PROVIDENCE – National Grid Rhode Island will begin reviewing 11 wind and solar energy proposals to help Gov. Gina M. Raimondo’s administration reach its goal of having 1,000 megawatts of renewable-energy projects in the works by the end of 2020.
National Grid, Rhode Island’s largest utility company, is charged with reviewing, selecting, and negotiating contracts among the 11 proposals that were submitted to the state by the Oct. 29 deadline.
National Grid now has until May 2 to sort through the proposals on the state’s behalf and conditionally select an unspecified number of the proposals totaling up to 400 megawatts of renewable energy to be counted toward Raimondo’s goal.
National Grid has until July 29 to finalize negotiations and execute contracts with the companies it selects, with an Aug. 30 deadline for submitting the contracts to the state’s Public Utilities Commission for review and approval.
“It’s up to them” at National Grid, in following state guidelines, to decide which projects merit sending to the commission for approval, said Robert Beadle, spokesman for the state Office of Energy Resources, which has been involved in the process.
The proposals are: Ameresco – Gray Road Solar; Apex Clean Energy – Downeast wind; Cypress Creek Renewables – McDill Solar; Deepwater Wind – Revolution Wind Expansion and Independent Wind; DESRI North Light – Gravel Pit Solar; EDF Renewables – Morris Ridge Solar Energy Center; EDF Renewables – Tracy Solar Energy Center; EDP Renewables – Number Nine Wind Farm; Nextra Energy – Chariot Solar; Nextra Energy – Lone Pine Solar; and Vinyard Wind – Vinyard Wind Rhode Island.
The state currently has 304 megawatts of renewable-energy projects in operation or under contract for future operation. If the latest round of proposals is approved, the state should be most of the way toward reaching the 1,000-megawatt goal, Beadle said.
Scott Blake is a PBN staff writer. Email him at Blake@PBN.com.
