Charges and Counter-Charges Boil Over at $700 Million Invenergy Hearing
Wednesday, October 11, 2017
GoLocalProv News Team and Kate Nagle
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More than 500 attend EFSB Hearing
More than 500 people crowded into the auditorium at Burrillville High School to voice their opinions on the proposed $700 million gas-powered energy plant. The hearing was the last opportunity for the public to express their position before the Rhode Island Energy Facility Siting Board — the decision-maker on the proposed project.
The power plant proponents (which by appearances was the smaller group) was primarily made up of union workers who support the project and hope to have the opportunity to build the massive project.
"The jobs will be in the hundreds for multiple years, [and] the costs of the project continue to increase. These are what we call 'mega-projects,' even though the technology allows them to be smaller than what's been built in the last 30 years. These are significant -- and technical jobs -- that only the men and women that I represent can perform,” said Michael Sabitoni, President of the Rhode Island Building and Construction Trades Council.
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Dueling Sides
The opponents — complete with the backing of former Governor Lincoln Chafee (who supports hydro energy from Canada), GOP U.S. Senate candidate Bobby Nardolillo, Senator Fogarty, Representative Keeble, and more -- engaged in several shouting matches with proponents prior to the hearing.
The opponents got a big boost from Rhode Island's largest environmental organization, Save the Bay, which announced its opposition to the project.
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Raimondo's position has changed.
Noticeably absent was Governor Gina Raimondo, who initially welcomed Invenergy to Rhode Island and voiced her strong support for the project. More recently, Raimondo has been noncommittal, but did accept campaign donations from Invenergy executives.
Raimondo could not attend as she was in Oregon for a fundraiser and to speak at the Oregon Business & Industry annual dinner.
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Proposed Plant
Opponents Dominated the Crowd, Testimony
"I'm not just a Burrillville resident, I'm a Rhode Island resident," said Norm Desjarlais, holding a sign with 'Water is Life' on it, in the high school hallway. "We've had enough contamination already, we just had a community in Burrillville lose their water supply this week due to contamination."
"This thing is not needed," said Desjarlais. "ISO New England has proved this is not needed, and not wanted."
Desjarlais said he thinks the issue of the power plant will be a top, if not the "number one" issue in the 2018 gubernatorial campaign.
"This is a conspiracy to lock us into another 50 years of using fossil fuels," said Desjarlais. "This is nonsense -- this will provide 2 permanent jobs for $1 billion dollars."
Save The Bay Director of Advocacy Topher Hamblett testified at the hearing that the Clear River Energy Center will cause unacceptable harm to the Narragansett Bay watershed and urged the EFSB to deny the application.
Hamblett says the DEM Advisory Opinion is “clear and uncontroverted: The Clear River Energy Center does not belong in the proposed location, an interior forest of high conservation value, vital to the conservation of biodiversity…”
“The proposed siting of this power plant irrevocably damages the watershed of Blackstone River, a major tributary to Narragansett Bay,” Hamblett said. “The threats to wildlife and habitat, forest loss and fragmentation, impacts to at-risk species, and reduced resilience in the face of rapid climate change, are of profound concern to Save The Bay. DEM’s findings require the EFSB to determine that construction and operation of the Invenergy power plant in Burrillville will cause unacceptable harm to the environment."
Emotion, Not Rationale Claims Union
Proponents, however, say the environmental groups' claims are false.
“I think [opponents], they're mostly on emotion. They just do not want it. They don't realize if this isn't built, I'll just refurbish Ocean State Power, which is 75% less efficient which is not going to go anywhere. If this project is built, Ocean State Power doesn't compete with it, it goes behind it -- the most efficient plants due to the new regulations go online first,” said Sabitoni.
“When you take the emotion out and look at the facts -- [this is] a considerably smaller foot print than Ocean State Power, the generating capacity of energy in this region has been severely impacted with the closing of 3 powerhouses," added Sabitoni.
Related Slideshow: 24 Ways to Go Green This Fall - 2018
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Plant Some Bulbs
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For more information on how to seal them, click here.
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Car Pool
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Next time you plan a family dinner, try cooking with more vegetables and less meat.
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