State Touts Incentives To Build Solar Farms On Brownfields

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The state's Office of Energy Resources (OER) announced today that it is renewing its incentive program to encourage solar developers to build their arrays on brownfields.

Brownfields are former industrial or commercial sites where future use is affected by environmental contamination. Such locations can be ideal for renewable energy projects, the OER said in a news release. The agency has committed an additional $1 million in state Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) proceeds to the program, adding to the $2 million allocated between 2019 and 2020.

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"Accelerating our state's adoption of clean energy resources through the utilization of previously-disturbed sites is vital to achieving our greenhouse gas emissions reduction mandates while preserving Rhode Island's natural environment," stated Energy Commissioner Nicholas S. Ucci.

Ucci declared that the state's program to expand solar arrays on brownfields was "very successful in its first two years." He said the program helps the state reduce carbon emissions, creates jobs, and helps cities and towns make good use of contaminated properties.

The new round of funding is now available through Rhode Island Commerce's Renewable Energy Fund. From 2019 to 2020, $2 million was awarded to 12 solar brownfield projects in Providence, Cranston, Bristol, Warren, Portsmouth, East Greenwich, East Providence, Smithfield, and South Kingstown, adding more than 25 megawatts of renewable energy capacity, the agency said.

In April, Governor Dan McKee signed into law the 2021 Act on Climate, requiring the state to reduce climate emissions to net zero by 2050.