R.I. gov: utility must invest in renewable energy

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - Rhode Island should force the state's largest power company to buy electricity for decades at a time from renewable energy producers such as wind turbines and solar panels, Gov. Don Carcieri said Thursday.

In a letter, Carcieri asked the state Public Utilities Commission to require that National Grid, the state's dominant electricity distributor, sign long-term contracts with developers offering to build renewable energy projects. The letter was written Wednesday and publicly released Thursday. Carcieri, a Republican, is feuding with Democratic lawmakers and National Grid over the best way to stimulate renewable energy in Rhode Island, which has a single wind turbine.

He vetoed a Democratic-backed bill in June that attempted to accomplish the same goal. Both sides are trying to fix a problem that experts blame for holding back renewable energy development in Rhode Island: a lack of large customers willing to buy it. Without long-term buyers, banks and investors are hesitant to fund the projects. Earlier this summer, Carcieri blocked legislation requiring National Grid to buy enough power to meet 9 percent of Rhode Island's energy needs by 2013.

In return, the company would have received a payment equal to 3 percent of the renewable power it bought. Carcieri argued that National Grid is a state-regulated utility that should be forced to buy renewable energy, rather than rewarded for it. He also criticized the legislation for allowing the renewable power projects to be built outside Rhode Island. Carcieri did not say how much renewable energy he thinks National Grid should buy or give a timeline.

Andrew Dzykewicz, commissioner of the state Office of Energy Resources, said Carcieri wants the contracts to last 15 to 20 years. A spokesman for National Grid did not immediately return a call seeking comment. The Public Utilities Commission, which is overseen by three Carcieri appointees, will likely review the governor's request at a meeting later this month, commission spokesman Thomas Kogut said.

National Grid's current pricing scheme expires on Dec. 31, 2009. Kogut said that if the commission accepts Carcieri's request, the issue could be part of negotiations between the commission and National Grid to establish prices for the next 10 years.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)