NEWSLETTER | NOVEMBER 2017
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State creates blueprint to modernize Rhode Island's electric grid
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The Rhode Island Division of Public Utilities and Carriers (DPUC), Public Utilities Commission (PUC), and Office of Energy Resources (OER) have released a comprehensive blueprint to modernize the state’s electric grid. This plan will help control the long-term costs of energy, foster customer participation and choice, and enable the efficient integration of clean energy technologies.
The report,
Rhode Island Power Sector Transformation, was submitted in response to Governor Gina M. Raimondo’s call for innovative strategies to advance a cleaner, more affordable and reliable energy system for the 21st Century. It includes recommendations for action over the next year to provide more value to customers through a new regulatory framework and strengthen grid flexibility and resiliency.
The recommendations are based on a seven-month process which engaged more than 200 people and 65 organizations, including local residents, businesses, municipalities, non-profits, and national experts, who provided input on draft proposals.
The report addresses five major areas where innovation could drive the future of the grid:
- Control the long-term costs of the electric system
- Give customers more energy choices
- Build a flexible grid to integrate more clean energy generation
- Pay for performance
- Increase grid reliability and resiliency
The State will work to advance these recommendations through formal proceedings before the Public Utilities Commission.
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New Veterans Home features 47.3 kW rooftop solar array
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On Veterans Day, hundreds of people from all over Rhode Island gathered to celebrate the grand opening of the new Veterans Home in Bristol.
The new state-of-the-art facility, which houses 208 veterans, replaces the previous Veterans Home built in 1955.
On top of the new Veterans Home is a 168-panel rooftop solar array. With a 43.7 kW capacity, the annual carbon emissions savings from this installation equal driving a car 96,394 miles!
The building also exceeds Rhode Island's energy efficiency code requirements with some of these green enhancements:
- Occupancy and daylight sensors to control lighting use
- Extra building insulation
- Low flow plumbing fixtures that reduce water use by up to 30%
- Automated hot water recirculating systems to optimize energy use
- Use of high solar-reflecting outdoor landscape to reduce the "heat island" effect
- Recycling of 70% of the construction waste
The State's
Lead by Example initiative promotes the adoption of clean energy measures across public sector facilities and state agencies. State and municipal employees are helping to reduce energy costs and mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, consistent with Rhode Island's economic, energy and environmental goals.
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Road to 1000 MW: Embrace Home Loans first to use
C-PACE
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In 2016, Rhode Island Infrastructure Bank launched C-PACE as an innovative and affordable way for commercial building owners to finance clean energy projects while simultaneously increasing cash flow and improving their building’s value.
This summer, Direct Energy installed 966 roof-mounted solar panels on the Embrace corporate headquarters. The net-metered system produces 412,900 kWh annually, offsetting 56 percent of the company’s power usage and saving 69 percent in energy costs. That is the emissions reduction equivalent of eliminating 107 tons of waste from our landfills each year!
In March, Governor Raimondo announced an ambitious goal to add
1,000 megawatts of clean energy and 20,000 clean energy jobs to Rhode Island by the end of 2020. Embrace Home Loans is just one example of the types of projects that are contributing to this goal.
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Three communities kick-off Solarize RI campaigns
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Riding on the heels of the tremendous success of Solarize’s spring round, we are excited to have the towns of Barrington, Bristol and South Kingstown join us for the new season!
Three new municipalities were selected through a request for application process to participate in the fall round of Solarize – Barrington, Bristol and South Kingstown – and kicked off their programs on October 27.
Solarize Rhode Island is a community-based outreach campaign that seeks to increase the adoption of small-scale solar electricity in participating communities through a competitive tiered pricing structure that increases the savings for everyone as more home and business owners sign contracts.
Now in its fourth year, Solarize Rhode Island, a partnership between the Rhode Island Office of Energy Resources (OER), the RI Commerce Corporation, and the non-profit marketing firm SmartPower, has led to more than 600 residents and business owners in 15 municipalities signing contracts for small-scale solar electricity systems.
Several "meet your installer" and Solar 101 seminars are planned for December. See the calendar below for a Solarize event near you!
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UPCOMING EVENTS & MEETINGS
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November 28
5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
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West Greenwich Community Center, (behind Louttit Library), 274 Victory Hwy, W. Greenwich, RI
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November 28
5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
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Scituate Senior Center, 1315 Chopmist Hill Rd, North Scituate, RI
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December 4
9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
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21 West Street, Barrington
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Bristol Maritime Center, 127 Thames Street
Bristol, RI
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December 6
4:00 to 6:00 p.m.
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The Audubon Society of Rhode Island Environmental Education Center, 1401 Hope Street, Bristol, RI
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December 7
12:30 to 2:00 p.m.
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New Shoreham Town Hall, 16 Old Town Rd, New Shoreham, RI
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December 12
6:00 to 8:00 p.m.
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South Kingstown Town Hall, 180 High Street, Wakefield, RI
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Barrington Public Library, 281 County Rd, Barrington, RI
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December 14
3:30 to 5:30 p.m.
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1 Capitol Hill, Second Floor, Conf. Room B, Providence, RI
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Would you like to add your energy-related event to our calendar? Send the details and event URL to our editor at
robert.beadle@energy.ri.gov
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