Providence Receives Funding to Create Sustainable Energy Plan

Office of Sustainability will set priorities for lowering energy bills, improving public health, protecting the environment and growing Providence's economy

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Providence has been awarded a $259,000 grant to create a sustainable energy plan for the city.

Mayor Angel Taveras' Office of Sustainability will use the grant to study and set priorities for renewable energy investments and upgrades that will reduce demand on the electric grid, improve public health, protect the environment and spur economic growth in Rhode Island's capital city.

"Through creation of a sustainable energy plan, we will lower energy costs in the city's public buildings, reduce the city's carbon footprint and position Providence to grow jobs and compete in the green economy," said Sheila Dormody, Providence's Director of Sustainability.

The study will investigate the city's opportunities to lower the city's electric bills through investments in solar, hydropower and wind power, develop a plan for energy upgrades in Providence's public high schools in collaboration with the Net Zero Energy Project, and energy upgrades to its other public buildings through the Emerald Cities Collaborative.

The potential for a wind power project at Camp Cronin will be studied, and hydropower opportunities at the Scituate Reservoir, Riverside Park, and within the assets of the Providence Water Supply Board.

Providence is one of 10 cities nationwide participating in the Emerald Cities Collaborative, a national project to make municipal buildings greener and more energy efficient. The study will clarify the opportunities both to use renewable technologies in those energy retrofit projects and to strengthen the financing options available.