PROVIDENCE – As the state forges ahead with ambitious renewable-energy goals, solar arrays on already-developed land such as brownfields and parking lots could play a key role.
A new, 83-page report published Wednesday from Cambridge, Mass.-based Synapse Energy Economics Inc. found that Rhode Island could add between 3,390 and 7,340 megawatts of energy from these “nontraditional” solar projects – enough to power up to 1.5 million homes based on Synapse’s calculation that one megawatt of energy can serve 150 to 200 homes, and offset about 70% of the state’s carbon emissions. This represents up to a 30-fold increase over the current 250 megawatts of energy generated by solar arrays already connected to the grid, the report stated.
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However, barriers remain to bringing these potential projects to fruition – among them, the higher cost associated with developing solar arrays on these sites versus those on farmland or forestland, as well as the lack of infrastructure such as utility lines to connect these projects to the existing energy grid.
The $83,000 study was commissioned and funded by the R.I. Office of Energy Resources as one of several steps taken to better understand the availability and impact of solar projects on already-developed land. Municipalities as well as some environmental groups have fought against large-scale solar project that largely have been built in forests, resulting in clear-cutting of trees and loss of wildlife habitat.
The study specifically looked at solar power that could be generated based on available rooftops, landfills, brownfield sites, gravel pits, commercial and industrial sites, and parking lots across the state. Each site type was evaluated for its potential energy generation, as well as the economic cost associated with its development.
Solar arrays built on commercial and industrial sites – both developed and undeveloped – could generate the most renewable energy at 1,160 to 4,600 megawatts, followed by solar canopies built over parking lots, the installations of which have been “very limited,” the report noted.
The report also surveyed the availability and challenges associated with solar arrays across the state’s 39 municipalities. In Providence County, parking lots were the predominant sources for solar-powered energy, while energy generated from gravel lots and brownfields came mostly from Washington and Kent counties.
Roughly 85% of cities and towns lacked the hosting capacity needed to accommodate these projects – with aging or nonexistent connections to the electrical grid. Foster, West Greenwich and Exeter faced the biggest “hosting” gaps – upwards of 430 megawatts each – based on their individual solar energy potential and the amount they could accommodate based on existing interconnection infrastructure.
While the report outlined the potential challenges associated with these types of solar arrays, it did not include any recommendations or solutions. Christopher Kearns, the interdepartmental manager for OER, said the study was intended primarily as a tool to use in amending or expanding state programs for renewable energy.
The municipal-level data could also prove useful for cities and towns in developing local ordinances around solar siting, highlighting the importance of flexible ordinances that do not mandate uniform setback or lot coverage requirements in order to maximize the potential of solar projects on developed land, Kearns said. Municipal leaders have struggled to craft ordinances in the face of an influx of solar project proposals in recent years, with several enacting temporary moratoriums.
