Lead by Example: Clean Energy and Sustainability Future

On May 9, 2023, Governor Dan McKee signed Executive Order (EO) 23-06, which challenges state agencies to “lead by example…to move Rhode Island toward a cleaner, more affordable, reliable, and equitable clean energy future.” The EO directed government agencies to “cooperate with Lead by Example and make every effort to support sustainable initiatives within their facilities.” The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) has advanced the Lead by Example effort as part of a Sustainability Initiative focusing on sustainable materials management and clean energy projects.

The Lead by Example dashboard showcases the progress and plans in motion to provide electric vehicle charging stations for the public and programmatic needs, solar panels, and solar canopies to generate electricity, wind power to generate electricity, battery storage for onsite electricity storage, LED lighting to reduce electricity usage, and water filler stations to eliminate single-use plastic bottles at our larger state beaches. Additionally, DEM continues shifting fleet vehicles from internal combustion engines to hybrid and electric vehicles.

Data as of September 2024. DEM plans to update the data in this dashboard every 6 months.

Green Energy & Sustainability at DEM Facilities

🟢 Active  |  🟡 Active with expansion plans/desires  |  🔵 Not Active, plans/desires for installation  |  🔴 Exists, but not working

DEM Fleet Management

The below data represents current class 1,2 DEM vehicles replacement on a 1:1 ratio. Replacement potentials are based on targeted replacements due to age, mileage, repair costs, budget, and the specific needs of the DEM program.

Electric Vehicles 

(EV and Plug-in)

Year	Actual  start of year	Purchase	Retire	Planned  end of year
2025	24	6	0	30
2027	30	5	0	35
2030	35	5	0	40
Total Change		16	0

 

Not Electric Vehicles

(Hybrid and Conventional)

Year	Actual  start of year	Purchase	Retire	Planned  end of year
2025	119	0	6	113
2027	113	0	5	108
2030	108	0	5	103
Total Change		0	16

Overall Metrics 

Year	Total Electric Vehicles	Total Vehicles	%
2025	30	143	21%
2027	35	143	24%
2030	40	143	28%

 

Fleet State Transition Targets for DEM

Additional Resources

• Office of the Governor: Executive Order 23-06 
• Office of Energy Resources: Lead by Example Program