Offshore R.I. wind power projects proposed
Reuters UK|Scott DiSavino and David Gregorio (editing)|November 26, 2007
In a release, Allco Renewable, a New York based renewable energy investment firm, said it submitted eight preliminary permit applications to the Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC) on September 21. The company proposed to install up to 338 wind turbines at the four sites - one south of Block Island, two south of Little Compton in Rhode Island Sound and one east of Fishers Island. ...If all goes well, Wavle said construction could start in the first quarter of 2009 with commercial operation a year later at a cost of $1 billion to $2 billion.
In a release, Allco Renewable, a New York based renewable energy investment firm, said it submitted eight preliminary permit applications to the Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC) on September 21. The company proposed to install up to 338 wind turbines at the four sites - one south of Block Island, two south of Little Compton in Rhode Island Sound and one east of Fishers Island. ...If all goes well, Wavle said construction could start in the first quarter of 2009 with commercial operation a year later at a cost of $1 billion to $2 billion.
Allco Renewable Energy Group said on Monday that it plans to develop up to four offshore wind power projects in Rhode Island.
In a release, Allco Renewable, a New York based renewable energy investment firm, said it submitted eight preliminary permit applications to the Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC) on September 21.
The company proposed to install up to 338 wind turbines at the four sites - one south of Block Island, two south of Little Compton in Rhode Island Sound and one east of Fishers Island.
Jim Wavle, Allco Renewable Managing Director, said the timing and the cost of the project depended upon the state's permitting process. Rhode Island does not yet have any regulations on the permitting of wind …
... more [truncated due to possible copyright]Allco Renewable Energy Group said on Monday that it plans to develop up to four offshore wind power projects in Rhode Island.
In a release, Allco Renewable, a New York based renewable energy investment firm, said it submitted eight preliminary permit applications to the Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC) on September 21.
The company proposed to install up to 338 wind turbines at the four sites - one south of Block Island, two south of Little Compton in Rhode Island Sound and one east of Fishers Island.
Jim Wavle, Allco Renewable Managing Director, said the timing and the cost of the project depended upon the state's permitting process. Rhode Island does not yet have any regulations on the permitting of wind farms.
If all goes well, Wavle said construction could start in the first quarter of 2009 with commercial operation a year later at a cost of $1 billion to $2 billion. He said the ultimate timing and cost will depend in part on the permitting process.
Allco applied for eight permits, four to install meteorological masts at the four sites to determine how much wind is actually available and four to install the turbines.
Wavle said Allco picked Rhode Island because the state has shown a strong commitment to the development of wind power.
WHY RHODE ISLAND
In January 2006, Rhode Island Gov. Donald Carcieri established the RIWINDS program to promote development of wind energy in the state with a goal that 15 percent, about 150 megawatts, of the state's electric demand come from wind power.
Due to the intermittent nature of wind, that goal would require about 450 MW of wind energy capacity.
Last year, the governor commissioned a $380,000 study to determine the state's wind power potential and select the best available sites and turbine technologies.
The state paid for the study with money from a surcharge on electric bills and a grant from the nation's biggest wind power company FPL Energy, a subsidiary of FPL Group Inc, of Juno Beach, Florida.
The governor's chief energy advisor, Andrew Dzykewicz, Commissioner of the Rhode Island Office of Energy Resources, who has been working with local stakeholders to determine the best sites, has said the state hopes to start its own permit application process by the end of the year.
Wavle said Allco did not intend for its applications to disrupt the state's permit process.
"We believe the stakeholder process and the permitting process can run on parallel tracks," Gordon Alter, Senior Vice President of Allco Renewable, said in the release.
At one time affiliated with Australian investment firm Allco Finance Group Ltd, of Sydney, Allco Renewable is now 100 percent U.S.-owned and controlled.
(Reporting by Scott DiSavino; Editing by David Gregorio)