March 26, 2014
Rhode Island

CRMC subcommittee set to decide on recommendation on Block Island offshore wind farm

By Alex Kuffner | The Providence Journal | March 26, 2014 | www.providencejournal.com

A subcommittee of the state Coastal Resources Management Council is set to meet April 3 to decide on whether to recommend approval of a proposal to build a five-turbine wind farm in waters near Block Island.

Once the members of the Ocean Special Area Management Plan Subcommittee make a decision, their recommendation will be forwarded to the full voting council, which has final say over granting a permit to the Providence-based developer Deepwater Wind. No date has been set for the full council to consider the project.

The meeting on Thursday follows three public hearings held in February in Narragansett and on Block Island. Over the course of the hearings, 42 people spoke in favor of the project while 26 spoke against.

It also comes after the release of a report from CRMC staff that raised no objections to what could be the first offshore wind farm in the United States.

The meeting starts at 8:30 a.m. and will be held in the auditorium of the Coastal Institute at the University of Rhode Island’s Bay campus, South Ferry Road, Narragansett. The meeting is open to the public but the subcommittee will not take comment from the audience.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2014/03/26/crmc-subcommittee-set-to-decide-on-recommendation-on-block-island-offshore-wind-farm/