Environment Council of Rhode Island

Problem

Our current dependence on conventional energy sources is causing health, environmental and economic problems for Rhode Islanders:
Pollution from dirty, polluting power plants causes 1,660 asthma attacks each year in Rhode Island. Across the nation, 30,000 people die prematurely each year from power plant pollution.

Rhode Island’s air pollution already violates federal standards, and according to the Environmental Protection Agency, climate change from green house gas emissions will make matters worse. Mercury from coal burning power plants is contaminating our fish and poisoning our children.

Our dependence on foreign oil has put our troops in harm’s way. Price spikes for heating costs have put many families literally out in the cold.

Solution:

To address the environmental problems we’re facing, the New England Governors and Eastern Canadian Premiers made a commitment in August 2001 to reduce greenhouse gases throughout the region by 75-85% below current levels.

The state’s Green House Gas Stakeholders Process found that one of the most effective ways to achieve this goal is to require 20% of the state’s energy to come from renewable sources by the year 2020. Renewable energy standards have many benefits including stabilizing fuel prices, stimulating job growth, and cleaner air and water quality.

Promoting individual consumer purchases of renewable energy is a great way to take individual responsibility for our energy and encourage the new renewable energy market in New England. We are glad that People’s Power and Light gives consumers that choice. The stakeholders process also found that offering electric customers the choice to opt in to renewable energy purchases works as a complement to a renewable energy requirement, but is not an effective substitute for the long term commitment and investment necessary to develop a clean and stable energy policy.

Currently at least ten states have renewable requirements, including Massachusetts and Connecticut. Rhode Island’s energy currently comes from the New England Power Pool (ISO-NE), so the required 20% energy content could come from any state participating in the pool — not just within Rhode Island’s borders. There are already proposed wind farms in Vermont, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine that could all contribute to meeting Rhode Island’s renewable energy standard.

Strategies:

Support Renewable Energy Standards Legislation

A Renewable Energy Standard Act [.pdf] could create a timeline for transformation. ECRI believes that 20% of Rhode Island’s energy should come from renewable sources by 2020. Legislation could also require electricity suppliers to disclose the sources of their energy to their customers, and could establish a cap on retail rate increases that might result from the switch to renewable energy.