First-in-the-Country Agreement Will Save 9 RI Housing Authorities 40% of Their Energy Costs
Thursday, October 14, 2021
A consortium of housing authorities in Rhode Island has negotiated a first in the country cost-savings package.
Alexey Cherniack, principal analyst for Veolia North America/SourceOne said, "This agreement will save these housing authorities about 40% of their energy costs over the next 20 years."
"The environmental impact is equal to taking about 1,000 cars off the road each year," he added.
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This is the first time aggregate multiple public housing authorities, under a single renewable energy contract, will entail the construction of three solar panel fields covering more than 55 acres in all.
The panels will provide power to nine separate housing authorities in Rhode Island. Located primarily in the towns of Exeter and Smithfield, the fields will provide over 20 million kilowatt hours of electricity to housing authorities in Providence, North Providence, Newport, Cranston, Smithfield, Warwick, Warren, Bristol and Lincoln.
"Also, we were negotiating preferential terms — we didn’t negotiate 9 contracts but were able to negotiate one contract," said Cherniack.
The agreements will provide guaranteed savings against prevailing electricity supply rates, which will lower the operating budgets of the housing authorities in a region with some of the highest energy costs in the nation.
For the housing authorities, the project is expected to lead to approximately $30 million in energy cost savings over the next 20 years.
“We’re proud to bring our experience partnering with PHARI to support innovations that provide clean renewable energy for everyone in Rhode Island, and on a broader scale, the ecological transformation that needs to happen everywhere,” said Mike Byrnes, Veolia North America senior vice president and chief executive officer of SourceOne, VNA’s energy consulting company. SourceOne has been an energy advisor to PHARI for over 10 years, providing energy procurement and risk management services to all of its member organizations.
“Every housing authority in Rhode Island is working to provide the highest quality affordable housing possible with limited budgets,” observed Robert Coupe, PHARI co-president and executive director of the Cranston Housing Authority. “Our partnership with Veolia North America/SourceOne and Nautilus will dramatically reduce utility costs for many years to come, freeing valuable resources to invest in property maintenance, facility improvements and operational support. By supporting the growth of renewable energy projects, we will improve the quality of life for future generations while enhancing our ability to serve current residents,” concluded Coupe.
As the long-term owner of the portfolio, Nautilus will be responsible for overseeing construction, ongoing management and maintaining long-term performance for the life of the projects, estimated at 25 to 30 years. The energy generated from the projects will be fed into the electric utility territory of The Narragansett Electric Company, a subsidiary of National Grid that is in the process of being sold to PPL. The projects are in the early stages of development and are expected to start construction in the first half of 2022.