PROVIDENCE – The General Assembly last week passed legislation concerning energy policy that closely mirrors the excluded Article 18 of the fiscal 2017 budget, but it does not contain a controversial clause that would have given a financial break to a wind developer.
Rep. Aaron Regunberg, D-Providence, and Rep. Deborah Ruggiero, D-Jamestown, co-sponsored the legislation, which largely expands third-party net metering, which is sometimes referred to as “virtual net metering,” allowing electricity customers to consume renewable energy that’s generated from somewhere other than their homes.
“By expanding net metering to include off-site generation and community solar projects, we can ensure that every family has an opportunity to access the benefits of cheap and stable renewable energy, whether or not their direct premises are suitable for a solar or wind system,” Regunberg said. “That means a lot more demand for these projects, which means more businesses stepping up to fill that demand, which means more jobs, more clean energy, and lower costs for thousands of Rhode Islanders.”
Much of the new law, which was introduced earlier this year, had been include in Article 18 of Gov. Gina M. Raimondo’s proposed fiscal 2017 budget. But the measure got shot down in the House of Representatives after a controversial clause was added during committee hearings. The added provision would have retroactively allowed North Kingstown Wind Energy Development, a wind-energy developer, to pass along millions of dollars in infrastructure costs to state taxpayers for a 10-turbine wind farm in Coventry, according to the Providence Journal.
Rather than edit out the provision, House Speaker Nicholas A. Mattiello, a Cranston Democrat, decided to cut the entire article, which included the language that would expand net-metering.
Regunberg was able to salvage that language, telling Providence Business News last week that “there was one problematic part of the article and a lot of really good, important stuff.”
The new law, which awaits gubernatorial approval, would allow for up to 30 megawatts of virtual net metering statewide through Jan. 1, 2019, with the option to expand or change that amount afterward. Regunberg says the measure is consistent with goals set in Rhode Island’s most recent State Energy Plan, which aims to move the state away from carbon-heavy energy resources and toward using more renewables. The General Assembly last week also passed legislation to extend the state’s renewable energy target to 38.5 percent by 2035, despite lagging growth.
The virtual net metering also allows third-party financing of renewable installation, which Regunberg says would allow homeowners and businesses to install and finance renewable energy projects by entering into a loan or lease arrangement with a company. The number of Rhode Island businesses and residents participating in net-metering is increasing, and the new law could help fuel that growth. From 2014-15, the number of commercial-net-metering customers grew 63 percent to 75 customers, marking the largest increase since the program started. During that same period, the number of residential net-metering customers grew 184.5 percent to 494 customers, according to National Grid PLC. Renewable energy projects, and distributed generation in general, are changing how people receive energy, and poses a challenge for how the R.I. Public Utilities Commission will regulate costs in the future.
For now, however, Regunberg is pleased with how the new law could help the state move toward using more renewable energy and benefit people from all socioeconomic backgrounds.
“It also means more equity,” he said. “Off-site net metered systems can be designed to serve multiple customers, providing a way for renters and low-income families to join together on community renewable projects that they could never site or afford on their own. As we transition to a clean energy economy, we can’t leave anyone behind, so it is critical that we open net metering to all Rhode Islanders — not just those who can afford to build a full system individually.”
