“The idea that we subsidize any business on the backs of ratepayers is poor policy and to have regular Rhode Islanders pay 24 cents per kilowatt hour in a state that already has higher costs than normal is an unfortunate way to use the little people to subsidize a corporate welfare program,” said Giovanni Cicione, a local lawyer, conservative activist, and former chairman of the state GOP. 

Offshore Wind Rhode Island

“If necropsy shows that a perfectly healthy whale beached itself where offshore wind turbines do exist, they need to really check what kind of sound these things are putting out,” Bonnie Brady, director of the Long Island Commercial Fishing Association who regularly discusses the impacts of noise on marine mammals, told The Daily Caller News Foundation. “There have been an unusual amount of strandings this year.”

Impact on Wildlife Offshore Wind Rhode Island

Balser goes on to say she believes Block Island was chosen for the first in the nation wind farm because of its small, transient population. “There were bigger motives. Get the first one in the ground where you’ll have the least amount of legal opposition and then, wham, build on it everywhere else,” she says.

General Rhode Island

The town council passed a 6-month moratorium on wind energy projects this week, putting a temporary halt on related development until December 31, 2017. West Warwick Town Council Vice President John D’Amico proposed made the proposal, citing that it would be beneficial to implement until the town finishes revisions for its wind energy ordinance and updates to the Comprehensive Plan.

Impact on People Zoning/Planning Rhode Island

“We’re still delivering some savings, it’s just not as much as we’d hoped for,” Wright said. 

General Rhode Island

Wright was told that the revised cost of the substation would be $1,835,973 rather than the $550,000 previously estimated. The cost of the transmission cable also went from an initial estimated price tag of $75,000,000 to $125,575,127. Block Island rate payers will bear the entire cost of the substation. The cost of the transmission cable will be socialized.

Offshore Wind Rhode Island

Councilwoman Karen Carlson, who said she receives at least two complaints about the turbines per day, visited West Log Bridge Road to see for herself what her constituents had been talking about....she could hear the noise emanating from the structures. “I can understand how it makes people crazy,” she said. “Honestly it was like this drone of a jet that just kept going.”

Impact on People Noise Shadow Flicker Rhode Island

“Our dream of sitting outside behind our house enjoying some peace and quiet no longer exists,” said a resident of Flat River Road. “We sit on the deck at night and all we can hear are the windmills. We open our bedroom window and all we can hear are the windmills. There is not one day that goes by that we don’t hear it. 

Impact on People Noise Rhode Island

A 100-foot tower supporting a wind turbine at Salty Brine State Beach in Narragansett collapsed during a nor'easter, Tuesday.

Safety Structural Failure Rhode Island

A turbine isn't spinning at the nation's first offshore wind farm, but repairs are expected to be complete soon. ...There was an issue with a cable connection on the turbine, but it should be back up within days, said Paul Murphy, the company’s vice president for operations and engineering. The same turbine previously was taken offline while its generator was repaired after a drill bit was left inside.

Offshore Wind Rhode Island

The only winners in this whole mess are the investors. No attention has been paid to why the investors might have thought this was a good deal. The answer is what I call "the prize money." When the development is completed and the wind turbines are brought online, the investors will be rewarded by the federal treasury with a check for an estimated $100 million. That is far more than they risked on the project; a handsome prize, indeed.

General Rhode Island

Starting 200 feet from shore, the next 80 feet of cable are currently only three feet below the ocean, and will need to be reburied. 

Offshore Wind Transmission Rhode Island

That price starts at 23.5 cents per kilowatt hour, but only remains in effect until Jan. 1 when it rises to 24.4 cents -- nearly three times the blended price National Grid currently pays for the rest of its power.

Offshore Wind Rhode Island

One of the five General Electric 6MW Haliade turbines installed at Deepwater Wind’s Block Island offshore project is reportedly down for repairs, potentially delaying the wind farm’s full commissioning.

Offshore Wind Safety Rhode Island

The projects have a nameplate capacity of 461.2 megawatts, but they will produce less power than that because the facilities typically operate at less than 35 percent of capacity. Approximately 306.4 megawatts come from solar projects and 154.8 megawatts from wind.

General Connecticut Maine Massachusetts New Hampshire Rhode Island

Ambitious plans to build wind farms in northern and western Maine representing billions of dollars of investment were dealt a blow on Tuesday, after a coalition of utilities and state agencies in southern New England failed to select any Maine-based wind or transmission projects to meet the region’s clean-energy goals.

General Connecticut Maine Massachusetts New Hampshire Rhode Island

Before we become too hopeful about the prospects of using offshore wind power as a fuel source of the future, let’s not forget that government data shows that offshore wind power cannot survive in a competitive environment without huge taxpayer subsidies.

Taxes & Subsidies Offshore Wind USA Rhode Island

Rhode Island is tiny and densely populated. And people who like the idea of wind energy in the abstract rarely want it near their own backyards ...Pacheco's neighbors said their concerns include noise, maintenance and "shadow flicker," the blinking effect that occurs when the sun rises or sets behind the spinning blades.

Impact on Landscape Impact on People Rhode Island

Mary Jane Balser, who owns Block Island Grocery, typically the island’s biggest electricity consumer, is even more blunt. For years she tried to win grants to connect the island to the mainland electricity grid in an effort to escape the unreliability of diesel generators. “Financially,” she said this month, the wind farm “just makes no sense.”  Rhode Islanders will pay more for power to subsidize a project benefiting Deepwater’s private investors, Balser said. “It’s not benefiting Block Island. It’s not benefiting Rhode Island. The notoriety of being the first in the nation? Can I take that home and eat it?”

Offshore Wind USA Rhode Island

Officials recently announced they needed more time for the evaluation process "given the complexity of the analysis and the volume of bids." Regulatory approvals of the selected projects are expected later this year.

Energy Policy Connecticut Massachusetts Rhode Island