RI Govenor Carcieri backs special law for energy developer to bypass permit agency
By Alex Kuffner
Journal Staff Writer
PROVIDENCE — Governor Carcieri went before a Senate committee on Wednesday to urge passage of first-of-a-kind legislation that would allow a private energy company to bypass a key regulatory board in a quest to build a wind farm in waters off Block Island.
Carcieri gave “unqualified support” to a bill that would clear the way for developer Deepwater Wind to enter into a power-purchase agreement with National Grid, the state’s main electricity utility, which could go into effect without approval from the Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission. The governor told the Senate Committee on Environment and Agriculture that the special treatment the bill would give Deepwater is necessary for the company’s eight-turbine wind farm to move forward quickly, and is also a crucial step in the plan for Rhode Island to become a manufacturing hub for the nation’s offshore wind industry.
“Rhode Island is positioned as a leader,” said the Republican governor who has been a vocal champion of the project. “We have an opportunity to be the first state in the nation to develop offshore wind.” Read more…
