With one of Rhode Island’s largest solar energy projects online, Brown moves toward net-zero emissions

The project faced several delays and regulatory hurdles, including substantial challenges around interconnection service agreements. It took more than two years to successfully navigate and align state regulations with regional regulations (which are managed under Federal Energy Regulatory Commission regulations) before construction could begin, in part due to the unprecedented size and scope of the project.

"During two years of negotiations, all of the project partners, regulatory agencies and the utility worked together, and the project ultimately received the necessary authorizations to interconnect," said Al Dahlberg, associate vice president for government relations at Brown. "It was an undertaking that took a tremendous amount of effort, patience and collaboration to accomplish."

The project was also enabled by the state's renewable energy policies and incentives, which aim to accelerate getting renewables on the grid.

"In the end, it was important to go through this process because it created a pathway for renewable energy projects - especially local net metering projects - of this size and nature," Epps said.

Brown's commitment to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions

All told, by powering Rhode Island's grid with the Dry Bridge solar panels, Brown is helping to eliminate 16,500 metric tons of carbon dioxide annually, which is the equivalent of taking 3,500 gas-powered cars off the road.

Per the terms of a 25-year power purchase agreement, Brown will pay MN8 to operate Dry Bridge, which delivers power directly to Rhode Island's electrical grid. Dry Bridge generates net metering credits for Brown, in accordance with the Rhode Island Renewable Energy Program's net metering and virtual net metering law, which enables the University to offset its electric bills through credits from the off-site renewable energy production.

"The fact that we've mostly decarbonized our electricity supply through Dry Bridge is a huge step forward," said Stephen Porder, associate provost for sustainability at Brown.

Dry Bridge is among several renewable energy projects that are expected to produce enough combined solar and wind power to offset 100% of Brown's on-campus electricity use.

"In many ways, this project demonstrates what's possible with persistence and a broader commitment to taking meaningful steps toward a cleaner, more resilient energy landscape," Porder said. "It's impossible to overstate how critical it is for society to accelerate our investment in renewable energy and reduce the need for energy from conventional, polluting sources like gas- and oil-burning power plants. Brown is demonstrating its leadership in the renewable energy movement."

Brown's commitment to the Dry Bridge project is part of a larger plan to reduce the University's greenhouse gas emissions to net-zero by 2040 through a set of ambitious actions, from using more sustainable building and cleaning materials and reducing meat consumption in campus dining, to electrifying campus vehicles and grounds equipment and advancing strategies to reengineer campus to eliminate fossil fuels entirely, including the exploration of geothermal energy.

"The goal is no more fossil-fuel combustion," Porder said. "We're really learning how to get there as a society, and what Brown is doing is throwing ourselves into this challenge and leading and learning how to actually do this through our actions, in what we teach and in how we learn."

Public link

Please use the above public link if you want to share this noodl on another website.