Rhode Island 2025 Regular Session

Rhode Island Senate Bill S0769 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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5	5	2025 -- S 0769
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7	7	LC002230
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9	9	S T A T E O F R H O D E I S L A N D
10	10	IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
11	11	JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2025
12	12	____________
13	13
14	14	A N A C T
15	15	RELATING TO PUBLIC UTILITIES AND CARRIERS -- AFFORDABLE CLEAN ENERGY
16	16	SECURITY ACT
17	17	Introduced By: Senator Samuel D. Zurier
18	18	Date Introduced: March 14, 2025
19	19	Referred To: Senate Commerce
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22	22	It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
23	23	SECTION 1. Section 39-31-10 of the General Laws in Chapter 39-31 entitled "Affordable 1
24	24	Clean Energy Security Act" is hereby amended to read as follows: 2
25	25	39-31-10. Offshore wind procurement. 3
26	26	(a) The electric distribution company, is hereby authorized and required to issue a request 4
27	27	for proposals for at least six hundred megawatts (600 MW) but no greater than one thousand 5
28	28	megawatts (1,000 MW) of newly-developed offshore wind capacity no later than October 15, 2022 6
29	29	in collaboration with the Rhode Island office of energy resources, shall establish a schedule for 7
30	30	competitive solicitations for the development and construction of offshore wind power projects, 8
31	31	subject to review and approval by the commission. The electric distribution company shall conduct 9
32	32	one or more competitive solicitations through a staggered procurement schedule developed with 10
33	33	the office of energy resources; provided that, the schedule shall ensure that the electric distribution 11
34	34	company enters into cost-effective long-term contracts for offshore wind energy generation equal 12
35	35	to approximately twelve hundred megawatts (1200 MW) of aggregate nameplate capacity not later 13
36	36	than March 30, 2029; and provided further, that individual solicitations shall seek proposals for no 14
37	37	less than four hundred megawatts (400 MW) of aggregate nameplate capacity of offshore wind 15
38	38	energy generation resources. A staggered procurement schedule shall be developed by the electric 16
39	39	distribution company and the office of energy resources and shall specify that any subsequent 17
40	40	solicitation shall occur within thirty-six (36) months of a previous solicitation. Proposals received 18
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44	44	pursuant to a solicitation under this section shall be subject to review by the electric company 1
45	45	distribution company and the office of energy resources. 2
46	46	(b) The electric distribution company shall develop the each request for proposals (RFP) 3
47	47	in consultation with the Rhode Island office of energy resources and the Rhode Island division of 4
48	48	public utilities and carriers. Review of any proposed contract(s) resulting from this procurement 5
49	49	shall be conducted by the commission consistent with the requirements of this chapter. The request 6
50	50	for proposals shall require all bidders to provide, at a minimum, information on potential 7
51	51	environmental impacts through the submittal of an environmental and fisheries mitigation plan, 8
52	52	which shall include site and environmental data transparency requirements; a site layout plan and 9
53	53	maps that illustrate the location of all on-shore and offshore equipment and facilities and clearly 10
54	54	delineates the perimeter of the area in which offshore wind turbines will be placed; annualized 11
55	55	estimates for all economic benefits, including the specific in-state expenditures and employment 12
56	56	proposed during the development, construction, and operation and maintenance phases of the 13
57	57	project; a diversity, equity, and inclusion plan that, at a minimum, provides the bidder’s proposed 14
58	58	strategy to enable access to employment and vendor opportunities for historically marginalized 15
59	59	communities; identification of Rhode Island vendors and other domestic offshore wind supply 16
60	60	chain opportunities associated with the project; and a plan outlining the bidder’s intentions with 17
61	61	respect to the negotiation of a project labor agreement(s) to cover construction activities on a 18
62	62	proposed project. This information shall be incorporated in the procurement’s evaluation and 19
63	63	scoring criteria. 20
64	64	(c) In reviewing responses to the request for proposals, the electric distribution company 21
65	65	shall give priority to offshore wind projects that: 22
66	66	(1) Provide employment and contracting opportunities for workers from disadvantaged 23
67	67	communities as defined by: 24
68	68	(i) The United States Council on Environmental Quality’s climate and economic justice 25
69	69	screening tool or by an agency of this state using standards similar to those in the screening tool as 26
70	70	determined by the commission; 27
71	71	(ii) The United States Department of Commerce, Economic Development Administration’s 28
72	72	economic distress criteria; or 29
73	73	(iii) The United States Department of Energy’s disadvantaged community criteria. 30
74	74	(2) Provide community benefits, as determined preconstruction through a stakeholder 31
75	75	engagement process that includes disadvantaged communities and investments in fishing 32
76	76	communities; 33
77	77	(3) Provide financial contributions or technical assistance to support research, monitoring 34
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81	81	and mitigation of impacts to wildlife, fisheries and habitats and the minimization of environmental 1
82	82	impacts from the offshore wind power project and related transmission and interconnection 2
83	83	infrastructure; 3
84	84	(4) Provide economic benefits to the state, including using an offshore wind port located 4
85	85	in this state; 5
86	86	(5) Maximize the hiring of residents of this state; 6
87	87	(6) Maximize economic, employment and contracting opportunities for residents of this 7
88	88	state and all businesses in this state; and 8
89	89	(7) Provide ratepayer benefits including, but not limited to, enhanced electric reliability, 9
90	90	resource adequacy including contributing to reducing winter electric price spikes and overall price 10
91	91	impacts, avoidance of line loss and mitigation of transmission costs to the extent possible. 11
