Offshore Wind Makes Big Moves Across the Northeast Region

Two years ago, Acadia Center’s EnergyVision 2030 examined the energy mix needed to achieve the Northeast’s 2030 decarbonization goals and determined that at least 13% of the region’s electricity needs could be served by the development of 9.5 GW of offshore wind. In New England and New York, Acadia Center has advocated for ambitious state procurement goals and these states have recently made incredible progress. Over the last three years, Northeast states have raised their collective 2035 offshore wind goals from 1.6 GW to 14.6 GW, and they may exceed the EnergyVision 2030 target if several of the projects are completed before 2030. Together, the Northeast states’ ambitious targets for offshore wind development could generate enough electricity to satisfy a quarter of the region’s total electricity needs.

Although only one small offshore wind project is in operation today, states have begun to make real progress toward reaping the benefits of one of the world’s most bountiful clean energy resources – the abundant wind off of the Atlantic coast. States are finding that offshore wind is available, feasible, affordable, and it supports economic development, good jobs, and carbon reductions. The combined commitments from the Northeast states could produce as much as 60 TWhs of carbon-free electricity, reducing carbon emissions by about 29 million tons every year.

State comparison of current commitments, selection processes, completed procurements, and construction of offshore wind.

Connecticut

Since 2016, Acadia Center has been actively working with Connecticut to grow its commitment to offshore wind and, in 2018, Governor Malloy’s administration made its first two procurements totaling 300 MW. The first 200 MW project is predicted to support about 1400 jobs through both the addition of wind farm construction jobs and the jobs supported by increased spending in the local economy by those new workers. Following these two procurements, the state entered into a public-private partnership with the wind and marine services industries for a $93 million redevelopment of the New London state pier as a hub for regional offshore wind activities. With its long-standing maritime economy, New London has great potential to become one of the support centers for offshore wind build out in the region. In June 2019, Acadia Center and a coalition of clean energy advocates won a major victory when the state passed legislation requiring that the state issue solicitations for 2000 MW of offshore wind by 2030, or about 30% of the state’s electricity consumption. This commitment puts Connecticut at the front of the pack for northeastern states in terms of share of total electricity demand to be provided by offshore wind.

Massachusetts

In 2016, in response to efforts by Acadia Center and a coalition of clean energy advocates, Massachusetts passed legislation to secure its first 1600 MW of offshore wind by 2027. It has since selected an 800 MW project to be completed by 2021. The project is expected to reduce CO2 emissions by 1.6 million metric tons annually, equivalent to removing about 315,000 cars from the road, and deliver net benefits of $1.4 billion over the 20-year life of the contract. The contract demonstrated that the offshore wind industry can supply energy at costs competitive with fossil fuel generation over the long term. The developer also committed $15 million in investments to spur the offshore wind industry in Massachusetts. Governor Baker’s administration has issued a request for proposals for another 800 MW, with bids due in August 2019.

Acadia Center’s advocacy in 2018 helped secure passage of legislation authorizing an additional 1600 MW of offshore wind by 2035 pending a study to investigate the necessity, benefits, and cost of more offshore wind. In keeping with input from Acadia Center and other stakeholders, the May 2019 study supports increasing the state’s overall commitment to 3200 MW. These findings are bolstering the push for legislation to set the state’s overall offshore wind target at 6000 MW by 2035, which would be equivalent to nearly 50% of the electricity consumed by the state.

To support the construction of these large projects, the site of Massachusetts’ last coal plant will be converted to serve as a base providing support and logistics for the offshore wind industry, as well as transmission and battery support for turbines offshore.

New York

So far, New York leads the region in its total commitment to offshore wind capacity at 9000 MW, and it is making offshore wind a centerpiece of its plan to decarbonize the state’s electricity system. As a first step, the state issued a procurement in November 2018 of at least 800 MW. Leading up to its release, Acadia Center worked with allies to ensure that the procurement was structured to maximize consumer savings, support workforce development, and include environmental protections. The state is poised to announce its selection for a project up to 1200 MW.

