Here in southern New England, some people say the solution is renewable electricity.  Others say natural gas.  Some think the answer will be nuclear fission or fusion.  

We know for sure that solving the problem of high energy costs requires more than making changes to our energy supply.  We expect all current energy sources will, to some degree, have a place in our part of the world for the next 30 years. Over the past 10, renewables have grown faster than expected, fossil fuels have grown less competitive economically, and nuclear has evolved slowly.  We expect those patterns will persist.

Some people say that energy prices have been increasing because of government-mandated costs on electric bills.  Or they say that gas and electricity prices will inevitably increase because of the need to replace aging energy delivery infrastructure and to power data centers. 

We believe the solution does require addressing how energy is delivered and how delivery costs are set.  And we see real opportunities for driving down the cost of electricity.

Some people say that residential energy costs are too high in Rhode Island and other New England states because we have the oldest housing stock in the country (after New York), so homes need to be “weatherized”, and many homes are still heated with more expensive fuels (propane or heating oil).  We agree those things are true and therefore

we believe the solution must address the challenges of up-front costs and financing – especially for lower income households and rental properties.

Many people say that climate change is or will be a problem unless we prioritize clean energy.  Advocates for clean energy also tell us that tell us that it will be easier to use clean energy if we electrify everything.

We know that using less energy can be nearly as good a solution as using cleaner energy, and that electrification of transport and heating is a very good way to reduce primary energy consumption while improving comfort and reducing costs.

If you would like to reduce your own energy costs and/or energy-related emissions, or if you would like to help others do so, sign up for our newsletter.  We are a Rhode Island-based non-profit, a team with decades of experience reducing our own annual costs and emissions, and we are building this site to help our neighbors do the same.