Would the capacity of a proposed electricity cable from Block Island to the mainland allow for more than the eight wind turbines currently planned by developer Deepwater Wind? Block Island Power Company President Cliff McGinnes Sr. revealed at Monday's Electric Utility Task Group meeting that the proposed size of the cable to the mainland is 69 kVa (kilovolt-amperes), which surprised task group members and newly hired consultant Richard La Capra. That capacity "seems awfully high," said La Capra.

Byron was on hand to explain the abbey's decision to install a wind turbine at the school three years ago and the financial benefits the school has enjoyed since. But the rosy picture he painted, and whether it could translate to Block Island, was challenged by many transfer station neighbors in the Town Hall over three hours that night.

Blue H USA, a Dutch-owned company that wants to anchor floating wind turbines some 20 miles southwest of Martha's Vineyard to harness offshore ocean winds, has applied for a permit from the U.S. Army Corps. The company wants to anchor a demonstration unit on the outer continental shelf approximately 23 miles off Squibnocket Point in Chilmark and about 32 miles southeast of Block Island, R.I. according to the Army Corps.

Three ocean-going research and survey vessels will be plying Rhode Island’s coastal waters this month to collect data for the unprecedented ocean-mapping effort that is paving the way for the proposed $1.5-billion wind turbine farm that Governor Carcieri wants to develop south of Block Island. ...The first two vessels are already at work, and the Endeavor is scheduled for two five-day cruises later this month, according to Grover Fugate, executive director of the Coastal Resources Management Council. The CRMC is halfway into a two-year effort to survey and map the state’s coastal waters so it can determine the best place to locate the wind farm.

Council is poised to hire Richard La Capra of La Capra Associates to serve as consultant regarding Deepwater Wind's proposed wind farm installations near Block Island and its potential effects on island electricity ratepayers. The council will take a formal vote on a contract at its Tuesday meeting, First Warden Kim Gaffett said Wednedsay. La Capra's scope of service will also be outlined at that meeting.

Three research vessels will ply Rhode Island's coastal waters this month to gather information for the planned $1.5 billion wind turbine farm that Governor Carcieri wants to develop offshore. ...All three vessels are supplying data for an unprecedented ocean mapping program by the state's Coastal Resources Management Council to plan for the best location for the wind farm.

Deepwater, a New Jersey-based start-up company, proposes installing five to eight wind turbines in waters about three miles from the island by 2012. The small wind farm, which would be the first of two the company is proposing in Rhode Island, would provide more than enough power for Block Island when the wind is blowing. Any excess would be fed through an underwater cable to the mainland and the grid that supplies power to the rest of the state.

Members of the Block Island Residents Association were treated to a windfall of sorts Saturday, with three presentations about wind energy, including a focus on a proposed wind farm off the coast of the island. Deepwater Wind CEO Bill Moore spoke, as did Gary Gump, who spearheaded Portsmouth's effort to install a municipal turbine that is on the way to providing for all of that town's municipal energy needs.

Plans to develop a small wind farm on private property next to the Shelter Harbor Golf Club have been abandoned due to the unexpected death earlier this year of one of the principals of Green Machine Bio LLC, a local company that had proposed the project. William Green of Westerly and his partner, Jack Johannemann, had received permission from the Zoning Board of Review to erect a test tower.

Block Island voters and homeowners support wind power, including both on- and offshore wind farm installations, according to the results of a Roger Williams University survey. ...63.3 percent of the voters and 56.4 percent of the homeowners said they would support a wind installation - land-based or offshore - that was visible from their homes, with the proviso that the wind farm be far away enough to be "impossible to hear."

With plans moving forward in New Jersey and Delaware - not to mention recent progress in Cape Wind's years-long fight in Massachusetts - it's far from certain that Deepwater and Rhode Island will succeed in their quest to be first. And make no mistake, being first is important. For the developer, it means more than just bragging rights. It gives the company a leg up on its competitors as it tries to develop additional wind farms elsewhere. For the state, it means much-needed economic development and valuable green-collar jobs.

Energy Task Group members this week continued to question language included in recently passed state legislation designed to facilitate an agreement between National Grid and Deepwater Wind. Deepwater is proposing two offshore wind farms - potentially the first in the country - in the waters off Block Island. ...As part of that proposal, an underwater cable would be laid from the smaller farm to the island and another cable laid from the island to the mainland. ...On Monday task group members strongly disagreed with language in the new law that requires island electricity customers to shoulder proportionally more of the cable cost

A company responsible for installing Portsmouth's much-celebrated new wind turbine owes subcontractors nearly $250,000, according to lawsuits filed in Superior Court. The largest creditor is Hallamore, the heavy equipment operator, which in June filed suit, seeking $201,363. HB Welding of Pawtucket also has filed to secure $38,296 it says it is owed. Both companies say they have not received any money from the defendants, AAER Wind Energy of Canada, AAER USA, and Wind Smart LLC.

The state Department of Environmental Management, in conjunction with the town, is mailing surveys to 800 residents to gauge public perception about wind turbines. The survey is being conducted "to collect information . . .to better inform state and local officials on concerns by the possible construction" of wind turbines.

An amendment to a state renewable energy law is expected to encourage wind and solar power by making it easier for projects to be paid when they produce more electricity than they use. The amendment, signed by Governor Carcieri this month, reduces restrictions on a law enacted last year that for the first time in Rhode Island allowed "net metering." The law was designed to compensate green energy producers for surplus electricity they pump back into the power grid.

Surveys being sent to Narragansett residents could offer a glimpse into how coastal residents feel about wind turbines in the Ocean State before it attempts to build a larger, first-in-the-nation wind farm miles off Block Island. Questionnaires have been sent to about 800 randomly selected residents ...Public reaction remains a major wild card in developing wind power projects.

Governor Carcieri on Friday signed into law legislation that could pave the way for offshore wind farms in Rhode Island. The bill, passed by both chambers of the General Assembly earlier this month, allows electrical utility National Grid to enter into long-term contracts to purchase "green" energy. For Deepwater Wind, the company proposing more than 100 wind turbines off the Rhode Island coast, the law means having a guaranteed buyer for its energy.

The Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation has awarded grants totaling $681,875 to 17 renewable-energy projects across the state. The grants from the state Renewable Energy Fund were approved by the agency's board of directors at its regular monthly meeting Monday and will mainly go toward feasibility studies for the installation of wind turbines, hydropower systems and solar cells.

In a victory for Deepwater Wind, the General Assembly passed legislation this week that provides the wind farm developer a guaranteed market for its electricity. And as a bonus for Deepwater, the Legislature approved the bills with veto-proof margins. ...The legislation passed by the House on Tuesday and Senate on Wednesday forces National Grid, the state's largest electric distributor, to purchase electricity from renewable energy projects.