New York’s offshore wind goal is a major building block of Governor Cuomo’s recently announced commitment to 100% emissions free electricity by 2040 and a net-zero carbon economy by 2050.

Rhode Island

Rhode Island led the region’s offshore wind efforts by hosting the first offshore wind project built in the United States: the 5-turbine, 30 MW Block Island Wind Farm, completed in late 2016. In May 2019 the state also approved a contract for 400 MW of offshore wind and is considering proposals for up to an additional 350 MW. The state is on track to reach the Governor Raimondo’s goal of 1000 MW sourced from clean, renewable energy by 2020.

Rhode Island has also been an early home to U.S. offshore wind industry headquarters for major companies, including Deepwater Wind (recently acquired by Ørsted) and GEV Wind Power. The presence of these new developers in the state demonstrate that a robust offshore wind industry can create not only clean power and cost savings, but good jobs and economic development opportunities.

Other Northeast States

Maine: Unlike its neighbors to the south, Maine’s coastal seabed drops off steeply right from shore, meaning that wind developers can’t use technology that attaches towers to the ocean floor in shallower depths. But that hasn’t stopped Maine from moving forward with offshore wind. Maine is looking to a much newer and experimental technology using floating platforms. Governor Mills recently signed a law recommitting Maine to a project consisting of two 6-MW turbines on floating platforms.

In another important step signaling Maine’s strong commitment to offshore wind (and other clean energy innovations), Governor Mills has created the Maine Offshore Wind Initiative and joined Massachusetts and New Hampshire to participate in the Gulf of Maine Intergovernmental Regional Task Force on Offshore Wind. As the costs of floating platform-based offshore wind come down, Maine’s opportunities to make larger commitments to offshore wind will continue to grow.

New Hampshire: Until recently, New Hampshire was on the sidelines in the offshore wind development race. But, in January 2019, Governor Sununu formally requested that federal regulators establish a state-federal offshore wind Task Force that will follow a multi-year process that 15 other states have already initiated. Without this process, New Hampshire would only be able to develop offshore wind projects within three miles of the coast — the point at which state waters end and federal waters begin. In April, regulators established a regional Gulf of Maine task force to coordinate activities in Maine, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire.

What does this mean for people in the Northeast?

These massive commitments by the Northeast states along with others along the eastern seaboard will allow for this new, burgeoning industry to develop and offer opportunities for states to roll out their offshore procurements and construction in a coordinated way. Based on performance shown to this point, costs will continue to decline as the industry grows. For example, turbines are getting larger, producing more electricity and resulting in lower and lower prices per megawatt-hour.

Each state making these commitments will vie for the economic development and employment benefits that the offshore wind industry buildout promises, breathing new life into the numerous deep-water ports up and down the coast. Many of the region’s port communities have struggled through the decline of the industries that formerly drove their economies, but they are now poised to reap the benefits offshore wind can bring.

The buildout of offshore wind resources will also contribute significantly to the urgent push to decarbonize the way we generate electricity and power our buildings, industries and transportation systems. The destructive and dangerous impacts of the changing climate are upon us, and they disproportionately affect coastal communities and fisheries through sea-level rise and warming waters. Replacing old, dirty fossil fueled generation with offshore wind is an important step toward an electric grid that will support the clean electrification of our buildings and transportation sector.

In addition to reducing carbon emissions, offshore wind will reduce other harmful emissions related to burning fossil fuels. These emissions damage people’s lungs and hearts and take a serious economic toll on affected communities. Reducing such emissions has significant human health benefits especially for those living in economically disadvantaged communities where fossil-fueled plants are concentrated.

