$9M renewable electricity project coming to Smith Hill next year

A pair of solar carports, a battery storage system and an electric vehicle charging station will increase the renewable energy capacity of Rhode Island’s Capitol Hill campus to 1 megawatt in total, the state Office of Energy Resources announced Monday.

The $9.3 million project is funded through a $4.5 million federal earmark and will be matched with state funds through revenue from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, said Robert Beadle, a spokesperson for the energy department.

The state has also secured an immediate federal tax credit deduction equal to 5% of the project costs, with the promise of additional federal tax credits equal to between 30% and 40% of total costs in tax year 2028.

“By leveraging federal funding and tax credits, we’re bringing innovative solar, battery storage and electric vehicle charging technologies to state facilities while making smart investments in Rhode Island’s energy future,” Gov. Dan McKee said in a statement.

Construction is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2027. The parking lot solar panels, battery storage and charging station must be operational by the end of the year to secure the federal tax credits administered through the Internal Revenue Service.  Once complete, the projects, together with existing rooftop solar panels on state buildings, will provide enough solar-powered electricity to power roughly 190 homes per year while helping meet state decarbonization mandates.

“This is a forward-looking project that is both economically and environmentally responsible,” said U.S. Sen. Jack Reed, who secured the $4.5 million federal earmark.

The projects also advance the state’s Lead by Example program, which aims to spur private investments in renewable energy infrastructure by starting with solar panels, battery storage, and charging stations on state and municipal-owned buildings and public schools. Since the 2015 executive order establishing the state-led program, the Office of Energy Resources has invested more than $48 million into 185 projects, said Chris Kearns, the state’s acting energy commissioner.

Kearns hailed the upcoming projects for the parking lots of the Rhode Island Department of Administration and Department of Health as among the largest to date.  The work will also help to reduce energy costs, Kearn said in a statement.

There are already 900 rooftop solar panel on Smith Hill buildings, including on the departments of transportation, health and administration buildings, as well as energy-efficient lighting upgrades at the State House and Department of Transportation buildings. 

Rising energy bills remain a top concern among residents, despite seasonal bill credits meant to offset the seasonal spike in electricity prices. Two of the three gubernatorial candidates, independent Ken Block and Republican Aaron Guckian, have called for delaying the deadlines for state climate change mandates to reduce costs for customers, a move which Gov. Dan McKee tried unsuccessfully to incorporate in the state’s fiscal 2027 budget. 

Democrat Helena Buonanno Foulkes, who defeated McKee in the Sept. 9 primary, has insisted the state should “lean in” to renewables as a more stable and cost-effective energy solution, without changing decarbonization deadlines in state law. 

The new Capitol Hill project is expected to save $3.3 million in avoided energy costs, reducing carbon emissions by 12,700 metric tons over the lifetime of the project, according to state analysis. 

Since 2021, state agencies have produced or purchased credits to offset 100% of electricity needs across state facilities.

Retail electricity suppliers must purchase or produce 38% of total electricity needs statewide this year under the state’s Renewable Energy Standard law, which sets a 2033 deadline for zero-net electricity emissions.