Unanswered questions and legitimate objections - that's why Barrington Town Council member Jamie Schwartz believes the proposed wind turbine project would not get his vote of approval ... at least not right now. Last week Mr. Schwartz went public with his position regarding the wind turbine. He said if he had to vote on the project tomorrow, he would vote no. "The disagreements over the economic model, the wind adequacy, the environmental impact, vendor qualifications, property values, construction impacts, aesthetics, etc., suggest that community buy-in is insufficient to approve the project," Mr. Schwartz wrote in a letter last week.

Rhode Island has granted a New Jersey-based renewable energy firm the right to develop a wind farm miles off the coast that would generate 15 percent of the state's electricity needs in the coming decade, officials said. DeepwaterWind LLC estimates the project, being formally announced Thursday, will cost $1 billion to $2 billion and benefit New England, which pays some of the most expensive electricity bills in the nation because it is heavily dependent on natural gas. ...DeepwaterWind CEO Chris Brown said his firm builds turbines on large platforms originally designed for offshore drilling rigs, which means they can operate in deep waters and ideally out of sight of land.

Mapping of the ocean area that could contain Rhode Island's first offshore wind farm is kicking into high gear. The Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC) and the University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography are preparing to formally sign a partnership to produce an Ocean Special Area Management Plan (SAMP) for a swath of ocean 20 to 30 miles wide stretching along the entire Rhode Island Atlantic coastline. Depending on the team's findings, a wind farm visible from Block Island shores could become a reality. And along with it could come a much-talked about, but never realized, power cable to the mainland.

Late last month Lincoln Avenue resident Kathleen Shafer filed a complaint against the town's zoning board of review over a decision it made involving the proposed wind turbine. The complaint's roots can be traced to the town's initial site selection for the project - Barrington High School. (Legion Way is also being considered as a potential site.) Ms. Shafer lives at 210 Lincoln Ave., and her property abuts the school campus. She began questioning some aspects of the project and eventually requested a zoning certificate with respect to the zoning status of the high school, specifically as it relates to a wind turbine. The building official said the high school was exempt from the town's zoning ordinances.

Rhode Island's top energy official said yesterday that proposed federal rules for leasing offshore ocean space to wind-farm operators will not conflict with the state's own plan to select a developer to build a wind project off the coast. Andrew Dzykewicz, chief energy adviser to the governor, said the rules are "unlikely to interfere" with the state's plans. But he said the state's Office of Energy Resources plans to file its own comments about the rules to make sure there won't be any potential conflict.

The five-member group appointed by the governor in June has been giving the seven bids a "very thorough look" according to member David Farmer, who added that outside experts are being consulted. Fellow group member Saul Kaplan said he expected the group to finish its work by the end of the year. The wind farm proposal could have implications for Block Island - not only because it suggests locations close to the island - but because it also "strongly encourages" the winner of the bid to tie the system into Block Island.

The state's suspension of a rebate program for small wind turbine projects has led Mashpee Commons to rethink its proposal to mount two turbines to the roof of the Talbots' building in the middle of the commercial and residential development. Douglas S. Storrs, a vice president of both Mashpee Commons LP another related development firm, said this week that in light of the suspension the developers are now investigating using the two small turbines, purchased nearly a year ago, at other properties in Rhode Island.

Michael Khouri lives on Middle Highway. Like many of the residents at the Committee for Renewable Energy for Barrington (CREB) community meeting Wednesday night, Aug. 20, Mr. Khouri went to the event in search of answers. Most of the two-and-a-half hour meeting, however, was spent in heated debate. The majority of the residents at the meeting at the American Legion Hall said they were concerned about the proximity of the wind turbine to their home if it is constructed at Legion Way, the noise it will generate, and its impact on wildlife in the area.

Forty pages of health and safety information surrounding the proposed wind turbine project in town may never have been created had it not been for some anxious residents. Ron Pitt, chairman for the health and safety subcommittee that researched and wrote the report, said interested and concerned residents, including members of the group Citizens Wind Watch, should be credited for pushing forward the process of learning more about wind turbines and the issues that surround them. ...Mr. Russo said the recent health and safety report spelled a certain end to the likelihood the turbine would be constructed at the high school.

The Conservation Commission listed environmental concerns to be considered for the wind power feasibility study now underway and sustainable energy consultants gathered information from board members and talked about goals of the study at the Aug. 12 meeting. Conservation Commissioner Cathy Roheim updated the board on the progress made by the Jamestown Wind Energy Committee.

