Rhode Island - GHG emissions

State Insight: Rhode Island

Rhode Island (RI) reports 4.1M metric tons of CO2-equivalent in annual greenhouse gas emissions from 12 EPA-reporting facilities operated by 9 companies. Each reporting facility emits at least 25,000 metric tons of CO2e per year, the threshold that triggers mandatory disclosure under EPA's Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program (40 CFR Part 98). On a per-facility basis, Rhode Island averages approximately 345K metric tons of CO2e annually, reflecting the scale and mix of power generation, refining, chemicals, and heavy manufacturing within the state's industrial base.

The 9 reporting companies in Rhode Island span the full GHGRP sector taxonomy, but state totals are typically dominated by a small number of high-emitting operators. Top emitters visible in this dataset include RHODE ISLAND STATE ENERGY CENTER, LS Power Development, EDGEWATER GENERATION HOLDINGS, which together reflect a disproportionate share of the RI total. This concentration pattern is consistent with national GHGRP data: roughly 100 corporate parents account for over half of all U.S. reported industrial emissions, so state-level decarbonization strategies often benefit from targeting specific facilities rather than applying uniform regulations across all reporters.

For analysts and policymakers, Rhode Island's profile should be interpreted against both production-weighted metrics (emissions per unit of industrial output) and population-weighted metrics (per-capita emissions). The figures above capture only Scope 1 direct emissions at reporting facilities, Scope 2 purchased electricity and Scope 3 supply-chain emissions fall outside the GHGRP's facility-level disclosure scope. State-level climate plans, including those responding to California SB 253 and forthcoming SEC climate rules, increasingly require companies headquartered or operating in Rhode Island to expand their disclosures beyond this baseline, making the GHGRP an important foundation but not the full picture.