In the Northeast, offshore wind is poised to meet the region’s needs as older generating plants are retiring because of economic pressures, environmental standards, and aging equipment. Grid operators, market participants, and advocates like Acadia Center are looking for ways to shift how the grid operates as more and more renewable energy resources like offshore wind begin to produce electricity. Replacing some of these older retiring plants with offshore wind will bring other benefits in the form of lower wholesale electricity prices – reflected in the significant economic benefits realized in the MA and RI contracts. In addition, because offshore wind may deliver energy during peak winter conditions when dirty gas and oil-powered plants are currently paid to run, these new facilities will further bring down the price – and pollutants – from electricity generation.

Challenges

As offshore wind grows, the region will also face a range of challenges. Economically, the industry has benefited from the federal Investment Tax Credit, which is due to expire at the end of 2019. If allowed to expire, projects that go under contract after the end of this year may face up to 12% higher costs. Further, the construction and operation of many thousands of wind turbines and the needed transmission cables must appropriately address impacts on whales and other endangered species, birds, and a fishing industry already under significant pressure as a result of warming waters and overfishing. Advocates and decisionmakers must engage with local communities to address concerns around siting the landfall cables and other local impacts.

On the economic side, states and stakeholders should consider coordinating procurements to achieve an orderly build out of projects, allowing the industry to ramp up the supply chain and train a work force. States should look closely at whether each project should be connected to the shore individually or whether a central transmission back bone makes more economic and environmental sense.

What’s next?

Offshore wind is on a track to succeed in the Northeast, given the surge of state interest. However, the future success of this resource depends on its implementation, which must be accomplished on an aggressive schedule in order to reap the economic and environmental benefits. The projects must also proceed in ways that set a good precedent for the U.S. industry. Project selection, siting, and transmission must all be considered with an eye toward meeting fast-approaching climate deadlines and ensuring that labor, environmental, and economic justice issues are central to planning. Acadia Center will continue to work closely with the states, advocates, and other stakeholders on these issues, bringing its independent analytic, advocacy, and coalition-building expertise to ensure the successful deployment and continued expansion of offshore wind in the region.

Additional Resources

Press Release: CT House of Representatives Passes Pivotal Bill to Build 2000 MW of New Offshore Wind by 2030

Blog: A Regional Affair: Offshore Wind in Massachusetts Clears Hurdle in Rhode Island

Report: EnergyVision 2030 Electric Generation Brief

Governor Mills Signs Legislation to Advance Maine’s Clean Energy Economy and Climate Safety

Acadia Center Applauds Strong Suite of Climate and Clean Energy Actions

AUGUSTA, Maine – Maine’s most ambitious bills to fight climate change in a decade are now law. Today, Governor Mills signed three bills that will put Maine on track to 100% renewable energy by 2050, create an innovative Climate Council that allows voices from around the state to have a say in fighting climate change, expand access to renewable energy and put communities on the path to become energy independent. These join a suite of complementary bills that Governor Mills has signed into law since taking office, which reverse years of inaction and promise to advance the fight against climate change and bring the benefits of the clean energy economy to the people of Maine.

“For so long, Mainers have watched while other New England states invest in solar, wind, and large-scale procurements that reduce their dependence on foreign oil, lower consumer costs and provide cleaner and healthier power – now Maine will be a leader in creating jobs, saving money on energy bills and tackling the climate crisis using resources here at home,” said Daniel Sosland, Acadia Center President.

The bills signed today are An Act to Promote Clean Energy Jobs and to Establish the Maine Climate Council (L.D. 1679), An Act to Reform Maine’s Renewable Portfolio Standard (L.D. 1494), and An Act to Promote Solar Energy Projects and Distributed Generation Resources in Maine (L.D. 1711). They follow three other groundbreaking energy laws passed this month with bipartisan support.

Since the beginning of 2019, Governor Mills has signed legislation to restart a stalled offshore wind procurement process, install 100,000 clean and energy-efficient heat pumps in homes around the state in the next five years, create a fund to support rebates for the lease or purchase of an electric vehicle, expand training programs to build the clean energy workforce and address a suite of electric grid modernization initiatives, from energy storage to non-wires alternative solutions.

