Renewable Energy Growth Program
Administered by Rhode Island Energy d/b/a PPL (formerly National Grid)
Rhode Island's Renewable Energy Growth Program offers long-term fixed-price incentives for small-scale solar systems up to 25 kW through a simple interconnection application process—systems of 1–15 kW receive 33.85 cents/kWh for 15 years, while 15–25 kW systems receive 32.35 cents/kWh for 20 years, available on a first-come, first-served basis. You can enroll directly through your utility's interconnection application, and the program also offers virtual net metering for shared solar facilities serving multifamily, campus, and multi-structure properties.
The RE Growth Program provides a standardized tariff-based pathway to revenue for residential and commercial renewable energy projects, with transparent ceiling prices published annually for small-scale solar, medium/commercial/large-scale solar, wind, hydropower, and anaerobic digestion projects. Non-residential projects above 25 kW must submit competitive bids during designated two-week open enrollment periods and comply with new core forest siting requirements; small systems are approved on a first-come basis until capacity targets are met. Rhode Island Energy administers the program under Public Utilities Commission oversight, with no power purchase agreement required since compensation flows through utility tariffs.
The RE Growth Program is a tariff-based competitive procurement mechanism created under Rhode Island law (H.B. 7727, extended through 2029 by S.B. 112) targeting 400 MW cumulative installation from 2020–2029 at 40 MW annually. Small-scale solar has a separate 9 MW annual target with fixed incentive rates; non-residential projects compete in open enrollments twice yearly, selected by lowest bid and completion timeline, with optional incentive adders for projects in preferred load areas. All projects must meet core forest determination requirements (self-certification for rooftop/≤25 kW; full DEM review for larger ground-mounted projects), and large-scale solar projects (2025–2026) can only bid in Third Open Enrollment windows. A new $140/kW DC brownfield remediation incentive applies to large-scale solar on remediated brownfield sites.
Program details
- Program ID
- 5523
- Effective
- 4/1/2016
- Expires
- 12/31/2029
- Last updated
- 10/6/2026
Eligibility
- Sectors
- commercial industrial local government nonprofit residential schools state government federal government tribal government agricultural multifamily residential low income residential institutional
- Technologies
- solar photovoltaics wind (all) wave wind (small) hydroelectric (small) anaerobic digestion
Program summary
In 2014, H.B. 7727 created the Renewable Energy Growth (REG) program with the goal to promote installation of grid connected renewable energy within the load zones of electric distribution companies at a reasonable cost. This tariff-based incentive program is designed to finance the development, construction, and operation of renewable energy distributed generation projects through competitive bidding processes over five years to achieve specific megawatt (MW) targets. This program is implemented by the utilities under supervision and review of the Public Utilities Commission (PUC).
Program Goal
The REG program originally had a target install total of 160 MW of distributed renewable energy during its five-year term from 2015-2020. The first year of the program (2015) has an annual target of 25 MW, 40 MW for second year, 40 MW for third and fourth year, and rest of the 160 MW for the fifth year. There is also an annual target of at least 3 MW for small scale solar projects for first 4 years of the program. S.B. 112 (2017) extended the program to the end of 2029, and increased the annual target to 40 MW per year, with a total cumulative procurement of 400 MW of renewable energy between 2020 and 2029.
Small-Scale Solar
This program provides incentives for systems up to 25 kW and are designed for residential and small business owners. Applicants can enroll via the interconnection application to receive a standard performance-based incentive for the period of years in an applicable tariff. The incentives depend on the size and ownership of the system, and the duration of the contract term. The incentives will be provided on a first come, first served basis until the program reaches its capacity target.
