Governor Dan McKee and the Office of Energy Resources (OER) announced a proposal to use an additional $1.5 million in funding from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) to provide direct rate relief to low-income Rhode Island residents for their electricity bills this winter season. This is in addition to the $5.3 million allocated by Governor McKee to this rate relief program over the last several months. This funding is expected to help approximately 39,000 low-income customers with their electricity bills during the winter electricity rates through the end of March.

In October, Governor McKee announced the launch of a new website, EnergySupport.ri.gov, providing a one-stop resource for all publicly available state, federal and nonprofit energy assistance programs and funding for the upcoming winter season. There is also information about free home energy assessments for homeowners and renters looking to reduce their energy usage

December was a popular month for EV and E-bike sales as shown by the number of rebate applications OER received.

DRIVE EV Program Statistics offers an interactive dashboard that displays the rebate program database of information gathered since the DRIVE EV Program launch date, July 7, 2022, and the E-Bike Program launch date, October 24, 2022. 

The dashboards provide data such as the amount of available funds, rebate breakdown by type of EV and E-Bike, and location. 

For DRIVE EV, the top three vehicle types that has received the most rebates is Chevrolet, Hyundai, and Tesla. The EV rebates are the most popular among Providence, South Kingstown, and Warwick residents. As of December 2022, DRIVE EV has awarded 180 rebates, totaling $420,250. 

For the E-Bike rebate, the top three municipalities are Providence, South Kingstown, and Cranston. As of December 2022, the E-bike program has awarded 110 rebates, totaling $80,000. 

Program statistics for DRIVE EV are available here. Program statistics for the E-Bike program are available here.  

If you would like to apply to the rebate, visit drive.ri.gov

The town of West Warwick is home to about 29,000 residents and ranks 10th in population out of 39 cities and towns in Rhode Island. West Warwick is also home to the Echo Valley Apartment Complex, which provides affordable housing to about 100 families.

Echo Valley recently completed a 426-kW rooftop community solar project, which is now interconnected and serving residents of the complex and the surrounding community. This solar system is expected to produce over 581,000 kWh annually, which is equivalent to the amount of electricity needed to power about 100 homes in RI for one year. This solar project became operational in August 2020, and is 100 percent subscribed.

To read the full story, visit our Energy Profile page here.

Danielle Jameson joined OER in December 2022 as climate change programs and policy manager. We are thrilled to have her on our team and asked her to introduce herself to our readers.

Please tell us about your background.

I graduated from the University at Buffalo with a BS in Environmental Science. I started with the National Park Service at a National Recreation Area in Brooklyn, NY leading an urban camping program. I then joined the Peace Corps in Peru and worked together with local water committees, helping to provide them the information and resources they needed to supply potable water to their communities. I continued my studies at Tufts University where I earned a master's degree in urban environmental policy and planning. My research focused on climate change adaption in unique environments such as small island developing states and salt marshes.   

Continue reading here.

The RI Office of Energy Resources (OER) will be undertaking a public hearing to introduce the objectives, methods, and criteria for utilizing formula grant funds made available by the Department of Energy (DOE), as outlined in section 40101 of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). 40101(d) is one of several IIJA funding mechanisms aimed at reducing outages and enhancing the resiliency of the electric grid.

OER will conduct an in-person public hearing on Thursday, February 2nd, 2023, from 12:00-1:00pm in DOA conference room 2B. Remote participation will be available via Zoom. Public comment will open after the hearing and will be open for two weeks, closing by COB on February 16, 2023. 

The goal of this IIJA funding opportunity is to support the Biden Administration’s and Congress’ objectives to:

1. Demonstrate measurable improvements in energy resilience to all hazards in the United States and mitigate climate-related risk;
2. Invest in modernized grid infrastructure that can enable consumer access to lower-cost energy and accommodate increased electrification, increased penetrations of variable renewable electricity and distributed energy resources, and other evolving system needs over the coming decades; and
3. Invest in clean energy and decarbonization solutions to achieve a carbon-free power sector by 2035 and net-zero greenhouse gas emissions economy-wide by 2050.

If communication assistance (readers/interpreters/captions) is needed, or any other accommodation to ensure equal participation, please call the Rhode Island Office of Energy Resources at Abigail Hasenfus at abigail.hasenfus@energy.ri.gov at least three (3) business days prior to the hearing so arrangements can be made to provide such assistance.

The Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission (PUC) will hold a Technical Conference on Thursday, February 9, 2023 beginning at 10:00 AM in Hearing Room A of the Public Utilities Commission Offices at 89 Jefferson Boulevard in Warwick, Rhode Island.

On December 7, 2022, the PUC adopted a scope for the Future of Gas docket. To begin the process, the PUC has invited panelists to speak about the future of the gas distribution system in Rhode Island. They will also discuss how to align emissions caused by the use of the gas system with the greenhouse gas emissions requirements outlined in the Act on Climate.

At the close of each panel, there will be a process through which members of the public in attendance may submit questions to the PUC staff to be asked of the panelists.

This Technical Conference is not a public comment hearing. The meeting will take place in Hearing Room A and may also be viewed via the PUC’s live stream at https://video.ibm.com/channel/WqQyXw296dg.

This is only the first Technical Conference of many which will take place in this docket, including at least one which will allow for public comment.

See the full meeting agenda here.