Altogether, these actions represent a remarkable turnaround in the leadership’s commitment to tackling the climate crisis and bringing the benefits of energy efficiency and clean energy to Maine. As neighboring states have demonstrated, the clean energy economy creates high-paying local jobs, saves consumers money and improves health and air quality by reducing the use of polluting fossil fuels.

“Acadia Center’s Building a Stronger Maine policy blueprint, submitted to the next governor at the end of 2018, laid out five critical areas where Maine needed to modernize its transportation and energy systems in order to address climate change and stay competitive in the New England region,” said Arah Schuur, Vice President – Climate and Energy at Acadia Center. “It should gratify all Mainers to see bipartisan support that takes concrete steps in each of these areas. Acadia Center applauds Governor Mills and the Maine Legislature for their swift action on clean energy.”

Connecticut House of Representatives Passes Pivotal Bill to Build 2000 MW of New Offshore Wind by 2030

HARTFORD, Conn. – Today, Connecticut’s House of Representatives passed landmark legislation that would require the state to solicit 2000 MW of new offshore wind energy by 2030, building significantly on the first 300 MW of offshore wind the state procured last year. This legislation would initiate the first new procurement this summer and includes rigorous environmental requirements and robust labor provisions. The bill has been strongly supported by a broad group of clean energy, labor, industry, and environmental advocates, and it comes on the heels of a major announcement by the governor promising new port infrastructure for this industry.

“This bill is an amazing achievement for the state of Connecticut, and the House of Representatives demonstrated exceptional bipartisan leadership in passing it today,” said Emily Lewis, senior policy analyst at Acadia Center. “This bill will put Connecticut on the path to reach its clean energy and climate commitments and is a critical element in building the state’s clean energy economy. Coupled with the recently announced public-private partnership to redevelop the State Pier in New London, Connecticut is solidifying its position as a national leader on offshore wind energy.”

Passage of the bill follows an announcement last week by Governor Lamont that the state of Connecticut, Bay State Wind, terminal operator Gateway, and the Connecticut Port Authority will be partnering in investing $93 million to redevelop the State Pier in New London to support the growing offshore wind industry in the state and the Northeast region.

“Passage of this bill by the House of Representatives is a tremendous victory for Connecticut’s workers and their communities, which will benefit from local jobs, economic development, and clean energy, ” said John Humphries, lead organizer for the CT Roundtable on Climate and Jobs. “We applaud the efforts of legislators on both sides of the aisle, who worked together to make this aggressive long-term commitment to offshore wind with the strongest labor and environmental protections of any state in the region. We urge the Senate to act quickly and send this bill to the Governor’s desk, so we can all get to work making Connecticut the regional hub for this emerging industry.”

Over the past year, Acadia Center and the CT Roundtable on Climate and Jobs have worked with allies to build broad support for an offshore wind mandate of at least 2000 MW by 2030. By passing this bill, legislators have provided a strong, bipartisan endorsement of this measure, which will not only help meet the state’s ambitious climate and clean energy goals but also help position Connecticut at the nucleus of the nascent Northeastern offshore wind industry.

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Alliance for Clean Energy Solutions Launches for Third Session, Announces Legislative Priorities for Massachusetts

Coalition to focus on establishing long-term net zero emissions targets, expanding clean energy procurement, modernizing regional energy infrastructure and taking action to address climate impacts of transportation.

BOSTON, MA – The Alliance for Clean Energy Solutions (ACES), a coalition composed of diverse organizations dedicated to advancing clean, affordable and reliable energy for Massachusetts, announced its legislative priorities today. The priorities build off of previous successes in the Commonwealth to advance clean energy but also take a longer term perspective and embark into new areas where action to address pollution is vital. They will facilitate clean energy development, reduce climate pollution and its associated health impacts, protect consumers, enhance economic growth and encourage innovation.

