URI, Rhode Island’s Energy Partner to Support Renewable Energy Research

KINGSTON — University of Rhode Island President Marc Parlange and Greg Cornett, president of Rhode Island Energy, announced earlier this month the launch of a strategic partnership that will fuel important research in renewable energy, alternative energy and sustainability.

The partnership brings together researchers from URI and PPL Corporation, a Pennsylvania-based energy company comprised of Rhode Island Energy, LG&E, Kentucky Utilities and PPL Electric Utilities that serves 3.5 million customers in four states.

“This new industry-university collaboration will enable URI and Rhode Island Energy to accelerate and accelerate important work that will help advance sustainability goals,” Parlange said. “The joint projects established under this agreement will address a critical need to develop innovative solutions to support Rhode Island’s renewable energy transition while contributing to economic development across our state.”

“We are proud to announce this partnership between Rhode Island Energy and URI because it has such an important impact on Rhode Island’s economic development beyond supporting research endeavors,” Cornett said. “I’m especially pleased that this provides students with the opportunity to participate in these activities and gain a competitive advantage in ocean renewable energy.”

As part of the agreement, Rhode Island Energy launched the $100,000 Brighter Futures Scholarship at URI, which will support URI students with a passion for clean energy, sustainability, decarbonization and grid reliability. The research collaboration will also provide opportunities for student participation, enabling graduates to join the rapidly growing ocean renewable energy sector.

For PPL, the partnership with URI is one of many higher education collaborations it has developed to further research initiatives to achieve its sustainability goal of achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050. R&D priorities companies include renewable energy integration, carbon capture and sequestration, geothermal, long-term energy storage, advanced nuclear technologies, distributed energy resources and next-generation smart grids.

Rhode Island Energy and PPL have selected URI as a strategic partner to conduct research on marine renewable energy, climate change, grid decarbonization, nuclear technology development and carbon capture, among others.

The utility also worked with URI to prepare and submit several National Science Foundation research grants. URI’s Department of Ocean Engineering and the Graduate School of Oceanography recently received a $250,000 award – jointly with the University of Kentucky and PPL – to investigate the feasibility of capturing carbon dioxide in the ocean.

As part of its mission to support the state’s vibrant blue economy, the URI College of Engineering has established numerous research collaborations, including a recent $2.5 million award from Revolution Wind, a partnership between Orsted and Eversource to build a 704 MW offshore wind farm serving Rhode Island and Connecticut. The award supports research to monitor lost or abandoned fishing gear and ecosystem diversity during the construction and operation of wind farms.