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I am honored to serve as State Representative for Jamestown/Middletown.
Greetings friends and neighbors. Thank you for the emails, phone calls, and letters regarding pension reform, the new renewable energy laws, and the Bullying/ Cyber bullying law I sponsored called the SAFE SCHOOL ACT.
I spent many, many hours attending pension hearings, talking with constituents, answering your many phone calls, emails, and letters. I value your input.
The Pension Reform legislation is a game changer for Rhode Island. The vote in both the Senate and the House showed a willingness to solve the problem and stop ‘kicking the can down the road’. It was a solidarity of purpose. The vote was 35-7 in the Senate and 57 to 15 in the House. I voted for the pension reform because an insolvent pension system affect’s everyone—retirees, teachers, public employees, and the tax payers.
We must ensure that there is a pension system for the 66,000 pensioners in the next 8-10 years; while ensuring that the other 417,000 working Rhode Islanders don’t incur higher property taxes and go without services to sustain the pension system. These are unprecedented economic times and a sustainable pension fund ensures a future for all Rhode Islanders.
My other efforts this legislative year focused on the Renewable Energy legislation that I sponsored. Rhode Island ranks among the lowest 10 states in the country when it comes to renewable energy.
In the 2011 session, the General Assembly passed a suite of renewable energy laws — some of the most cohesive and comprehensive in the nation—that will leap frog Rhode Island from laggard to leader in renewable energy. It’s more than just protecting our environment, it’s about creating jobs in our state.
It was an honor to chair the Small Business Renewable Energy Task Force. The SBRE Task Force was a very diverse group of stakeholders including state government (EDC, DEM, Office of Energy), small businesses (rTerra, Newport Biodiesel, Central Tool Manufacturing), renewable energy advocates, and National Grid.
We focused on three key issues (1) organizational infrastructure for consistent, unified policies in renewable energy development, (2) the need for a strategic plan for a sustainable renewable energy industry in Rhode Island, and (3) the need for financing mechanisms for renewable energy development.
Frankly, the two biggest concerns we heard were: the state lacks unified, consistent policies, and it’s tough to get financing to build these projects.
The package of four bills that are now law include:
(1) The creation of the Renewable Energy Board which will develop a strategic plan for a sustainable renewable energy industry. It’ll be the first time in Rhode Island there’s a coordinated evaluation of energy policy in the state.
(2) Changes to the net metering law include all forms of renewable energy, raising the cap on net metering to 125 percent of a self-generator’s own consumption, and allowing municipalities that generate renewable energy to credit any account they own.
(3) The creation of a defined a timetable and a fee schedule for interconnection. Interconnection to the grid is critical. Many developers voiced concerns about the cost and the difficulty connecting projects to the grid.
(4) The promotion of distributed generation, which allows small, land-based renewable energy projects to access long-term 15-year contracts with National Grid, which will buy the renewable energy they produce. These long-term contracts mean means the developers can get financing from banks.
The DG bill is a game changer in Rhode Island because these projects are built right here in Rhode Island —wind, solar, hydro—and connected to the grid. That means jobs here in Rhode Island. It’s good economic policy and good environmental policy.
How will we measure success? By the number of renewable energy projects developed in the state and by the number of jobs created.
It was really profound that the governor signed these bills into law at Sandywoods Farms in Tiverton, which is an innovative, affordable housing project for artists and farmers.
They’ve had a wind turbine in their back yard for a year, since it was delivered last October. So the interconnection law now means that turbine can begin spinning and generate 70 percent of their electricity for the 50 housing units.
I also met with planning officials in East Providence who are building a solar project on a 70-acre old landfill. They call it “bright fields on a brownfield.”
So businesses and municipalities are hip to what we’re doing. We’ve created some of the most comprehensive and cohesive renewable energy laws in the nation.
Please call me at 423-0444 or email me at rep-ruggiero@rilin.state.ri.us.
“Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul, and sings the tune without the words, and never stops at all.”
– Emily Dickinson
For more information and further reading on other initiatives please visit my news page or review all of my current press releases posted on my official page on the General Assembly Website.
Deborah Ruggiero
State Representative
Jamestown/Middletown
rep-ruggiero@rilin.state.ri.us
401-423-0444