“We have made great strides in advancing renewable energy generation since ACES was originally formed, and our priorities continue building on that foundation,” said Deborah Donovan, Massachusetts Director of Acadia Center. “The science on climate has painted a clearer picture of the urgency of the crisis and requires Massachusetts to establish clear long-term goals reflecting the latest data. We are calling upon the legislature to also address other areas where we have not made as much progress, like modernizing our grid and lowering emissions from transportation while also ensuring the needs of low income, working class communities and communities of color are made more central.”

The priorities look to establish long-term greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) targets and to continue the success Massachusetts has had in building renewable energy generation by improving and expanding the state’s procurement mechanisms. They also aim to make substantial improvements to the region’s electrical infrastructure by modernizing the grid to accommodate renewables and other clean resources like energy storage. Lastly and significantly for the coalition, they look beyond electric power to the GHG impacts of transportation.

“The ACES policy priorities are critical to the economic, energy and environmental future of the Commonwealth,” said Peter Rothstein, President of NECEC. “Our diverse coalition looks forward to working with the legislature to build upon Massachusetts’ success deploying cost-effective clean energy solutions to reduce carbon emissions, while driving innovation in clean tech and creating jobs.”

The ACES legislative priorities include:

• Transportation Climate Policy and Equitable Clean Transportation Investment – Implement the regional approach to transportation climate policy under discussion (Transportation and Climate Initiative) in a timely manner, with proceeds to be invested to reduce transportation emissions, provide access to clean transportation for all, including communities with the least access to clean, reliable mobility options, through an inclusive process in the Commonwealth.

• A Modern, Clean, and Resilient Grid – Provide for a future with widespread local energy resources, including solar, storage, and demand response, with improvements to the timeliness and fairness of interconnection processes, smarter electricity rates, improved net metering, enhanced access for low and moderate income (LMI) customers, and increased stakeholder input.

• Stronger Long–term Climate Protection Policies – Expand the greenhouse gas reduction requirements of the Global Warming Solutions Act (GWSA) to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 or sooner, commensurate with the latest science, by using planning, public policy, and funding to reach interim targets⏤maximizing energy efficiency, utilizing 100% clean or renewable energy, deploying energy storage and other innovative clean technologies, implementing natural climate solutions, and expanding carbon pricing to all sectors.

• Improved and Expanded Renewable Energy Procurement Mechanisms – Authorize additional state and regional procurements for offshore wind and other RPS Class I renewable energy resources, guard against conflicts of interest in project evaluation and selection, require climate benefits for all selected projects, enable new procurement mechanisms and funding sources to empower businesses and communities, and ensure that environmental impacts of electricity generation and transmission are appropriately avoided, minimized, and mitigated.

Also, the ACES legislative priorities include support for specific strategies related to energy efficiency, clean and efficient heating, and electric vehicles.

“Massachusetts has many great policies on the books, but more is needed to address transportation emissions and to meet our climate obligations,” said Eugenia Gibbons, Policy Director at Green Energy Consumers Alliance. “With the right mix of new policies, we can further reduce emissions and save more money by avoiding imported fossil fuels.”

“Investing in clean energy solutions is an integral step in hitting climate goals and stimulating economic growth,” said Jesse Mermell, President of The Alliance for Business Leadership. “Already, the clean energy sector has created over 100,000 jobs and contributed billions of dollars to the Commonwealth’s economy. Advancing the ACES priorities can reaffirm the state’s commitment to transitioning to a cleaner future and send signals that Massachusetts is a competitive place in which to work and do business.”

