With over 400 miles of coastline, the Ocean State is already facing the brunt of climate change. Rising sea levels are causing frequent flooding in the state, which is expected to continue in the near future. So, it’s no surprise that Rhode Island is working overtime to fight climate change by drastically reducing its carbon emissions.
And, solar energy forms a big part of the state’s plan to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels to meet its energy needs.
To reinforce its commitment to reducing carbon emissions and give the decision-makers more teeth to bite, the RI governor recently signed a new bill, Act on Climate, which sets even more ambitious targets for the state to reduce its emissions than before.
The law now sets the year 2050 as the target for making the state a net-zero emission state. The plan sets interim milestones for 2030 to reduce emissions by 45% below 1990 levels and for 2040 to reduce emissions by 80% below 1990 levels. The first milestone requires the state to reduce emissions by 10% by the end of this year.
Despite the country’s first commercial offshore wind project, the Ocean State will need every resource available at its disposal to realize these ambitious targets. Bureaucrats will be compelled to create a more conducive environment for the adoption of renewable energy by various stakeholders, including residential solar customers.
A renewed push for solar energy adoption will witness the easing up of permits and applications. Perhaps the solar incentives might get a boost too, but it’s a little early to speculate on that.
What’s more, the binding law compels decision-makers, especially the bureaucrats, to do more to make renewable initiatives like residential solar more attractive, more effective, and more accessible to customers.
The state already mandates that a sizable portion of the power generated by utility companies comes from renewable sources, which has worked greatly in favor of residential solar customers in the form of net metering arrangements. Perhaps, these mandatory renewable energy cutoffs will increase now that the state faces radically more ambitious targets before it.
In any case, renewables are getting a massive push in the state, and it’s an excellent time for residential customers and businesses to take advantage of this push. One such opportunity is residential solar power.
