Raimondo sets first-in-nation renewable energy goal

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — Governor Raimondo signed an executive order Friday that officially sets a new goal: to make Rhode Island run on 100% renewable energy by the year 2030.

She’s referring not only to the electricity in state buildings, but also to every home and every business in Rhode Island. Friday’s order does not apply to vehicles.

For comparison, New York State has already set a goal of 70% renewable energy by the year 2030.

Raimondo pushed back against Speaker Mattiello’s suggestion earlier this week that there’s little Rhode Island can do to address a global issue like climate change.

“We are uniquely vulnerable to the dangers of climate change,” the governor said. “If you want to protect our coastline, our way of life on the coast, have a resilient Rhode Island, protect our kids, we absolutely have to take state action. I think he’s dead wrong.”

Raimondo says she knows her goal is aggressive but that the state is seeing growth in renewable energy jobs, thanks largely to leadership in wind energy.

“New battery technologies, new clean energy technology, new jobs,” said the governor.

At Rhode Island College, students are already training for those jobs.

The school’s sustainability coordinator, James Murphy, acknowledges the governor’s goal is a challenge.

“I think the initial cost, but as it grows out you bring down those costs,” Murphy said. “I think having the manpower. And spreading the message, that’s a big thing.”

But he says the next generation is embracing that message.

“It is the right thing to do, but our students are demanding it,” Murphy said. “It’s part of their psyche.”

©WLNE-TV/ABC 6 2020