PROVIDENCE — Environmental groups are warning state officials that proposed cuts to Rhode Island’s energy efficiency programs will raise utility bills, spark inflation, and put residents out of work.
RI’s energy efficiency programs offer residents a buffet of incentives and rebates aimed at saving on their home energy use. They range from purchasing energy-saving major appliances to weatherizing homes to conserve energy.
But RI Energy, the main utility company in the state that runs the programs, has proposed a 22% decrease in its budget compared to last year, arguing that it needs to be “right-sized” to ensure it remains cost-effective.
Members of the state Energy Efficiency Council, the public body that oversees Rhode Island Energy’s operation of the programs, met in August to review the second consecutive draft containing cuts to programs.
Environmental advocates, meanwhile, testified – for the second time – against any cuts to the program, arguing the benefits they provided were too valuable to lose to budget cuts. Serena Russell, policy coordinator for Climate Jobs Rhode Island, told council members the programs supported an estimated 740 full-time jobs, and that the budget cuts would reduce that to only 574 jobs.
“We sincerely appreciate the investments in energy efficiency and the impacts these programs have delivered so far, but this is not the time to scale them back,” Russell said.
Emily Koo, RI program director for the Acadia Center, told council members the budget cuts outlined in the draft plan were a disservice to Rhode Islanders, and that state officials should push back against cuts.
“The original three-year plan cuts in the second draft are a 30% budget reduction,” said Koo. “It will eliminate an estimated $92 million in benefits to all of Rhode Island.”
Trump Demands Shutdown of Revolution Wind Project
PROVIDENCE — The Trump administration decided to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory on Aug. 22, announcing it was ordering a halt to construction of the Revolution Wind offshore wind farm with just a year left before completion of the multi-year project.
Acting director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), Matthew Giacona, demanded Ørsted cease construction on the project, saying the federal Department of the Interior needed time to address concerns that have arisen since Trump was inaugurated in January.
(BOEM originally approved the 13,700-acre lease of the Revolution Wind area in early 2020 during the first Trump administration).
“In particular,” wrote Giacona, “BOEM is seeking to address concerns related to the protection of national security interests of the United States and prevention of interference with reasonable uses of the exclusive economic zone, the high seas, and the territorial seas…”
Rhode Island officials decried Trump’s order as undermining state efforts to expand its energy supply and provide jobs for the local economy. At a press conference, Gov. Dan McKee, standing with labor leaders and RI’s entire Congressional delegation, said the stop-work order would endanger hundreds of local union jobs, and a valuable supply of renewable electricity for 350,000 homes.
“J-O-B-S, jobs,” said McKee. “That’s what is at stake in Rhode Island without this project.”
US Sen. Jack Reed, the ranking member of the Senate’s Armed Services Committee, noted the national security concerns were unfounded. The Department of Defense had given its approval for Revolution Wind, indicating it had no national security concerns, last December. The stop-worker order, said Reed, will wreak havoc on RI’s economy and the region’s energy needs.
“It’s not about national security, it’s about this president’s insecurity,” said Reed. “Do you know what’s a threat to national security? Our reliance on countries in OPEC and other nations that have animosity toward us.”
New Regulations Will Help Keep Mashapaug Pond, Watershed Clean
PROVIDENCE — Details are emerging about a new permit to curb the polluted stormwater flowing into Mashapaug Pond, with environmental officials eyeing an official launch later this year.
Known as the Mashapaug General Permit, the new regulations will apply to 67 properties around Mashapaug, Spectacle, and Tongue ponds and the surrounding 1.8-square-mile watershed.
Any property owner identified within the watershed with one or more acres of impervious surface — think parking lots, roofs, and other infrastructure that prevents rainwater from absorbing into the ground — will be required to improve its pollution and stormwater controls to treat runoff before it enters any of the ponds. Sixty-one percent of the watershed is covered by impervious surfaces, and 83% of the land has residential, commercial, or transportation uses. The watershed straddles the cities of Providence and Cranston.
Officials from the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management recently rolled out a draft version of the permit to stakeholders, soliciting feedback and fielding questions from businesses and the public within the watershed.
Jennifer Stout, an environmental engineer in DEM’s Water Resources office, said the goal was for property owners to minimize exposure of pollutants to stormwater.
“If you have any materials that you store outside, you should cover them or bring them indoors,” Stout said. “If you have a dumpster, make sure that it’s covered, and if you know where it is located, make sure it isn’t somewhere where the leachate is able to go into a catch basin. You might want to minimize the amount of salt, sand, and deicers that are used on your property during the winter months, limit the amount of fertilizer and pesticide use, and make sure you’re cleaning up your waste appropriately.”
Unchecked stormwater runoff will pick up and wash away anything between it and Narragansett Bay. During and after rains, runoff will pick up dirt, lawn chemicals, pet waste, litter, and/or sediment and carry it directly into whatever stream, river, or pond is close by.
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