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Rhode Island

Updated July 2010

Contacts:

Overview of Status:

After winning a state RFP, Bluewater Wind is proceeding with plans to build two offshore wind farms that together will provide approximately 15% of Rhode Island's electricity demand. The state received $22 million of federal funding to upgrade the port facility at Quonset, and the Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council is creating an Ocean Special Area Management Plan.

Proposed Projects:

A study conducted in 2006 concluded that offshore wind could provide 15% of Rhode Island's electricity needs. Ten potential wind farm sites were identified as a part of this study. The state issued an RFP, which Bluewater Wind won. Phase I will be 20 MW project in state waters near Block Island; Phase II will be 100+ turbine facility in federal waters.

In 2010 the Department of Transportation awarded $22 million for port upgrades in Quonset, RI. The funds "will be used for pier maintenance, rail improvements and road reconstruction, which will support, among other things, producers of offshore wind power that will use industrial properties at Quonset as a base of operations."

Policy and Regulation:

In July 2010 Governor Carcieri of Rhode Island and Governor Patrick of Massachusetts signed a MOU regarding future offshore wind development in waters close to the state boundary. Any proposed wind farms in the roughly 20 mile by 20 mile area designated in the MOU would have to receive approval from both states, and state economic benefits would be shared. Click here for a news article about the MOU.

In June 2010 Governor Carcieri signed a bill authorizing Narragansett Electric to establish a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Deepwater Wind. A previous PPA between these two entities was rejected by the state Public Utilities Commission due to pricing concerns.

Rhode Island has a RPS of 16% renewable by 2020.

Studies, Research and Development:

The Rhode Island Coastal Resources Managment Council is creating an Ocean Special Area Management Plan (Ocean SAMP), a two year $3+ million ocean planning initiative. The University of Rhode Island, the Army Corps of Engineers, and the Bureau of Ocean Energy are primary supporters of this effort. The most recent draft of the document is available here, and as of June 2010, a public hearing process is ongoing. The findings will determine siting of the Deepwater Wind project.

In January 2008 the RI Office of Energy Resources signed a MOU with the University of Rhode Island, providing $200,000 to fund the URI Partnership for Energy and to create a Center of Excellence for Research on Offshore Renewable Energy. This research initiative was launched later in 2008. URI agreed to provide an additional $150,000 per year for three years to support the Partnership for Energy.

Peregrine Energy group Inc. delivered the Rhode Island Offshore Wind Stakeholders Final Report to Governor Carcieri and the RI Office of Energy Resources in 2008.

In 2007 Applied Technology & Management issued the report RIWinds Phase I: Wind Energy Siting Study.