Northeast

Rhode Island

Rhode Island is the smallest state in the nation and the second most densely populated. Greenhouse gas emissions in the state have risen by 12% from 1990-2021, with the largest increase occurring in the electric power sector. While the majority of the state’s electricity is sourced from natural gas, Rhode Island developed the first commercial-scale wind farm off of Block Island. The state also consumes the lowest amount of energy among U.S. states on a per capita basis.

GHG Reduction Targets

All targets relative to 1990 levels

2030

45%

2040

80%

2050

Net-zero

Governor

Daniel McKee (Democrat)

House Party

Democratic Supermajority

Senate Party

Democratic Supermajority

Legislative session

1/7/25 - 6/30/25

US Climate Alliance Status

Member

Key Offices & Links

32

Policies Enacted or In Progress

across 6 policy areas

See all

30

Policy Opportunities

across 7 policy areas

See all

Northeast

9 states

This map shows the occurrence of climate policies passed at the state-level. Higher numbers represent more climate policies enacted.

Compare with other states

Progress by Policy Area

Enacted Enacted policies have been passed or established in a state by a governing body via legislation, executive orders, rules, regulations, and/or other program creation, and remain in effect.
In-progress In progress policies have been established in a state, but final regulations, rules, or plans are pending final approval. This also includes legislation and executive orders that require regulations to be put into effect.
Partially Enacted Partially enacted policies have been enacted in the state, but are missing one or more policy components. Dashboard policies cannot be considered partially enacted unless policy components are available.
Not Enacted Not enacted policies have not been passed or established in the state or are no longer in effect.

Glossary of Terms

The colored bars indicate the status for each policy on the Dashboard, viewed across seven policy areas.

Status	Policy	Policy Area	Policy Category	Year Enacted
Enacted	Clean Energy and Renewable Portfolio Standards	Electricity	Energy Plans and Targets	2022
Empty column	100% renewable energy by 2033	Establishing Policies HB 7277A (2022)
Not Enacted	Electricity Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Targets	Electricity	Energy Plans and Targets
Empty column	Electricity greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction targets are set by a state to limit GHG emissions in the electricity sector. These targets aim to reduce emissions by different amounts over time, often expressed as percentage relative to a baseline year.
Enacted	Clean Energy Plans	Electricity	Energy Plans and Targets	2020
Empty column	The Road to 100% Renewable Electricity by 2030 in Rhode Island	Establishing Policies Executive Order 20-01 (2020) The Road to 100% Renewable Electricity by 2030 in Rhode Island (2020)
Not Enacted	Distributed Generation Carve-out	Electricity	Clean Energy Generation
Empty column	The State Policy Opportunity Tracker (SPOT) breaks clean energy policies down into “components”, which are binary questions to evaluate policy quality. Higher quality policies have more of their SPOT components fulfilled.	Establishing Policies SPOT – Generation Carve-outs in Rhode Island	Policy Components not-enacted not-enacted not-enacted not-enacted not-enacted 0/5
Partially Enacted	Net Metering	Electricity	Clean Energy Generation
Empty column	The State Policy Opportunity Tracker (SPOT) breaks clean energy policies down into “components”, which are binary questions to evaluate policy quality. Higher quality policies have more of their SPOT components fulfilled.	Establishing Policies SPOT - Net Metering in Rhode Island SPOT - Aggregate Net Metering in Rhode Island	Policy Components enacted enacted not-enacted enacted not-enacted not-enacted enacted enacted enacted enacted enacted 8/11
Partially Enacted	Shared Renewables	Electricity	Clean Energy Generation
Empty column	The State Policy Opportunity Tracker (SPOT) breaks clean energy policies down into “components”, which are binary questions to evaluate policy quality. Higher quality policies have more of their SPOT components fulfilled.	Establishing Policies SPOT - Shared Renewables in Rhode Island	Policy Components enacted enacted enacted enacted not-enacted enacted 5/6
Enacted	Community Choice Aggregation	Electricity	Clean Energy Generation	2002
Empty column	Rhode Island has an active community choice aggregation program.	Establishing Policies HB 7786 (2002) HB 5536 (2017) SB 877 (2017)
Enacted	Energy Storage Targets	Electricity	Transmission, Distribution, and Energy Storage	2024
Empty column	90 megawatts (MW) of energy storage by 2026, 195 MW by 2028 and 600 MW by 2033	Establishing Policies S 2499 A (2024)
Enacted	Interconnection Standards	Electricity	Transmission, Distribution, and Energy Storage	2023
Empty column	Rhode Island received a C grade from Freeing the Grid.	Establishing Policies Freeing the Grid Rhode Island Grade (2023)
Not Enacted	Coal Phaseouts	Electricity	Coal Retirement
Empty column	Coal phaseouts establish a target year by which states must end coal-fired power generation.
Not Enacted	Coal Plant Securitization	Electricity	Coal Retirement
Empty column	Coal securitization is a financing tool that allows utility companies to refinance debt they issued to build coal plants and close the facilities early without taking a financial hit or passing costs on to ratepayers.

Rhode Island

Key Offices & Links

32

30

Northeast

Progress by Policy Area

Climate Governance and Equity

Cross-Sector

Electricity

Buildings and Efficiency

Transportation

Industry, Materials, and Waste Management

Natural and Working Lands

Greenhouse Gas Emissions Projections in Rhode Island

Climate Policies in Rhode Island