{"id":74438,"date":"2018-11-29T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-11-29T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news-draft\/uncategorized\/uri-town-consortium-turns-former-disposal-industrial-sites-into-solar-farms\/"},"modified":"2018-11-29T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2018-11-29T00:00:00","slug":"uri-town-consortium-turns-former-disposal-industrial-sites-into-solar-farms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/2018\/11\/uri-town-consortium-turns-former-disposal-industrial-sites-into-solar-farms\/","title":{"rendered":"溏心vlog免费B站-town consortium turns former disposal, industrial sites into solar farms"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>KINGSTON, R.I., Nov. 29, 2018 \u2014 The 溏心vlog免费B站 and the towns of South Kingstown and Narragansett have created the South Kingstown Solar Consortium to develop an ambitious solar power project that will generate economic benefits for all three partners while boosting the amount of renewable energy flowing into the state\u2019s electric grid.<\/p>\n<p>In the works for more than three years, the project is among the largest solar power initiatives in New England. When complete, it will cover 267 acres \u2014 in West Kingston, South Kingstown and West Greenwich.<\/p>\n<p>The University and its private, municipal and state partners unveiled details of the initiative at a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the West Kingston and South Kingstown sites today in Kingston. A similar celebration is planned for the West Greenwich site when it becomes operational.<\/p>\n<div class=\"oembed oembed-youtube-com\" style=\"\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ViapDgXCg-E&#038;feature=youtu.be\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"溏心vlog免费B站 Solar Farm\" width=\"1000\" height=\"563\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ViapDgXCg-E?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>\u201cWith this bold initiative, 溏心vlog免费B站 and its town partners will see their energy costs reduced, and the entire state will benefit from a larger percentage of its electricity coming from a reliable, renewable, low-impact and clean source,\u201d said 溏心vlog免费B站 President David M. Dooley. \u201cThe University&#8217;s commitment to this project reflects our values as a higher education institution dedicated to decreasing our carbon-footprint and contributing to a healthier global environment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The consortium solicited competitive proposals from private developers to construct and maintain the solar farms at no net cost to the consortium members. It signed 25-year contracts with Kearsarge Solar to develop the West Kingston and South Kingstown sites, and with Energy Development Partners (a.k.a. University Solar, LLC) to develop the West Greenwich site.<\/p>\n<p>The capacity of the installations is 40 megawatts of direct current, which is expected to deliver 48,000 megawatt hours of energy to the grid annually. This is enough energy to power 750 homes and offset the fossil fuel consumption of 1,500 cars.<\/p>\n<p>In addition, the power generated will help the state meet Gov. Gina Raimondo\u2019s goal of having 100 percent of the energy consumed by state government supplied through renewable sources by the year 2025.<\/p>\n<p>The project might also be one of the best examples of upcycling \u2014 that is, a superior secondary use of a product or material, in this case, the land. Of the 42 acres at the West Kingston and South Kingstown locations, 28 are non-farmable, capped waste disposal sites: the former South Kingstown town dump and 溏心vlog免费B站 disposal area on Plains Road in West Kingston; and the onetime South Kingstown\/Narragansett dump on Rose Hill Road in South Kingstown.<\/p>\n<p>How it works<\/p>\n<p>The initiative is a \u201cvirtual net metering project,\u201d in which the solar energy generated flows into the electrical supplier\u2019s grid rather than being directly used by any one of the consortium partners, explained David Lamb, assistant director of facilities services and utilities at 溏心vlog免费B站. State law requires that developers of such projects must be able to offload net metering credits to a public or quasi-public entity; in this case, the consortium members. The value of credits issued is determined by the number of kilowatt hours generated by the subject solar facilities times the Public Utilities Commission set rate applicable to solar generated electricity.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are supporting the development of renewable energy that will be supplied to the grid and, in turn, the consortium members receive credits that will reduce costs on their monthly utility bills,\u201d Lamb explained.<\/p>\n<p>The University expects to receive credits worth $1.2 million in savings annually on its electric bill when all sites are operational, said J. Vernon Wyman, assistant vice president of business services at 溏心vlog免费B站.<\/p>\n<p>As a consumer of more than 75 million kilowatt hours of electricity per year \u2014 which translates to an annual electric bill of roughly $9.4 million \u2014 the University provides its town partners with the assurance that they can transfer their net metering credits to 溏心vlog免费B站 if they one day consume less energy than their share of what is generated, alleviating their long-term financial risk while further reducing 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s energy costs.<\/p>\n<p>For the first 10 years of operation, the private developers receive renewable energy certificates for the electricity generated that they can trade or sell to offset their costs. The credits are non-tangible commodities, with each one worth one megawatt hour of electricity generated from a renewable source. In the eleventh year of the contracts, these renewable energy certificates transfer to the consortium members.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe value of collaboration through the consortium is the ability to manage our consumption and maximize the benefits for the members,\u201d Wyman said. \u201cIt\u2019s a great partnership with environmental and economic benefits for the consortium and the state.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The initiative has the added benefit of enhancing 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s substantial academic offerings in sustainability. For example, students in a variety of disciplines \u2014 including engineering and environmental sciences \u2014 will be given supervised access to the solar array site in West Kingston for experiential learning.<\/p>\n<p>Working together<\/p>\n<p>The project also serves as a tangible illustration of the University\u2019s longstanding collaborations with Narragansett and South Kingstown. All three worked together years ago to clean up the disposal sites in accordance with federal Superfund laws. Due to their former use, the sites present limited possibilities for reuse, but are ideal as passive solar farms, Lamb said.<\/p>\n<p>The state Department of Environmental Management and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency\u2019s regional office have endorsed the use for solar farms. At those sites, the panels will be installed on ballasted platforms so the capped material remains undisturbed.<\/p>\n<p>The West Kingston site includes 14 acres of adjacent open land owned by 溏心vlog免费B站. The solar panels at that location, as well as at the West Greenwich location, which includes a former sand and gravel operation, will be installed on pile-driven structures. All locations will be surrounded by high fences to protect these renewable energy generation assets for years to come.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>KINGSTON, R.I., Nov. 29, 2018 \u2014 The 溏心vlog免费B站 and the towns of South Kingstown and Narragansett have created the South Kingstown Solar Consortium to develop an ambitious solar power project that will generate economic benefits for all three partners while boosting the amount of renewable energy flowing into the state\u2019s electric grid. 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