RIEDC approves grant for East Providence solar site

The R.I. Economic Development Corp. awarded a $200,000 grant to a 15 megawatt solar-power project at a 220-acre former East Providence landfill off of Forbes St. The EDC also approved a grant and a loan totaling $125,000 to Safeway Auto Service for a $250,000 fifty kilowatt wind turbine. EDC board members unanimously approved the grants and 10-year loan from the agency's Renewable Energy Development Fund. The EDC's $200,310 grant to East Providence for the solar-power project will be combined with a $100,000 allocation of federal stimulus money as well as a $40,000 grant from the Rhode Island Foundation to help finance the $400,620 project. City officials said the solar installation at the former landfill is planned to take place in stages. The city has hired Boston-based CME Energy to develop and operate the solar-panel farm, which is planned to provide power to a middle school, and to the city's wastewater treatment plant.