August 2, 2020
National Grid Rhode Island recently released its 2021 drafted capacity allocation for the ReGrowth program. Comments are due back by July 8th from stakeholders and project developers. The National Grid ReGrowth program is an excellent program for structured and project finance in general.
The solicitation is for distributed generation projects that are fully exporting electricity into the grid. The solar energy that is exported into the grid is compensated at a fixed per kWh rate for a term of 20 years. The compensation covers energy, capacity, and REC.
Each year National Grid opens up the ReGrowth auction for small commercial, medium commercial, larger commercial, and community solar projects. The National Grid ReGrowth auction is opened up three times a year. Developers must have an executed interconnection agreement and proven site control, i.e. executed land lease or site license. Each segment is allocated a certain quantity of MW and developers are awarded ReGrowth contracts based on the project's maturity and the lowest kWh price that the developer submits in the ReGrowth Bid.
After you are awarded a contract from ReGrowth in Rhode Island the next step is identifying an EPC contractor. Rhode Island has very specific license requirements for solar contractors that are constructing commercial solar projects. The installed price per watt is on the higher range compared to other markets in New England.
YSG Solar offers advisory services to provide up-to-date market research on incentive programs such as Rhode Island's National Grid ReGrowth Program. YSG also develops projects and works with property owners that own unused land or roof space, and are looking to enter into a roof lease or land lease with the number one development company in New England.
2021 Renewable Energy Growth (REG) Program Drafted Megawatt Allocation Plan
The total megawatt capacity of the REG Program is 56.847 MW. This overall MW capacity is broken down into a number of different renewable energy classes as follows:
Small Solar: 6.95
Medium Solar: 5
Commercial Solar: 10
Large Solar: 20
Community Solar - Commercial: 5
Community Solar - Large: 5.897
Wind & Community Wind: 3
Anaerobic Digestion & Small Scale Hydropower: 1
It’s clear from these figures that solar will play a massive role in securing a clean energy future for Rhode Island, with the REG Program heavily focusing on solar projects.
If you’re interested in leasing roof space or unused land for a solar farm then get in touch with YSG today. Send us an email, or call at 212.389.9215 and we will determine whether or not the project is viable, as well as advising you on the most lucrative course of action.
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.
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