Using an old gravel pit, no trees were killed for this energy project
Brown University
With final regulatory approval secured on Tuesday, Nov. 19, one of the largest solar energy projects in Rhode Island — Dry Bridge, in North Kingstown — is generating enough power to offset two-thirds of on-campus electricity consumption for Brown University, the project’s exclusive off-taker.
Located on a 240-acre field at the site of a former gravel
pit, Dry Bridge is among the state’s highest-capacity contiguous solar
generation projects, on track to generate 66.8 million kilowatt hours of power
per year.
The culmination of the project, to which Brown committed in
2018, marks a key milestone in the University’s commitment to achieving
net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040. As it continues an ongoing
transition from fossil fuels, Brown will now draw the majority of on-campus
electricity use from local renewable energy, ensuring that the University
serves as a leader for climate solutions and decarbonization.
“Dry Bridge is a transformative milestone for clean energy in the region and signals a significant step toward Brown’s net-zero goals,” Brown President Christina H. Paxson said. “The project underscores the need to ensure the University does all it can — through our physical plant and our leading-edge environmental research and scholarship — to contribute to global efforts to seek climate solutions and combat the threats posed by climate change.”
With the Nov. 19 completion of an operator study by ISO New
England, the regional organization that oversees New England’s electric power
system and transmission lines, Brown will obtain and retire project-specific
renewable energy credits through Dry Bridge — essentially
proof-of-ownership certificates that establish the University’s right to claim
the renewable energy as its own. Dry Bridge is owned and operated by MN8 Energy.
Due to the novel nature of such a large project, Dry Bridge required ingenuity and collaboration to navigate a number of distinctive infrastructure requirements, delays and regulatory hurdles. Successfully overcoming those challenges may help pave the way for future large-scale projects in the Ocean State, according to Frank Epps, CEO of Energy Development Partners, the Providence-based company that developed Dry Bridge.
“The only way that this project was going to happen was with
an off-taker like Brown that was serious about sustainability, and the
University was a phenomenal partner that stayed committed to this throughout
the entire process,” Epps said. “Through the determination of Brown, MN8 and
Energy Development Partners, and the wisdom of the Rhode Island Public
Utilities Commission, this project will serve as an agent of change to help
Rhode Island hit the state’s goals for renewable energy — and Brown is an agent
of that change for helping to move it forward.”
Chris Kearns, acting commissioner of Rhode Island’s Office
of Energy Resources, commended the partners for bringing the multi-year project
to completion, making it one of the state’s largest operational solar projects:
“Brown University’s solar project plays an important role in helping Rhode
Island achieve its 100% renewable energy standard by 2033 and supports our
emissions reduction goals under the Act on Climate,” he said.
Dry Bridge comprises four co-located solar installations
that produce enough energy, 40 megawatts AC, to power nearly two-thirds of
Brown’s 231 campus buildings.
“Projects like this are critical to advancing the clean
energy transition and powering the economy of the future,” said Jessica Berry,
assistant vice president for sustainability
and resiliency at Brown. “Dry Bridge is a key element of Brown’s
broader commitment to sustainability, and it helps advance Rhode Island’s goal
for a zero-emission grid by 2033.”
For renewable energy producer MN8 Energy, the project adds to a portfolio that includes nearly 4 gigawatts of operational and under-construction solar projects across 875 projects in 28 U.S. states.
“We are thrilled to celebrate the completion of the Dry
Bridge solar facility, a project that underscores our commitment to renewable
energy and exemplifies the collaborative spirit needed to drive meaningful
change,” said Jon Yoder, MN8 president and CEO. “This project is a testament to
our vision of a decarbonized world and reinforces our dedication to delivering
innovative energy solutions that empower communities and protect our planet.”
Accelerating renewable energy pathways for Rhode Island
Buttressed by widespread community support, the project
partners developed the Dry Bridge solar facility at the site of a former sand
and gravel extraction plant in North Kingstown. The land-use impacts were
minimal, project leaders noted, and the development of Dry Bridge required no
encroachment on neighborhoods or large-scale tree-clearing.
Epps attributed enthusiastic local support to both the
renewable energy production and the fact that the project ultimately improved
nearby residents’ quality of life. What was once the site of dusty gravel piles
and noisy tractors, he said, is now a quiet parcel of land lined with solar
panels, grass and other plants planted to attract pollinators, including
butterflies and bees.
Nicole LaFontaine, director of planning and development for
North Kingstown, said the site was ideal for a clean energy project.
“The solar project at Dry Bridge provided an opportunity to
restore the site from its previous use as a gravel operation while supporting a
large-scale solar energy system to advance the state’s renewable energy goals
without clearing Rhode Island’s forests or degrading the community’s natural
resources,” LaFontaine said.
