Deepwater Wind
continues to move forward with its five-turbine wind farm off Block Island, and
so too does opposition to the project.
On Oct. 2, the
Providence-based company filed a slew of state and federal permit applications
for construction of the $300 million project. The files are available on its website. Public
comment is open until
Nov. 19.
In August, the
30-megawatt project received approval from the federal government to lay 21
miles of underwater transmission lines between the wind farm, Block Island and
Narragansett. For the onetime fee of $350,000, Block Island agreed to allow
construction of cables to run under the parking lot at Crescent Beach and onto
a new substation at the Block Island Power Co. Transmission lines also need
approval to run 10 feet under a parking lot and beach front at Town Beach in
Narragansett.
The new cables will eliminate the island's diesel-generated electrcity while also delivering supplemental power from the mainland along with fiber-optic cable.
The agreement
between Deepwater Wind and National Grid already faces a challenge
from Newport resident Ben Riggs Jr. Riggs opposes the project over rate hikes for
electricity users and his fundemental opposition to utility-scale wind energy.
"Mr. Rigg's
complaint against the RI PUC is frivolous,” said Jeff Grybowski, chief
administrative officer for Deepwater. “He has long been a project
opponent. Based on his complaint, he seems to oppose any energy source that
does not pollute our air by burning fossil fuels. We are very confident that
FERC will reject his complaint. We are moving full steam ahead on both our wind
farm and transmission projects for Block Island."
On Sept. 28, the
Public Utilities Commission (PUC) and the state attorney general asked that the
suit be dismissed.
Surveys have shown
that most Block Island residents are in favor of the wind project. However,
longtime Block Island seasonal resident Rosemarie Ives said the wind farm
will destroy the island’s iconic views. The overall expense to Rhode Islanders
through electric bills makes the project worse than 38 Studios, she said.
“We’re assessing
different opportunities of slowing this and fighting it," Ives said.
Environmental impacts
Deepwater Wind has spent $7 million during the past three years to conduct onshore and offshore environmental studies.
Deepwater Wind has spent $7 million during the past three years to conduct onshore and offshore environmental studies.
In a press release,
the Army Corps of Engineers said the undersea cables “may affect but are not
likely to adversely affect terrestrial and marine protected species.”
Further consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National
Marine Fisheries Service regarding threatened and endangered species will be
done before the permit is approved.
Some 63 acres of
essential fish habitat will be temporarily disturbed during construction of the
turbines and cable installation. “Loss of essential fish habitat may adversely
affect some of the species. However, the Corps has made a preliminary
determination that the site-specific adverse effect will not be substantial,”
the according to the Army Corps of Engineers.
The Block Island project is in a race with
Cape Wind to be the first offshore wind farm in the country. The demonstration
site is scheduled to be up and running by 2013 or 2014. The power is expected
to provide electricity to about 7,200 Rhode Island households.
