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As a state committee studies ways to wean Rhode Island off of natural gas, several of its members want the group’s final report to dismiss one potential pathway as wholly unrealistic.
Switching to renewable natural gas or other alternative fuels appears to be neither a feasible nor a financially viable solution at this time, say multiple stakeholders who have commented on a draft outline of a report a consulting group prepared for Rhode Island regulators.
RNG is derived from biomass or other renewable resources. It is a biogas, captured from the decomposition of organic matter, such as animal manure or food waste.
Many gas utilities around the country are pushing for RNG as part of the solution to lowering greenhouse gas emissions. But Michael Walsh, a partner at Groundwork Data, a clean energy consultancy that worked with the Conservation Law Foundation and the Sierra Club in the committee process, told the Energy News Network that “we don’t see a lot of viability with the RNG pathway,” both because of limited availability and because it is much more expensive then fossil fuel gas to produce.
While RNG is interchangeable with conventional natural gas, “realism about the availability and cost of alternative fuels for the gas system is necessary” for the planning process, wrote Nicholas Vaz, Rhode Island special assistant attorney general, in his comments on the draft.
Vaz cited a 2019 study prepared for the American Gas Foundation that looked at RNG production potential by 2040, based on the availability of source materials and utilization. Based on those findings, Vaz concluded that the amount of RNG available by 2050 would only allow for about 17% of Rhode Island households to remain connected to the gas system.
Currently, more than half of Rhode Island homes receive natural gas service.
The state Public Utilities Commission established the stakeholder committee as part of its “Future of Gas” docket, an investigation of the future of the regulated gas distribution business in Rhode Island. That docket was opened in 2022 in response to the passage of the state’s Act on Climate, which mandates a 45% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions below 1990 levels by 2030, 80% by 2040, and net-zero by 2050.
The natural gas system operated by Rhode Island Energy accounts for almost 40% of statewide emissions. So the PUC, which regulates the utility, is in the tricky position of having to craft a plan for getting commercial and residential customers off natural gas, finding a way to pay for it, and ensuring that consumers aren’t harmed in the process. Regulators will use the committee’s report to help inform the strategy it lays out.
The neighboring state of Massachusetts is a little farther along in that process; its state Department of Public Utilities issued an order last December outlining a strategy for getting the state off natural gas.
While utilities there initially pushed for a plan that was heavily reliant on RNG, regulators ultimately rejected that approach, citing concerns about availability, cost and whether such alternative fuels will actually lead to a reduction in emissions.
To some extent, Massachusetts’ work to date helped inform the committee process in Rhode Island, Walsh said.
“We had a lot of Massachusetts folks in the room to share lessons learned,” he said. “We at least got through some of the questions faster.”
Ben Butterworth, director of climate, energy and equity analysis for the nonprofit Acadia Center, told ENN his organization would like to see Rhode Island prioritize much of what is in the Massachusetts strategy: a focus on electrification and energy efficiency, disincentivizing further expansion of the gas system, and pilot programs focused on the strategic decommissioning of the gas system.
The PUC must also consider how to fund the transition, Butterworth noted. Vermont and Massachusetts are pursuing a clean heat standard as a funding mechanism for climate goals, while New York is pursuing a cap-and-invest approach.
“Finding that mechanism is critical, and the report should include at least those options,” Butterworth said.
At the same time, the report should include a discussion of possible mechanisms to protect low-income ratepayers from “the inevitable initially increased costs of electrification,” urged Jennifer Wood, executive director of the Rhode Island Center for Justice, in her comments on the draft.
These might include capping the amount a household pays for electricity as a percentage of their income; rate reforms; and assistance programs to defray the costs of installing electric heat pumps.
“Low-income utility customers living in rented homes that are least well equipped for energy efficiency are already most harmed by the social effects of climate change,” Wood wrote. “The only way to ensure that they will not be doubly harmed by unsustainably higher utility bills during the transition…is to decouple income-eligible consumers’ energy costs from the near-term impacts of necessary, but initially more costly, electrification.”
The committee is expected to issue a final report with its findings and recommendations to the PUC by the end of the year.
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