Rhode Island Races to Offset Natural Gas with 100% Renewable Energy Goal by 2033
Rhode Island is on track to become the first U.S. state to completely offset its electricity generation from renewables with a new legislative package that aims for a fast track to net zero by 2033.
The majority of Rhode Island’s electricity currently comes from natural gas, but comprehensive legislation heading to Gov. Daniel McKee’s office seeks to incentivize accelerated change. House Bill 277/Senate Bill 2274 does not prevent state utilities from using fossil fuels. Instead, it forces utilities to gradually procure more renewable electricity capacity.
The state’s Renewable Energy Standard currently requires utilities to purchase Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) for 19% of their annual electricity sales and increase those purchases by 1.5% per year. The new package adopted earlier in June accelerates this path towards 100% renewable offsets over the decade.
“In addition to reducing emissions and our reliance on fossil fuels that must be brought to Rhode Island from other locations, creating renewable energy supports green industry, creating thousands of well-paying jobs right here in Rhode. Island,” Democratic state Rep. Deborah Ruggiero said. , an author of House legislation, said.
Under the legislation, Rhode Island’s energy transition plans would outpace New York and Connecticut’s plans to require 100% renewable electricity by 2040. Oregon also has legislation requiring carbon neutral by 2040, and California could have fully renewable electricity by 2045.
Utilities operating in the state would purchase CERs from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) market. RGGI was created as part of a regional effort with 11 states as a commercial hub for renewable resources and investment.
While the nation’s smallest state consumes less energy per capita than any other, its share of electricity generated from natural gas is the highest in the nation, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). . The state consumed 101 trillion Btu of natural gas in 2020, the latest annual data available from the EIA. Nearly 90% of net production is made up of natural gas.
Rhode Island residents are also more than six times more likely than the average American to heat their home with some kind of fuel oil, the EIA reported. About three in 10 homes in the state use fuel oil.
In 2017, the state hosted America’s first offshore wind farm near Block Island. Rhode Island’s wind power generation has increased 23-fold between 2015 and 2020. The state now has at least 41 MW of generating capacity from a dozen onshore wind farms.
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State lawmakers also moved to expand their purchases of offshore wind power in separate legislation passed in late June. The bill could require the state’s main utility, Rhode Island Energy, to procure 600 to 1,000 MWh of offshore wind power. The company could receive up to 1% of the contract amount as an incentive.
The combined utility, which serves approximately 770,000 customers across Rhode Island, is a subsidiary of PPL Corp. The Allentown, Pennsylvania-based energy company purchased the company, formerly known as Narragansett Electric Co., from National Grid plc in 2020.
“We view 100% renewable generation as an essential part of helping Rhode Island meet its clean energy goals set out in the Climate Act, which is why we supported this legislation,” the doorman told NGI. -RI Energy spokesperson, Ted Kresse. “We look forward to helping ensure that all electricity used in Rhode Island is offset by renewable sources by 2033, which is among the nation’s most aggressive goals.”
