RI Offshore Wind Announcement Surprises Many, But Gov. Denies Lack Of Transparency | By Avory Brookins | Rhode Island Public Radio | May 29, 2018 | ripr.org
A recent announcement that Rhode Island plans to work with Deepwater Wind, developers of the Block Island Wind Farm, on a new larger-scale offshore wind project came as a surprise to many people.
Rhode Island had been involved with Massachusetts for the past year in a selection process for offshore wind farms.
Governor Gina Raimondo denies there was any lack of transparency during that time.
“We participated, everyone knew we were participating, we’d been working on it for months,” Raimondo said.
Information regarding the state’s involvement was available online.
A footnote on page one of Massachusett’s request for project bids says they “will consider the participation of other states as a means to achieve the Commonwealth’s Offshore Wind Energy Generation goals if such participation has positive or neutral impact on Massachusetts ratepayers.”
Rhode Island and Connecticut were listed as exmaples for consideration, but there was nothing explicitly stating Rhode Island had joined the conversation.
The Ocean State’s involvement was not publicized because Massachusetts had to offer a bid to Rhode Island, and it was not clear whether that would actually happen.
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2018/05/29/rhode-island-offshore-wind-announcement-surprises-many-but-governor-denies-lack-of-transparency/