To learn more about ACES, its members and its policy priorities, visit: https://www.acesma.net/

About the Alliance for Clean Energy Solutions (ACES) The Alliance for Clean Energy Solutions (ACES) is a “coalition of coalitions” comprised of business groups, clean energy companies, environmental organizations, labor, health, and consumer advocates dedicated to advancing clean energy for Massachusetts. ACES is committed to ensuring that those charged with shaping Massachusetts’ energy policies have the most rigorous, current data on the benefits and costs of clean energy. Our goal is to ensure that the Commonwealth can attain a cost-effective, reliable and diverse energy supply to power its businesses, communities and households, which will reduce our reliance on fossil fuels, create a stable and prosperous business environment and meet the Commonwealth’s greenhouse gas emissions requirements. For more information: https://www.acesma.net/.

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Media Contacts:

Krysia Wazny McClain
kwazny@acadiacenter.org
617-742-0054 x107

Sean Davenport
sdavenport@necec.org
617-500-9997

 

 

OurTransportationFuture.org: New Broad-Based Advocacy Effort Boosts Regional Initiative to Reduce Vehicle Pollution

42 Groups Join Together to Help Lawmakers, City Officials and Business Leaders Develop 21st-Century Clean Transportation Network Offering More Options and Serving the Needs of All in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic

WASHINGTON, D.C. AND BOSTON – Forty-two local, regional and national groups today launched a new coalition, Our Transportation Future, established to help Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states develop a regional clean transportation system that protects public health, curbs climate-changing pollution, expands economies and improves the flow of commerce. The coalition will support states’ efforts to address a transportation system that is unworkable, outmoded and is the leading source of carbon pollution driving climate change.

Our Transportation Future (OTF) is committed to finding solutions and modernizing transportation across the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic region. The coalition aims to help transform the region’s transportation system into a model for the nation that gets people in rural, suburban and urban communities where they need to go safely, more efficiently and with less exposure to harmful pollution.

OTF experts are taking an active role to educate state policy makers and the media.  The new OTF website will provide important news, information and announcements about the ongoing efforts to modernize transportation across the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states.  A monthly round-up of media coverage and commentary about regional clean transportation is available at OTF with a free subscription.

OTF supports the policy objectives of the Transportation and Climate Initiative (TCI), a collaboration of Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states and the District of Columbia working to reduce transportation pollution and invest in a modern, clean transportation future for the region. In December 2018, nine TCI states and D.C. committed to working over the course of 2019 to design and create a market-based program to limit transportation pollution while improving public transit, expanding electric vehicle use, establishing more bikeways and pedestrian walkways and fostering economic growth.

Jordan Stutt, carbon programs director, Acadia Center, said: “This broad group of organizations has united around a shared reality: it’s time to invest in our transportation future. Our air is polluted, our public transit is outdated, and traffic is choking our cities. Through TCI and other clean transportation policies, we can invest in solutions for cleaner air, healthier people, and a thriving economy.”

ABOUT OTF

Our Transportation Future is a coalition of local, regional and national organizations committed to modernizing transportation across the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic region. OTF is focused on improving our transportation system — the ways we move people and goods in the region – to spur economic growth, make us healthier and safer, clean up the environment, and improve our quality of life.

An improved transportation system means more clean cars and trucks, more reliable mass transit, more walkable and bikeable communities, and investments that connect everyone, including those in underserved and rural areas.

OTF members include:  A Better City, Acadia Center, Ceres, Clean Air Council, Climate Law and Policy Project, ClimateXChange, ConnPIRG, Connecticut Public Interest for the Environment, Conservation Law Foundation, Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2), Energize Maryland, Environment America, Environment Connecticut, Environment Massachusetts, Environment Maryland, Environment Maine, Environment New Hampshire, Environment New Jersey, Environment New York, Environment Rhode Island, Environment Virginia, Environmental Advocates of New York, Environmental League of Massachusetts, Green Energy Consumers Alliance, Green For All, Health Care Without Harm, Maryland PIRG, Mass Climate Action Network, MassPIRG, NJPIRG, Northeast Clean Energy Council, Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), PennEnvironment, Sierra Club, Transportation for America, Transportation for Massachusetts, Tri-State Transportation Campaign, Union of Concerned Scientists, USPIRG, Vermont Energy Investment Corporation, Vermont Natural Resources Council, and 350 MASS for A Better Future.

