Verde Vineyards, located in Johnston, Rhode Island, is unique for its traditional wine making techniques, hand-picked grapes, open fermentation and oak barrel aging. Jim Verde opened the farm after retiring from his job as a teacher, turning his passion for winemaking into a business.

Mr. Verde has implemented three different clean energy projects: a 10.56 kW ground mounted solar system, a 40 kWh battery back-up system and geothermal heat pumps. As a result of these systems working together, the farm is 100% powered by renewable energy. Mr. Verde no longer worries when the power goes out – the batteries automatically turn on and keeps the wine cool and the lights on without any intervention.

Verde Vineyards received an award from the state's Agricultural Energy Grant program (administered by the RI Office of Energy Resources and Department of Environmental Management) supporting both the battery installation and an upgrade to its solar inverters. The farm received an additional grant award from the US Department of Agriculture Rural Energy for America Program (USDA-REAP).

OER produced a video to showcase Verde Vineyard's clean energy systems. Watch it here.

OER has received funding from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to help grocery stores strategically use energy in a way that reduces their costs, while lowering strain on the electrical grid during peak usage times. DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy provided the funding through its Building Technologies Proving Ground awards, which aim to validate innovative building technologies for commercial buildings and the public sector.

OER will partner with Axiom Cloud and National Grid to test how an artificial intelligence software platform can provide intelligent forecasting, modeling, and control of refrigeration loads at grocery stores.

A grocery store's refrigeration system is its top consumer of electricity, and historically these loads have been completely inflexible. With the more than 2,000 grocery stores across Rhode Island and Massachusetts, a load shifting potential of 40 MW to 100 MW may be possible if refrigeration loads were managed.

Enrollment is on a first-come, first-served basis and is ongoing for National Grid grocery store and supermarket customers in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. If you are a store owner and are interested in learning more, reach out to Turner Anderson at tanderson@axiomcloud.ai.

OER and partner agencies Department of Transportation, Division of Motor Vehicles, Department of Environmental Management, and Department of Health are developing a plan to improve access to electric vehicle charging infrastructure.

We want to hear from you! Please join us at any of the following public listening sessions. All sessions will be held virtually using Zoom, with call-in information available.

Public Listening Session #1 – Focus on Health-Transportation Nexus

Public Listening Session #2

Public Listening Session #3

Select the session or sessions you want to attend during your registration process. You will receive a Zoom link in an email.

Can’t attend but still want to comment? We encourage you to submit your thoughts using this form: https://ri.commentinput.com/?id=fURDi.

Learn more about the Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Plan here: www.energy.ri.gov/evplan.

Is your company involved in the clean energy industry?

Are you looking for talented interns?

The Clean Energy Internship Program is now seeking host companies to accept interns for the spring 2022 season.

This program, now entering its fourth year, places Rhode Island undergraduate and graduate students with industry partners for a 12-week paid internship.

Host companies are reimbursed for wages up to $12, paid to interns through the program.

Applications for host companies will close on December 10th, 2021.

The program is offered through the Renewable Energy Fund at Rhode Island Commerce and the Rhode Island Office of Energy Resources. For more information and to apply, visit https://refinternships.commerceri.com/.