With the cost of fossil fuels continuing to climb, it is a good thing that Rhode Island, its capital city and private industry have joined the green energy movement. By next summer two major renewable energy projects will come on-line, while continuing investment in large and small projects will change the way the state consumes power.
Last month construction began on what will be the largest solar energy system in the state, when the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 99 started installing 240 solar panels at its headquarters in Cranston.
Rhode Island's Market Has Changed. Developers, Builders, Investors and Sellers Must Change With It.
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When completed next summer, the 250-kilowatt solar power system will help to power the building’s heat, light and mechanical power, offering Local 99 significant savings on rising energy costs.
“Our electric bill currently runs about $1,000 a month – a little more than that right now, actually. We’re hoping to knock it in half by going green,” Local 99 Business Manager Allen Durand said. “Fossil fuels, we can’t rely on them anymore. We’re all paying the price.”
In March, construction is expected to be completed on Rhode Island’s first industrial wind turbine, at the Portsmouth Abbey School. The 164-foot Vestas V-47 turbine will provide enough electricity to power about half of the school’s campus.
Rhode Island’s Renewable Energy Fund office paid for more than one-third of the $1.2-million price of the wind turbine, when it awarded the Portsmouth Abbey School a $450,000 grant for the project. (The grant was the largest single investment that Rhode Island has made in a renewable energy project.)
But the state is also immersed in funding renewable energy projects on a smaller scale. The Renewable Energy Fund, which is run by the Rhode Island State Energy Office, provides rebates to homeowners who install renewable energy projects, such as solar panels. More than $1 million in rebates have been awarded this year to about 50 renewable energy projects.
The governments of both Rhode Island and Providence have set concrete goals for conversion to consumption of renewable energy. Last year, the General Assembly voted to increase the state’s use of renewable energy from the current 2 percent to 16 percent by 2020.
Providence’s timetable is more aggressive – the city has set a goal of using 20 percent renewable energy by 2010. As part of the plan, the city is reportedly considering the installation of solar panels at some schools and even reactivating a hydroelectric dam on the Pawtuxet River.
At a recent hearing held at the General Assembly to explore alternative energy sources for the state, the R.I. Economic Development Corporation announced a list of renewable energy initiatives it plans to pursue.
In particular, the agency is discussing the creation of a public/private partnership to develop a statewide wind power network, according to EDC spokeswoman Melissa Withers.
“We’re exploring how we might be able to use wind power to lower the state’s energy costs,” Withers said. “This could be a key part of a transition to alternative energy solutions for the state.”
The Wind Power Rhode Island Project originally started out as a classroom project of Roger Williams University architecture professor Eleftherios Pavlides. Early next year, Pavlides and his team will conduct a survey to quantify interest in a wind farm project in Bristol.
The town of Portsmouth and the Narragansett Indians in Charlestown also are exploring the idea of wind power projects.
Not far from Rhode Island, one of the biggest wind energy proposals on the East Coast is mired in controversy. Cape Wind Associates has proposed to build an $800-million wind farm in Nantucket Sound, consisting of 130 wind turbines within sight of land. The project has drawn negative reactions from Nantucket residents, as well as fishermen and boaters, with criticisms ranging from blighted sightlines to damage to the environment.
