WARWICK – The owner of a large industrial business park near T.F. Green Airport is moving forward with plans to build a sprawling, solar canopy over the parking lot that could power up to 900 homes once completed.
The R.I. Public Utilities Commission on Wednesday approved a certificate of eligibility for a solar carport for 333 Strawberry Field Road in Warwick. The application, submitted by developer ECA Warwick LLC, calls for a ground-mounted solar array with nameplate capacity of just under 4 megawatts – enough to power 900 homes in the state, according to the R.I Office of Energy Resources.
Small Office, Big Impact: Rhode Island Health Care Association Upgrades to Energy-Efficient Lighting
For many small businesses and nonprofit organizations, relatively simple upgrades can deliver meaningful savings while…
Learn More
The project is the third approved under a new state pilot program, which offers additional financial incentives for solar projects built over parking lots as part of efforts to steer developers away from building on forest and farmland. The two other projects approved under the first round of National Grid’s 2020 Renewable Energy Growth Program, sought to build carports in East Providence and Cumberland on a much smaller scale – roughly 250 kilowatt-hours each.
Christopher Kearns, interdepartmental manager for OER, said the proposed 3,995-kilowatt project in Warwick exceeded expectations for the pilot program.
“It certainly proves there is opportunity for that scale of development within parking lots,” he said.
Donald Wignall Jr., a partial owner of the industrial business park slated for the carport, said the financial bonus the state was advertising influenced his decision to move forward with that type of solar array.
“We’ve always loved the idea of carports, and the new incentive makes it more advantageous for us,” Wignall said.
The PUC approval allows National Grid Rhode Island to officially enter into agreements with the developers through its Renewable Energy Growth Program, which lets customers sell the energy their projects produce under long-term tariffs at fixed prices, with an extra 6 cents per kilowatt hour offered through the carport pilot program. The project still must be reviewed and approved by the city of Warwick through its local permitting process, Kearns said.
Todd Fryatt, president of Massachusetts-based ECA Solar which is developing the project, said he plans to submit an application to the city in the fourth quarter of 2020, with plans to build and complete the carport next summer. Details of the project, including the cost, are still being finalized, but Fryatt estimated the carport will cover around 25% of the 14-acre paved surface area, which does not include the building.
The property, known as the Airport Business Center, houses a 685,000-square-foot building used for industrial and manufacturing purposes.
Nancy Lavin is a PBN staff writer. You may reach her at Lavin@PBN.com.
