Rhode Island is on its way to become the first U.S. state to completely offset its electricity generation with renewables with a new legislative package that targets a fast track to net-zero by 2033.

Rhode Island

A majority of Rhode Island’s electricity currently comes from natural gas, but comprehensive legislation heading to Gov. Daniel McKee’s desk seeks to incentivize an accelerated change. House Bill 277/Senate Bill 2274 doesn’t bar the state’s utilities from using fossil fuels. Instead, it requires utilities to progressively procure more renewable electricity capacity.

The state’s Renewable Energy Standard currently requires utilities to purchase renewable energy certificates (REC) for 19% of their yearly electricity sales and increase those purchases by 1.5% per year. The new...