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Media Contact:

Krysia Wazny McClain, Communications Director
617-742-0054 x107, kwazny@acadiacenter.org

Herding cats: Controversy over the solar siting bill in Rhode Island

This approach appears to give a lot of leeway to towns and cities to make their own decisions about how to regulate the siting of solar, and would also steer developers to previously disturbed sites. As such it was endorsed by many of the main non-profits active in the environmental and energy space, including Conservation Law Foundation, Audubon Society, Acadia Center, Save the Bay and Green Energy Consumers Alliance.

Read the full article from PV Magazine here.

Our View: Fewer cars, cleaner air should be goal for Maine transit

But lowering emissions will show that Maine is serious about contributing to a very important fight.

It will make us healthier, too – according to the Rockport-based Acadia Center, passenger vehicle emissions were responsible for $500 million in health costs in Maine in 2015.

The Acadia Center also figures that modernizing and making green Maine’s transportation system would be a boost to the economy. By prioritizing electric cars and buses – and by implementing a vehicle emissions cap-and-trade plan based on the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative – Maine can raise $1 billion in new wages, create 8,700 long-term jobs and reduce emissions by 45 percent.

Read the full article from the Portland Press Herald here.

Lawmakers want to amend 2018 energy bill

The bill was a major issue in the energy landscape that met Gov. Lamont when he took office with an agenda that was at odds parts of the 2018 law.

“This was a big one coming into this year,” Arconti said just prior to the committee vote, two days before its deadline to act. “I think we have a really good framework going forward to a final product, and not having to address it for a while after the session.”

“It’s way better than it was, and it’s going to save Connecticut jobs, but it won’t expand the solar industry,” said Amy McLean Salls, senior policy advocate for the Acadia Center.

Read the full article from CT Post here.

Rhode Island Must Prioritize Solar Siting in 2019

Solar energy is growing in the Northeast, but the urgency of climate change means that states need to accelerate the transition to clean energy sources.

In Rhode Island, siting challenges that have arisen in the past few years show that the state can’t do this without a plan. In a landscape patchworked with forest, farmland, and open space, policies and incentives must prioritize solar projects in areas with compatible land uses.

On March 14, the House held a hearing for H5789, a solar siting bill that aims to address these challenges. The bill represents months of collaboration between conservation groups, municipal planners, renewable energy developers, farm interests, state agencies and others as part of the Renewable Energy Siting Stakeholder Committee. Acadia Center has worked alongside these groups to generate a range of strategies designed to drive projects to preferred areas, including previously developed and disturbed parcels.

These strategies include:

• Prohibiting the largest, most controversial projects by preventing projects from being built across neighboring parcels;
• Significantly limiting the size of solar projects in designated areas of environmental concern;
• Introducing an incentive through the Public Utilities Commission to reimburse solar projects in preferred areas for interconnection costs;
• Directing OER to incorporate smart siting policies in an implementation plan for reaching the state’s emissions reductions goals;
• Setting a deadline for municipalities to adopt individually tailored solar siting ordinances that will help local officials review projects and, if desired, establish more streamlined processes for preferred siting.

 

This bill is not the sole solution to the challenge of solar siting. Small-scale solar capacity in the state’s Renewable Energy Growth (REG) program has been nearly doubled to maximize residential and commercial rooftop arrays, which pose no siting conflicts. Further, just this week, OER and the Rhode Island Commerce Corporation opened a $1 million fund to support projects that propose solar on brownfields.

But make no mistake: legislators must act this session to avoid risking another year without significant protections for the state’s forests and habitats. The economics of siting currently favor large projects in flat, forested tracts, but they don’t have to remain that way.

To learn more, read Acadia Center’s full testimony on House Bill 5789.

Threat of shutdown hovers over negotiations between Millstone and utilities over power prices