Renewable energy package submitted to General Assembly

PROVIDENCE – Senate Environment and Agriculture Committee Chairwoman V. Susan Sosnowski and House Environment Committee Chairman Arthur Handy last week unveiled a package of legislation aimed at encouraging the development of renewable energy in Rhode Island.
The three bills look to facilitate the installation of grid-connected and distributed-generation renewable energy, while diversifying the state’s energy-generation sources and stimulating economic development.
The first bill would limit net metering (in accordance with federal requirements) to those projects connected to meters and where the use of the power is located in the same complex as the energy-production site. Net metering is a system where an electricity customer who owns an energy-generating system can connect to the grid and receive retail credit for at least a portion of any excess electricity they generate.
The second bill would allow small-scale energy producers who do not meet the net-metering standards to enter 15-year contracts with National Grid, using a standard contract and a set price. Larger-scale projects would compete, using the standard contract, but using the set price as a ceiling to ensure price competition.
The third would reduce delays in renewable energy projects by setting timelines for National Grid to complete engineering studies for connecting projects to the grid. &#8226