WARWICK – Two solar developers with plans to build ground-mounted canopies over parking lots will be the first to benefit from a new state financial incentive.
The projects, planned for East Providence and Cumberland, were among 26 commercial and large-scale solar farms approved for certificates of eligibility by the R.I. Public Utilities Commission on Wednesday. With the PUC approval, National Grid Rhode Island can officially enter into agreements with project developers through its Renewable Energy Growth Program, which lets customers sell the energy their projects produce under long-term tariffs at fixed prices.
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The PUC earlier this year approved a pilot program that would give more money to developers that build their solar projects on parking lots as a way to incentivize these solar carports over projects built on open space and forestland.
As the inaugural participants in the state’s pilot program for solar carports, developers Redwood Carport and Ecogy Energy RI VI LLC will each receive an extra 6 cents per kilowatt hour on top of the fixed price paid for power generation. For a solar carport producing 1.3 million kilowatt-hours per year, the bonus translates to an additional $78,000 annually, according to National Grid calculations.
The exact financial benefit for these projects, which will create around 250 kilowatt-hours each, was not immediately available.
Christopher Kearns, the interdepartmental manager for the R.I. Office of Energy Resources, which recommended the carport adder, said he was pleased with the initial interest in the pilot program, especially given the uncertainty posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“As a new sector, it will take time for projects to develop,” he said, naming agreements between developers and parking lot owners, interconnection studies and municipal permitting as steps required before project developers can apply for the Renewable Energy Growth Program.
All 26 projects were selected during a two-week open enrollment period that ended May 8, and include a combination of large and commercial-scale solar arrays as well as the two carports. In total, they will generate more than 21,000 kilowatt-hours of nameplate capacity once operational. Approved projects must be finished within one or two years, depending on the type of technology used.
National Grid aims to reach 40 megawatts – or 40,000 kilowatts – of renewable energy through its Renewable Energy Growth program in 2020. Two additional open enrollment periods are scheduled.
Nancy Lavin is a PBN staff writer. You may reach her at Lavin@PBN.com.
