By TIM FAULKNER/ecoRI.org News staff
PROVIDENCE — Wind
energy is standing tall, at least for the prominent utility-scale turbines.
Three 365-foot-high
turbines on the city's waterfront were lauded as symbols of successful public
policy and environmental initiative. The moment also served a warning that this
momentum might come to a sudden halt if federal tax incentives expire.
"To begin to
seize control of our energy destiny is so important," Sen. Sheldon
Whitehouse, D-R.I., said during a Nov. 4 ceremony at India Point Park
celebrating the new turbines.
To date, Rhode Island
has nine commercial-scale turbine sites with others on the way. The
latest wave of wind development began in 2006 with the relatively modest
260-foot-high turbine at the Portsmouth Abbey School. Despite several delays
and seven years, the three 1.5-megawatt turbines at the Narragansett Bay
Commission (NBC) are officially operational. The project was slowed for two
years because of height concerns raised by the Federal Aviation Administration.
Connecting to the power grid also added time and costs to the $14 million
project.
The NBC turbines have
the capacity to generate nearly seven times the electricity as the Portsmouth
Abbey turbine, enough power to meet 40 percent, or about $800,000, of the
energy needs at the regional waste and stormwater treatment facility.
A new report from
Environment Rhode Island applauds the state's wind energy growth as the Ocean
State heads toward its goal of generating 16 percent renewable energy by 2019.
The report urges expanding offshore wind development to meet that goal. The
recent announcement of
the opening of federal offshore areas to competitive lease sales for wind
development was a significant step, according to the report.
The leasing plan
opens the way for large offshore wind farms at two sites off Rhode Island and
Massachusetts.
The benefits include
reducing pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, creating local jobs and
preserving water resources used as coolant for fossil-fuel plants. Rhode Island
has 12 fossil-fuel burning power plants, and natural gas generates more than 90
percent of the state’s energy.
Several municipal wind
turbine initiatives hit political roadblocks this year. But state and private
projects have increased steadily. But the "fiscal cliff" is looming.
Two incentives are set
to expire at the end of the year: the production tax credit and the offshore
wind investment tax credit. The loss of the production tax credit could stall
new wind development by 75 percent, according to the report.
At the recent NBC
ceremony, Rep. David Cicilline, D-R.I., urged Congress to "fiercely
protect" tax credits and tax breaks that have helped the renewable energy
sector in recent years.
“Don’t throw wind
power off the fiscal cliff,” said Channing Jones of Environment Rhode Island.
“Our clean air, water and children’s future are too important to blow it now.”
“It’s critical we get
the federal tax incentive,” said Karina Lutz of People’s Power & Light.
Wind energy facts
Here are highlights from the wind energy report commissioned by Environment Rhode Island:
• Since 2008 wind
power production in the United States has more than doubled.
• Wind energy
displaces global warming emissions from 13 million cars annually.
• Wind energy saves
enough water nationwide to meet the needs of a city the size of Boston.
• More water is
withdrawn from U.S. rivers, lakes, streams and aquifers for cooling power
plants than any other purpose.
• Up to 20 percent of
U.S. power could come from wind by 2030. Today, wind power generates 3 percent
of U.S. electricity.