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    Nexamp, TurningPoint Convert Former Golf Course into Rhode Island Solar Farm

    Aug. 29, 2024
    Construction began in 2022 after several years of development and work gaining local community approval. Windmill Lane was a longtime par-3, 9-hole course along Schoolhouse Road. A glut of new projects and a drop in number of players nationwide has resulted in close to 1,000 courses closing.
    Image credit Nexamp
    66d069c73ef987e494c1e580 Windmill Hill

    The old Windmill Hill 3-part golf course is now a 9.4-MW solar farm in Warren, Rhode Island, delivering carbon-free energy to the grid and benefiting local non-profits via energy cost savings.

    Developer TurningPoint Energy and owner-operator Nexamp celebrated completion of the project last week. The solar farm is composed of two arrays totaling more than 17,000 modules.

    Construction began in 2022 after several years of development and work gaining local community approval. Windmill Lane was a longtime par-3, 9-hole course along Schoolhouse Road. A glut of new projects and a drop in number of players nationwide has resulted in close to 1,000 courses closing in the past decade and half, according to reports.

    So the repurposing shines a new light on the acreage along Schoolhouse Road.

    “Transforming an old golf course into a solar farm not only revitalizes unused land but also contributes to a greener future for Rhode Island,” said Salar Naini, president of TurningPoint Energy, in a statement.

    The old Windmill Lane site is Nexamp’s largest solar project in Rhode Island to date. The energy output is part of the state’s virtual net metering program, enabling reductions in energy costs for local schools, nonprofits and municipalities.

    Fifteen area non-profit organizations, schools, cities, and towns signed an energy sales agreement with Nexamp and received their power from Rhode Island Energy. Over its lifetime, this project is expected to generate approximately 11.5 million kWh annually, contributing to Rhode Island’s goal of 100% renewable electricity across the state.

    “Congratulations to the town of Warren and all of the parties involved with advancing this solar project,” said Chris Kearns, Acting Commissioner of the Rhode Island Office of Energy Resources. “This system is a great contribution to Rhode Island’s Act on Climate objectives and supports our 100 percent renewable energy standard by 2033.”

    Rhode Island, one of the smallest states in the U.S., is nearing 800 MW of installed solar capacity and more than 1 GW of total carbon-free generation, according to the state’s energy department. The state's clean energy portfolio also includes more than 400 MW of offshore wind, 148 MW of onshore wind, 11 MW of hydropower and 35 MW of landfill gas-biofuel generation.

     

    About the Author

    Rod Walton, EnergyTech Managing Editor | Senior Editor

    For EnergyTech editorial inquiries, please contact Managing Editor Rod Walton at [email protected].

    Rod Walton has spent 15 years covering the energy industry as a newspaper and trade journalist. He formerly was energy writer and business editor at the Tulsa World. Later, he spent six years covering the electricity power sector for Pennwell and Clarion Events. He joined Endeavor and EnergyTech in November 2021.

    Walton earned his Bachelors degree in journalism from the University of Oklahoma. His career stops include the Moore American, Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise, Wagoner Tribune and Tulsa World. 

    EnergyTech is focused on the mission critical and large-scale energy users and their sustainability and resiliency goals. These include the commercial and industrial sectors, as well as the military, universities, data centers and microgrids. The C&I sectors together account for close to 30 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S.

    He was named Managing Editor for Microgrid Knowledge and EnergyTech starting July 1, 2023

    Many large-scale energy users such as Fortune 500 companies, and mission-critical users such as military bases, universities, healthcare facilities, public safety and data centers, shifting their energy priorities to reach net-zero carbon goals within the coming decades. These include plans for renewable energy power purchase agreements, but also on-site resiliency projects such as microgrids, combined heat and power, rooftop solar, energy storage, digitalization and building efficiency upgrades.

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