The Barrington Resilience and Energy Committee is recommending the Town Council draft an ordinance requiring all newly-constructed homes in town be powered entirely by electricity. 

No gas line hook-ups.

No oil tanks. 

No propane.

The Committee voted unanimously at its February meeting to share the recommendation with the Council. 

A policy brief drafted by members of the Resilience and Energy Committee states that residential home energy use accounts for about 20 percent of the greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S.

“Barrington has pledged to eradicate equipment that is costly and harmful and replace it with better technology,” stated the policy brief. “The all-electric heat pumps are up to three-times more efficient than traditional heating, like gas furnaces, [and] heat pumps use less energy to produce the same amount of heat without co2 emissions.”

The brief states that Barrington must accelerate its efforts toward emissions reduction.

“The strategy must highlight cost benefits and incentivize developers and private property owners to invest in locally generated all-electric energy.”

Committee members have said that energy generated with solar photovoltaics (solar panels) have become more affordable than other forms of energy. The policy brief states that large-scale advances in the efficiency of renewable energy as well as reduction in hardware costs, give photovoltaic solar energy a significant cost advantage. 

The brief also states that battery storage systems have improved and allow for greater demand flexibility. 

Hans Scholl, a member of the town’s Resilience and Energy Committee, has attended recent town meetings and shared the message of moving toward electric-powered new construction in Barrington. 

Scholl attended a Planning Board meeting where officials were discussing the possible construction of a new development on the former Zion Bible College property. Scholl asked members of the development team which types of energy would supplied to the residences. He said renewable energy is now more affordable that energy produced by fossil fuels and it would not be fair to lock residents into a more expensive energy source. 

Solar bill

The path for a new ordinance requiring all newly-built homes in Barrington be entirely electric-powered preceded legislation at the state level that calls for new homes to be made solar-ready when they are constructed. 

Barrington resident and District 66 Rep. Jennifer Boylan is sponsoring bill (2023-H 5851) which would require most new construction to include solar panels. It would instruct the Rhode Island Building Code Commission to create different regulations for single-family dwellings, multi-family dwellings, large commercial buildings and parking lots over 16,000 square feet.

Developers could apply for an exemption if they can demonstrate solar would be impractical, if they provide alternative forms of renewable energy generation or if they are constructing affordable housing and don’t have sufficient funding.