Carcieri Urges Support for Wind Farm Bill

Thursday, May 06, 2010

GoLocalProv News Team

Gov. Don Carcieri yesterday testified before a state Senate committee on behalf of a bill that would bring the state closer to having the first off-shore wind farm in the nation.

“Passage of this legislation in a timely manner is critically important to ensuring that Rhode Island has the opportunity to continue to be a leader in developing an off-shore wind industry that can power our grid and our economy,” Carcieri said.

“The opportunity to be the first state in the nation to construct an offshore wind farm presents significant advantages to our state, including attracting the jobs and investment dollars of offshore wind turbine manufacturers and related businesses,” Carcieri added. “We have not lost this opportunity yet, but are at risk of doing so unless this legislation is enacted. I believe this project, a $200 million investment of private capital, will be a catalyst for a multi-billion dollar industry.”  

The bill, under consideration by the Senate Committee on Environment and Agriculture would bypass the Public Utilities Commission - which rejected a contract between Deepwater Wind, the developer of the wind farm, and National Grid - and make four other state agencies responsible for signing off on the contract.

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