Bill > S2800

This bill amends existing Rhode Island law to allow energy storage systems, which are facilities designed to store electrical energy, to be automatically permitted as a standard use on abandoned or contaminated properties without being considered to have negative environmental impacts. Specifically, it adds a provision to the abandoned property law that makes energy storage systems a "by-right" use, meaning they don't require special permission or lengthy review processes, if they are located on property where a court has already made findings related to its condition. Additionally, it expands the "Renewable Ready Program" to include energy storage systems on previously contaminated properties, also designating them as by-right uses and deeming them to have no significant negative environmental impacts, provided the applicant can prove the property's contaminated status. The bill also clarifies that these systems must comply with industrial or manufacturing zone requirements, with a maximum structural lot coverage of sixty-five percent in the abandoned property context and seventy-five percent in the contaminated property context. This legislation is intended to encourage the development of energy storage infrastructure on underutilized or environmentally impacted land.

Housing and Urban Affairs

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