Gov. Donald Carcieri, R-R.I., commended the General Assembly for passing H.8083 Substitute A & S.2819 Substitute A, relating to Public Utilities And Carriers – Contracting Standard for Renewable Energy. The amended legislation clarifies the General Assembly's original intent to promote renewable energy in Rhode Island through a demonstration-sized, offshore wind project. The governor says he will sign the legislation.
The legislation requires that a new power purchase agreement (PPA) between National Grid and Deepwater Wind be filed with the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) with a decision rendered within 45 days, which includes public comment. In addition, the legislation requires the Rhode Island Economic Development Corp. and the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management to offer testimony before the PUC on the economic development and environmental benefits of the project.
The legislation also mandates that the new PPA contain an ‘open book’ approach that requires Deepwater Wind to disclose and the Division of Public Utilities to verify, the construction and development costs of the project. Under this section of the legislation, ratepayers will benefit from any capital-cost savings achieved during the development and construction of the demonstration project in the form of a lower power price.
The legislation also caps the price of the power to the price stated in the PPA previously filed with the PUC. However, that price shall be reduced commensurate with any savings achieved in the development of the project.
SOURCE: Office of Gov. Donald Carcieri Â