92	92	(b)(c) The electric distribution company, prior to its issuance, shall file the RFP as 12
93	93	described in subsection (a) of this section with the commission solely for the purpose of soliciting 13
94	94	public comment. The RFP shall be available for thirty (30) days and the commission shall accept 14
95	95	written comment throughout that period, and it shall hold one public hearing to accept oral 15
96	96	comments. Following the public comment period, the electric distribution company shall issue the 16
97	97	RFP with no further action of the commission. Should the electric distribution company 17
98	98	subsequently file a contract resulting from the RFP under subsection (c) of this section, or an 18
99	99	alternative filing under subsection (d) of this section, it shall provide testimony responding to the 19
100	100	public comments either indicating how it was incorporated into the final filing or was not germane 20
101	101	to the procurement. 21
102	102	(c)(d) Unless the electric distribution company determines that the bids are unlikely to lead 22
103	103	to contracts that comply with all of the requirements of this section and § 39-31-6, it shall select a 23
104	104	project or projects during each solicitation for negotiating a contract that shall be conditioned upon 24
105	105	approval by the commission. Negotiations shall proceed in good faith to achieve a commercially 25
106	106	reasonable contract that meets the standards set forth in this chapter. Should the distribution 26
107	107	company and the selected party agree to a contract, the contract shall be filed with the commission 27
108	108	no later than March 15, 2024 sixteen (16) months after issuance of the solicitation, for commission 28
109	109	approval. The commission shall review the contract and issue an order approving or disapproving 29
110	110	the contract within one hundred twenty (120) days of the filing. If the parties are unable to reach 30
111	111	agreement on a contract prior to March 15, 2024 sixteen (16) months after issuance of the 31
112	112	solicitation, an unsigned copy noting which items have mutual agreement and providing each 32
113	113	parties’ preferred terms that remain in dispute shall be filed with the commission by the electric 33
114	114	distribution company prior to that same date. The commission shall have the authority to evaluate 34
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118	118	the unsigned contract consistent with the terms of this chapter, rule on any outstanding terms in 1
119	119	dispute, and order the electric distribution company to execute the approved contract. In such case 2
120	120	of a disputed contract, the commission has the discretion to extend the deadline for approval as 3
121	121	needed to complete its review. 4
122	122	(d)(e) If the electric distribution company determines that the bids are unlikely to lead to 5
123	123	contracts that meet all of the requirements of this section and § 39-31-6, it shall submit a filing to 6
124	124	the commission together with testimony to explain why it should not be required to negotiate a 7
125	125	contract. The commission shall review and rule on the filing within ninety (90) days, which review 8
126	126	shall include soliciting input from the agencies required to provide advisory opinions to the 9
127	127	commission, and public comment. If the electric distribution company fails to show that the bids 10
128	128	are unlikely to lead to a contract that meets all the requirements of this section and § 39-31-6 the 11
129	129	commission may order the utility to proceed with negotiations as set forth in subsection (c) of this 12
130	130	section. 13
131	131	(e)(f) Long-term contracts shall require that developers of newly developed renewable 14
132	132	energy resources will enter into a labor peace agreement with at least one bona fide labor 15
133	133	organization either where such bona fide labor organization is actively representing employees 16
134	134	providing necessary construction, operations and maintenance services for the newly developed 17
135	135	renewable energy resource at the time of such agreement or upon notice by a bona fide labor 18
136	136	organization that is attempting to represent employees who will provide necessary operations and 19
137	137	maintenance services for the renewable energy system employed in the state. The maintenance of 20
138	138	such a labor peace agreement shall be an ongoing material condition of any continuation of 21
139	139	payments under the contract. 22
140	140	(f)(g) Developers of newly developed renewable energy resources shall pay each 23
141	141	construction, operations and maintenance employees wages and benefits that are not less than the 24
142	142	prevailing wage and fringe benefit rates at the journeyman level that are prescribed by the 25
143	143	department of labor and training pursuant to chapter 13 of title 37, for the corresponding 26
144	144	classification in which the employee is employed, and not less than the prevailing wage rates for 27
145	145	employees for which there is no classification prescribed by the department of labor and training; 28
146	146	provided that, a worker may be paid wages and benefits not less than the rate applicable to 29
147	147	apprentices for the pertinent classification if: 30
148	148	(1) The worker is a participant in an approved apprenticeship program; and 31
149	149	(2) The approved apprenticeship program from which the apprentice is hired maintains a 32
150	150	direct entry agreement with a certified pre-apprenticeship training program. 33
151	151	(g)(h) Solicitations by the electric distribution company shall reflect the requirements of 34
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155	155	this section. 1
156	156	SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage. 2
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158	158	LC002230
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163	163	EXPLANATION
164	164	BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
165	165	OF
166	166	A N A C T
167	167	RELATING TO PUBLIC UTILITIES AND CARRIERS -- AFFORDABLE CLEAN ENERGY
168	168	SECURITY ACT
169	169	***
170	170	This act would mandate that the state and electric distribution companies develop proposals 1
171	171	and encourage off shore wind power development and give priority in those projects to providing 2
172	172	employment and business opportunities to workers from disadvantaged communities. 3
173	173	This act would take effect upon passage. 4
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