Building on her commitment to a clean, affordable and reliable energy future, Governor Gina Raimondo announced last month that Rhode Island has selected Deepwater Wind, the Rhode Island-based clean energy developer, to construct a new, 400-megawatt offshore wind farm. The Revolution Wind project--more than ten times the size of the Block Island Wind Farm--was selected through a competitive offshore wind procurement process in collaboration with Massachusetts.

Shortly following the selection news, Governor Raimondo and Deepwater Wind CEO Jeff Grybowski announced that the Revolution Wind project is expected to create more than 800 direct construction jobs, 50 good-paying, permanent jobs for Rhode Islanders at every skill level and hundreds more indirect jobs. In addition, Deepwater announced it will invest $250 million locally on the project, including $40 million in investments in Rhode Island ports. This investment will position Rhode Island to play a major role in the construction of the growing American offshore wind industry.

To read more, see these press releases below:

Rhode Island and Massachusetts announce largest procurement of offshore wind in nation's history

Raimondo, Deepwater Wind announce 800+ jobs

The Division of Public Utilities and Carriers, National Grid and thirteen other stakeholders have submitted a settlement agreement to the Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission to resolve National Grid’s electric and gas rate case. As a part of the proposed settlement, the parties agreed upon a suite of grid modernization programs proposed in a parallel “Power

Sector Transformation” proceeding.

Based on expert testimony and comments from Rhode Islanders in meetings held across the state, the proposed settlement marks the end of a key phase in the nine-month rate case proceeding. The next phase--a rigorous review by the Public Utilities Commission--will ensure that the proposed settlement represents just and reasonable rates.

To see highlights from the agreement, read the official DPUC press release here.

Solarize Narragansett kicked off with a launch event on Scarborough Beach in Narragansett on Tuesday, June 19. Narragansett residents and businesses will have until November 2 to sign up for solar installations at significantly lower cost.

Solarize Rhode Island is a community-based outreach campaign that provides residents and small businesses the opportunity to become more energy independent and have increased control over their electricity bills. The unique tiered pricing structure unlocks increased savings as more solar contracts in the community are signed.

Solarize RI, a partnership between the Rhode Island Office of Energy Resources, the Renewable Energy Fund at Rhode Island Commerce Corporation, and the nonprofit SmartPower, will host a series of events over the summer and fall encouraging the adoption of solar and will educate hundreds of residents about its environmental and economic benefits.

More information and event dates will be released soon on https://solarizenarragansett.wee.green/.

Earlier this year, Real Jobs RI launched the first-of-its-kind Rhode Island solar sales training course to prepare students for their certification exam and for a future working in the growing clean energy market. Real Jobs RI, a program of the Department of Labor and Training, ensures that Rhode Island employers have the talent they need to compete and grow by providing targeted education and skills training. This class helped to feed a pipeline of trained electricians to meet our state's future solar needs and will contribute to meeting the Governor's goal of 20,000 clean energy jobs by 2020.

Gail Scanlon, project administrator for Sunwatt Solar, a solar installation company, based in Pawtucket, attended the training from February 26 to March 2 and we recently checked in with her for a career update.

Read the full interview here.

Michael Lemoi, CEO and founder of Energy Source, has a saying when it comes to energy efficiency: “There’s nothing cleaner than using less.” Conservation is the cleanest and cheapest form of energy and this is the core of Michael’s business.

Energy Source is an energy efficiency services company, founded and based in Rhode Island, which helps commercial, industrial, healthcare and government clients to save money on their energy bills. 

Read the full profile here.

As more homes and businesses install renewable energy projects, communities will generate more of their own local power via solar and wind, potentially reducing demand on the electrical grid. This could mean less need to build poles, wires, and grid infrastructure, saving millions of dollars in costs.

To test this concept, the Office of Energy Resources ran a pilot project in the Rhode Island towns of Tiverton and Little Compton to understand how solar power could mitigate the need to build costly utility infrastructure to meet growing energy demand.

Read the profile here.