September 21, 2020
The year 2020 has almost come and gone as we near Q4 already. Once more, National Grid is opening up its enrollment for the Rhode Island Renewable Energy Growth Program for Solar, Wind, Hydro, Anaerobic Digestion, and Community Remote Distributed Generation. The enrollment window will be open from October 5th, 2020, starting at 9am EPT (Eastern Prevailing Time) through October 16th, 2020, at 5pm EPT.
A monetary credit, based upon the awarded bid under the RE Growth program, is available for Rhode Island Community Shared Solar, Community Solar, and Remote Net Metering credits.
Rhode Island may not be the biggest U.S. state—in fact, it’s the smallest in terms of area!—but it has an amazing, aggressive program for solar development, and it’s keen to further expand this program with a new solar carport incentive for 2020.
New Rhode Island Solar Carport Incentive for 2020
The approval of a one-year pilot for a new solar carport incentive offers fresh impetus for solar developers and property owners across Rhode Island. The Solar Carport Capacity Target Nameplate (kW DC) will be available for enrollment through all three open enrollment periods, including the period noted above, between October 5th and October 16th. The approved adder for the Rhode Island solar carport incentive is 6.0 cents/kWh.
For further information about this solar carport program, including a solar carport sample project with solar carport performance based incentive adder calculation, check the frequently asked questions section on the National Grid RE Growth webpage.
Who Can Benefit From the National Grid RE Growth Program?
There are certain carports which will be suitable for a solar project and capable of benefitting from the National Grid RE Growth program. For full eligibility requirements and application details, interested parties should consult the Solar Carport Incentive section of the Tariff and Rules on the National Grid RE Growth website. Below are general guidelines regarding the types of carport which could be viable for a solar panel installation.
Parking lots with 50 or more spaces.
Parking lots that exceed 75,000 square feet.
Parking lots that are 1+ acre.
Just like any other commercial solar development project, proximity to three-phase power is a requirement. YSG will study the power lines and substations to ensure that we can properly connect to the grid. Additionally, the parking lot should be free of any liens or environmental issues.
National Grid's RE Growth program is also helping property owners with empty lots looking to sell or lease their land to YSG to construct a solar farm. Farms with spare land will be offered a very competitive $/acre rate. In fact, average Rhode Island solar farms can generate $75,000 or more.
The solar farms that work best are usually within 2 miles of a substation, close to a large city or industrial area that has enough electrical load. The local county or town should have established laws which allow for the use of solar, and the jurisdiction should also determine reasonable PILOT rates.
The PILOT, also known as a payment in lieu of taxes, is exactly what it sounds like. This is a bilateral contract with the taxing authorities associated with property tax. It provides a fixed revenue stream for the authorities and price certainty for the solar farm project developer.
Reach out to YSG Solar's real estate team to learn if your property is suitable for solar. Have a quick question? Pick up the phone and give us a call at 212.389.9215. You can also send us an email. YSG operates on a national basis.
YSG Solar is a project development vehicle responsible for commoditizing energy infrastructure projects. We work with long-term owners and operators to provide clean energy assets with stable, predictable cash flows. YSG's market focus is distributed generation and utility-scale projects located within North America.
Sources:
https://ngus.force.com/s/article/Rhode-Island-Renewable-Energy-Growth-Program
https://ngus.force.com/servlet/servlet.FileDownload?file=0150W00000ET9V3