Five companies submitted proposals for a wind turbine yesterday, but only two made bids for what the town was asking for. Only one of the two came in under the $2.4-million limit set by the Town Council. The proposals now go to the Committee for Renewable Energy for Barrington, which is expected to make its recommendation to the council next month. Meanwhile, the committee released a 40-page report suggesting that the project should not pose any serious health and safety risks if the turbine is built at town-owned property at the end of Legion Way, already the favored site.

Gov. Donald L. Carcieri today called on the R.I. Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to force National Grid, the state's major power company, to sign long-term contracts to buy electricity from renewable energy generators. One of the PUC's mandates is to keep ratepayers' costs as low as possible. In a letter sent to the three commissioners today, the governor argued that requiring the dominant utility to buy renewable energy will provide market incentives for new power sources that will reduce electricity costs in the long run.

The Committee for Renewable Energy in Barrington (CREB) met on Tuesday, Aug. 5 and scheduled three outreach meetings for residents concerned with the proposed wind turbine project. Legion Way and Barrington High School have been picked as potential locations for the wind turbine ...CREB has scheduled the outreach meetings - Aug. 20 and 27 and Sept. 10 - for anyone who has concerns with the wind turbine project or who wants to learn more.

Town officials received some good news on Tuesday, Aug. 5 - the Internal Revenue Service's interest-free loan for the town's proposed wind turbine project is still accessible even if the turbine is moved to a different site. Initial research indicated that the proposed wind turbine would be best suited for a spot on the Barrington High School campus, primarily because the school is the largest consumer of electricity among all municipal buildings and because state legislation limited the transfer of electricity generated in one location to another spot. Recently-approved legislation voided that restriction and town officials have since selected a new site - Legion Way near Brickyard Pond - as their top location for the proposed tower.

Critics of a plan to build a wind turbine at the high school are adding zoning concerns to their list of objections to the project, which town officials say they want to relocated to a piece of town-owned land on Brickyard Pond at the end of Legion Way. But the Town Council president counters that those concerns are groundless because the town is not bound by its own zoning bylaw. ...The town has until the end of the year to close a deal on the turbine if it wants to take advantage of a $2.1-million interest-free loan being offered by the IRS.

Mr. Baum said there is a lot of information circulating about wind turbines and wants to make sure his board's website becomes a definitive source for reliable details. He wants people to get an accurate picture of the project. "We don't want misinformation hurting this," he said. Wind turbine talk started more than a year ago in Barrington. Officials studied the potential for a wind turbine in town and were encouraged when their application for a $2.1 million no interest loan from the IRS was approved.

A dozen opponents of the high school site were at the meeting to ask the committee to immediately declare the high school off limits, and they presented a 21-page report that, they contended, proves that the turbine would pose a physical danger and noise hazard to students. But committee members said they wanted to review the report and hear counter-arguments from the town's renewable energy committee, which has asserted that the device is safe. It has voted to give preference to the alternative site, which would be 1,000 feet from any house and have stronger winds.

In his veto message this morning, Carcieri wrote: "It is with much regret that I find it necessary to veto this legislation. "Renewable energy has great potential for powering our homes and businesses as well as our economy. Rhode Island is poised to be a pioneer in emerging technologies of wind and wave energy, and I'm confident that in due time, we will fulfill my goal of securing at least 20 percent of our energy from renewable resources." But, he added, "unfortunately, I believe the legislation before me today fails to balance our desire to invest in renewable energy with the realities that rate-payers currently endure." ...The environmental community also reacted with disappointment to the veto.

Governor Carcieri has vetoed a key renewable energy bill passed by the General Assembly that was designed to foster private investment in major renewable energy projects and shift the state away from its reliance on traditional fossil fuels. ...The governor gave three reasons for his veto. He said he took issue with a provision in the bill that would give National Grid a bonus payment of 3 percent of the renewable energy contracts it entered into, once the project began operations. Electricity customers would have paid for the bonus. ...the governor said another flaw in the bill was that it did not require National Grid to enter into renewable energy contracts from developers who are building a project within Rhode Island.

An abutter to Barrington High School believes the town may be violating a number of zoning ordinances with its siting of the proposed wind turbine. Kathleen Shafer, who lives at 210 Lincoln Ave., recently requested a zoning certificate regarding the wind turbine, which is slated to be built on the school's campus. The certificate would act to clarify the project with respect to any zoning implications of the proposed use. Barrington Building Official Robert Speaker replied to the request by stating that the high school property - and all other town-owned property - was exempt from town zoning ordinances.