure powered by solar energy.
Frank Epps, managing
director of Providence-based Energy Development Partners,
said the state’s renewable-energy incentives made it possible for his company
to build a second utility-scale solar array at Quonset.
“The foundation of this
new industry was created based on these new building blocks,” Epps said of the
state incentives.
Other quasi-state
agencies such as the Narragansett Bay Commission in Providence are also
expected to fully offset their electricity use with renewable energy. State
buildings that house the Department of Transportation and Department of Health,
and the William Powers building next to the Statehouse, are also expected to
install rooftop solar arrays.
Raimondo said she likes
to set big goals. The renewable challenge is one of her top objectives, along
with her free-tuition plan.
“We’re absolutely on a
path to do it. It’s aggressive but we’re going to make it happen,” the governor
said.