Teachable moment on wind energy from No. Kingstown

I reported the Town Council’s June 1^st special meeting where they discussed – and asked for residents to comment on – the trial balloon offer by developer Larry LeBlanc to sell his land overlooking Route One, site of his proposed Whalerock wind turbine project, to the town for $3 million.

At that Town Council meeting, most of the Council members and nearly everyone who commented felt there is “no compelling reason” for the town to consider LeBlanc’s offer.

LeBlanc has argued he was granted all the necessary approvals he needs by the prior Town Council and Zoning Commission.



The new Council kicked over the Whalerock deal the day they were sworn into office and imposed a moratorium on all wind turbine development in town. Neighbors filed suit to void the approvals LeBlanc had received from the prior town administration. The parties have been arguing the legal issues since then, though LeBlanc has busily offered several alternative proposals, such as a new affordable housing development and hinted at a deal with the Narragansett Tribe, a prospect much dreaded as a step toward a tribal casino.

But there's an interesting teachable moment that just occurred in North Kingstown.



First, for almost a year, North Kingstown and Charlestown have been in a de facto competition to see who can take the most extreme action to block development of wind energy facilities. Both towns have been egged on by organized residents who have labeled wind turbines a menace that will attract plague and pestilence, UFOs, boils, cancer and crickets. So both Town Councils have gone to extreme measures to appease these vocal NIMBY groups.



Artist's rendering of NK Green turbine

North Kingstown

yanked the permit on one of two large turbine projects in town, the 380-foot North Kingstown Green project after neighbors claimed the turbines posed a threat to the health of their children.

But developer Mark DePasquale decided to play hardball, and filed a $25 million lawsuit against those eight neighbors.

That was enough to convince those neighbors that maybe the wind turbine won’t be so bad after all. They petitioned the Town Council to reinstate the permit, which the Council did. The neighbors and the developer have signed a confidential settlement agreement, the developer agreed to reduce the turbine size by 30 feet and work has commenced again. The turbine is expected to be operating by the end of the year.

Is it fair to compare the efforts by local town governments and NIMBY groups against the two developers, DePasquale and LeBlanc? In both instances, the developers followed town rules and received what they thought were valid permits, only to have those permits withdrawn.

So far, LeBlanc’s approach has been far less aggressive than DePasquale. LeBlanc seems far more interested in ending the long-standing controversy by dumping the land on the town.

But what if LeBlanc decides that a friendly solution just isn’t going to happen, that whatever he proposes, the town’s against it?

Wind turbine opponents in North Kingstown seemed as determined and resolute as our Charlestown variety, but they melted when the developer turned up the heat. I’d hate to see it come to that in Charlestown, because I actually believe Whalerock is a bad idea, though I don’t share the opponents’ sweeping condemnation of wind energy.

If the “compelling reason” to buy LeBlanc’s land comes after he escalates, will it be too late? Will Charlestown regret not taking a shot at serious negotiations to end the long-running Larry LeBlanc soap opera when it had the chance?

Author: Will Collette