Once the project had the necessary permits from North Kingstown and the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, developers cleared and remediated the site, which included removing various structures and filling the wash ponds from the sand and gravel operation. Geotechnical engineers ensured the land had the necessary level of compaction to support the solar panel arrays and plans for stormwater management. Installation of the solar panels began in 2021, and the project ultimately transformed the 240-acre parcel with a vast 117,210-panel solar array as well as restorative vegetation.
Among many developments to support the project, it required
the construction of a new power substation across from the Wickford Junction
train station in North Kingstown, and new underground and overhead lines to
transmit power from the project site.
“The lines carrying the energy from the site to the new
substation are the highest-distribution voltage available in the state, and it
took a lot of time to manage installation of the lines, both underground and
overhead and along state roads, secure state permits, and manage the design and
installation of the immense amount of infrastructure improvements in
coordination with Narragansett Electric,” said Epps, whose company has
developed more than two dozen renewable energy projects in Rhode Island.
The construction of Dry Bridge required highly coordinated
logistics to get 117,210 panels with such high-generation capacity transported
and installed. In the midst of its development, the project was sold by its
original owner, Constellation Energy, and the utility also changed, from
National Grid to Rhode Island Energy.
The solar project at Dry Bridge provided an opportunity to
restore the site from its previous use as a gravel operation while supporting a
large-scale solar energy system to advance the state’s renewable energy goals
without clearing Rhode Island’s forests or degrading the community’s natural
resources.
The project faced several delays and regulatory hurdles, including substantial challenges around interconnection service agreements. It took more than two years to successfully navigate and align state regulations with regional regulations (which are managed under Federal Energy Regulatory Commission regulations) before construction could begin, in part due to the unprecedented size and scope of the project.
“During two years of negotiations, all of the project
partners, regulatory agencies and the utility worked together, and the project
ultimately received the necessary authorizations to interconnect,” said Al
Dahlberg, associate vice president for government relations at Brown. “It was
an undertaking that took a tremendous amount of effort, patience and
collaboration to accomplish.”
The project was also enabled by the state’s renewable energy
policies and incentives, which aim to accelerate getting renewables on the
grid.
“In the end, it was important to go through this process
because it created a pathway for renewable energy projects — especially local
net metering projects — of this size and nature,” Epps said.
Brown’s commitment to net-zero greenhouse gas
emissions
All told, by powering Rhode Island’s grid with the Dry
Bridge solar panels, Brown is helping to eliminate 16,500 metric tons of carbon
dioxide annually, which is the equivalent of taking 3,500 gas-powered cars off
the road.
Per the terms of a 25-year power
purchase agreement, Brown will pay MN8 to operate Dry Bridge, which delivers
power directly to Rhode Island’s electrical grid. Photo by Nick Dentamaro/Brown
University
Per the terms of a 25-year power purchase agreement, Brown
will pay MN8 to operate Dry Bridge, which delivers power directly to Rhode
Island’s electrical grid. Dry Bridge generates net metering credits for Brown,
in accordance with the Rhode Island Renewable Energy Program’s net metering and
virtual net metering law, which enables the University to offset its electric
bills through credits from the off-site renewable energy production.
“The fact that we’ve mostly decarbonized our electricity
supply through Dry Bridge is a huge step forward,” said Stephen Porder,
associate provost for sustainability at Brown.
Dry Bridge is among several renewable energy projects that
are expected to produce enough combined solar and wind power to offset 100% of
Brown’s on-campus electricity use.
“In many ways, this project demonstrates what’s possible
with persistence and a broader commitment to taking meaningful steps toward a
cleaner, more resilient energy landscape,” Porder said. “It’s impossible to
overstate how critical it is for society to accelerate our investment in
renewable energy and reduce the need for energy from conventional, polluting
sources like gas- and oil-burning power plants. Brown is demonstrating its
leadership in the renewable energy movement.”
Brown’s commitment to the Dry Bridge project is part of a
larger plan to reduce the University’s greenhouse gas emissions to net-zero by
2040 through a set of ambitious actions, from using more sustainable
building and cleaning materials and reducing meat consumption in campus dining,
to electrifying campus
vehicles and grounds equipment and advancing strategies to reengineer campus to
eliminate fossil fuels entirely, including the exploration of geothermal energy.
“The goal is no more fossil-fuel combustion,” Porder said.
“We’re really learning how to get there as a society, and what Brown is doing
is throwing ourselves into this challenge and leading and learning how to
actually do this through our actions, in what we teach and in how we learn.”
