Around New England

Rhode Island Aims for 100% ‘Renewable’ Energy by 2030 — But How?

January 22, 2020

Rhode Island is aiming to be powered completely by renewable energy by 2030 – meaning no oil, natural gas, or coal.

The state’s Democratic governor, Gina Raimondo, recently signed an executive order directing the Ocean State’s Office of Energy Resources to put together economic and energy market analysis to reach “this bold but achievable goal,” according to a statement from Raimondo’s office.

“We’re already leading the fight against climate change, but we have to take increasingly aggressive action if we want to avoid catastrophe,” Raimondo said.

The final report with a plan on how to achieve this goal is due December 31, 2020.

In other words, there is no plan yet as to how the state is going to achieve it.

The acting state energy commissioner Nicholas Ucci said that at least one-third of the state’s energy sector will be powered with renewables within the next few years, according to Engineering News-Record.

Comparably, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker said that Massachusetts aims to have net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 in his State of the Commonwealth speech on Tuesday night, January 21 — without offering a plan for how to get there.