The PUC has approved the solar incentive for RI Energy for 2026. Incentive amounts are listed in the table below.
| Renewable Energy Class (Nameplate kW) | Annual Enrollment Target (Nameplate MW) | Ceiling Price/Standard PBI (cents/kWh) |
| Small-Scale Solar (1-15 kW DC) | 9 | 31.55 (15-yr Tariff) |
| Small-Scale Solar (>15-25 kW DC) | 28.65 (20-yr Tariff) |
Commercial-Scale Solar and Other Technologies
This program is directed towards non-residential customers who are interested in installing a qualifying distributed generation project in their facility. Eligible technologies include solar PV, wind, anaerobic digestion, and small-scale hydropower. To participate in the program, interested applicants must submit a bid price per kilowatt-hour (kWh) for the entire output of the facility, which shall not exceed the ceiling price. Any participant that is purchasing electricity on other than the residential retail rate are eligible to apply for the program. The utility will select projects based on the lowest proposed prices and time of completion of the project, until the target capacity of that class is met. In order to incentivize renewable distributed generation projects, the utility may include an incentive payment adder to the bid price of any winning bidder that propose a distributed generation project in a desired geographical load area.
The REG program shall be administered exclusively through the tariff structure, and the utility is not required to execute a power purchase agreement (PPA) for the procurement of the renewable energy for the program. Incentives for the 2026 program year for eligible solar, wind, hydro, and anaerobic digester projects are provided in the table below:
| Renewable Energy Class (Nameplate KW) | Annual Enrollment Target (Nameplate MW) | Third Open Enrollment Target (Nameplate MW) | Ceiling price (including eligible federal incentives) (cents/kWh) | Term of Service (years) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Medium-Scale Solar (>26-250 kW DC) | 6 | 6 | 31.35 | 20 |
| Commercial-Scale Solar (>250 kW -<1 MW DC) | 6.5 (>250-500 kW) 7 (>500 kW -<1 MW) | 6.5 (>250-500 kW) 7 (>500 kW -<1 MW) | 28.35 (>250-500 kW) 23.55 (>500 kW -<1 MW) | 20 |
| Large-Scale Solar (1-<39 MW DC) | 20 (1-<5 MW) 30 (5-<10 MW) 15 (10-<25 MW) 0 (15-<39 MW) | 20 (1-<5 MW) 30 (5-<10 MW) 15 (10-<25 MW) 0 (15-<39 MW) | 17.85 (1-<5 MW) 17.25 (5-<39 MW) | 20 |
| Community Remote DG Commercial Solar (>250 kW -<1 MW DC) | 0.5 (>250-500 kW) 1 (>500 kW -<1 MW) | 0.5 (>250-500 kW) 1 (>500 kW -<1 MW) | 31.25 (>250-500 kW) 26.35 (>500 kW -<1 MW) | 20 |
| Community Remote DG Large Solar (1-<5 MW DC) | 5 | 5 | 20.52 | 20 |
| Wind (>0-5 MW) Community Remote DG Wind (>0-5 MW) | 3 | 3 | 19.85 (Wind) 21.75 (CRDG Wind) | 20 |
| Anaerobic Digestion (>0-5 MW) | 1 (Anaerobic Digestion plus Small Hydro) | 1 (Anaerobic Digestion plus Small Hydro) | 19.05 | 20 |
| Hydropower (>0-5 MW) | 1 (Anaerobic Digestion plus Small Hydro) | 1 (Anaerobic Digestion plus Small Hydro) | 33.45 | 20 |
Note: if certain requirements are not met, then the 2025 Annual/Third enrollment targets for Large-Scale Solar will be 10 MW for 1-<5 MW and 0 MW for 5-<39 MW.
In 2023, H.B. 5853 and S.B. 684 increased the system size limit for Large-Scale Solar from 5 MW to 39 MW. Standard projects can go up to 15 MW, while projects on preferred sites can go up to 39 MW.
Virtual Net Metering
H.B. 8534 (2016) added a virtual net metering Shared Solar Facilities program as the part of the Renewable Energy Growth program. The program seeks to facilitate solar adoption in multifamily, campuses, multi-structure, business parks, multi-tenant, multi-owner commercial facilities, and public entities with multiple accounts. The program will be available for adoption after the PUC approves the program tariff submitted by the utility.Contact & resources
- Contact email
- george.sfinarolakis@energy.ri.gov
- Additional resources
Please verify current program details with the administering agency before making any financial decisions.
