State fund helping firms own energy, lower costs

BRIGHT IDEA: Christopher Morra Sr., president and CEO of National Security, shows off a solar panel system that he said in 2014 had saved the company $8,631 in 13 months. / PBN FILE PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO
BRIGHT IDEA: Christopher Morra Sr., president and CEO of National Security, shows off a solar panel system that he said in 2014 had saved the company $8,631 in 13 months. / PBN FILE PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

Christopher Morra paid about $750 a month just to keep the lights on at his East Providence business until 2014, when he finished installing about 200 solar panels atop his roof. Now, paying next to nothing for electricity, Morra says his big-ticket investment could also have a faster payback period than anticipated because of the state’s volatile energy costs.

Morra, president and CEO of National Security Corp., originally predicted his 40-kilowatt system, which cost about $145,000 to install, would take about eight-and-a-half years to pay for itself in money saved on electricity bills, but given the recent price swings in Rhode Island’s energy market he expects the time frame could be shortened to about five years.

“As costs continue to increase, it’s going to pay for itself sooner,” Morra said.

Morra paid out of pocket for most of the installment, but did receive a $28,000 grant from the Renewable Energy Fund – run by the R.I. Commerce Corp. – and a 30 percent tax credit from the federal government.

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His company was among the first round of businesses in 2013 to take advantage of the Commerce Corp. grant program after new REF rules and regulations were implemented a year prior. Since Morra, the program has become increasingly popular and more than 35 commercial projects have participated.

The fund began in the late 1990s and is paid for via a surcharge on electric customers’ bills. The accrued money is made available in the form of grants and loans for residential, commercial and municipal renewable energy projects. The state’s definition of renewable energy includes solar, wind and various forms of biomass, but so far solar projects have been the most popular.

Hannah D. Morini, Commerce Corp. renewable energy program manager, said she’s already received “quite a few” applicants this year and that more businesses are considering it as a viable option because renewable energy projects allow them “to own their power and lower their electricity [costs].”

Indeed, most Rhode Island business owners have had to deal with spiking electricity costs in the last few winters, as constrained infrastructure has created a pipeline bottleneck into the region, preventing sufficient importation of relatively cheap natural gas, especially during peak demand.

The scant supply forces suppliers – usually in the winter months – to buy more-expensive energy off the spot market, a cost that’s passed along to the consumer that shows up on electricity bills.

National Grid, the dominant Rhode Island electric supplier, raised its standard offer for commercial customers by 24 percent in January. New England electricity regulators expect the trend to continue unless capacity increases.

Given current energy costs and the recent REF grant-program revamp, the Rhode Island solar-energy industry is experiencing a new surge of interest. Paul Raducha, principal and founder of Newport Renewables, says he’s had to hire four new people in the last year just to keep up with Rhode Island installments, which he says were almost nonexistent about three years ago.

Raducha, who has more than 10 years experience working in renewable energy research firms, also points to other state incentive programs that he predicts will further increase solar-energy interest, which includes the Office of Energy Resources offering a program beginning this year called the “Renewable Energy Growth” program.

The program allows owners of renewable energy systems to obtain 20-year contracts, known as a “feed-in tariff,” for energy with National Grid at a fixed rate. Renewable projects will also be credited for feeding excess energy back into the grid through “net metering.”

Together, paired with decreasing costs of solar technology, the incentives will continue to drive more businesses and developers toward renewable energy installations, Raducha says.

“Aside from the energy price, what has always driven markets is incentives,” Raducha said.

Already, in the 13-month period Morra’s system has been running, it’s produced nearly 48,000 kilowatt hours and saved the company $8,631 in electricity costs. He says that beyond the arguments of what green energy could do for the environment, any business with the financial and physical capacity should consider making the jump to renewables purely for economic purposes.

“When they say, ‘it takes money to make money,’ this is what they’re talking about,” Morra said. “To stay competitive you have to keep costs down because you have that obligation to your customers.” •

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