wind energy

The three wind turbines at Field’s Point Wastewater Treatment Facility in Providence are generating more energy than originally projected.

Field’s Point Wastewater Treatment Facility is one of the largest consumers of electricity in the state. It treats about 50 million gallons of wastewater from the greater Providence metropolitan area and may treat up to 200 million gallons a day during intense storms.

Governor Lincoln Chafee heads to Quebec this week for the 37th annual conference of the New England Governors and Eastern Canadian Premiers.

On the agenda are the region’s energy future and such related concerns as bringing more Canadian hydro-electric power to New England from the huge Hyrdo-Quebec dams in the northern part of the province.

Chafee is a long-time proponent of hydro-electric energy, which is more environmentally friendly than fossil fuel sources and is cheaper than such new renewable sources as off-shore wind turbines.

Deepwater Wind is looking for a new location to connect its offshore wind farm to the mainland. The original plan was to run a line from its Block Island wind farm to Narragansett’s Town Beach.

Residents complained about the plan, and the town council voted to suspend talks with Deepwater back in May. Deepwater Wind insisted that the lines would be buried ten feet underground. After meeting with residents back in June, Deepwater Wind CEO Jeff Grybowski withdrew an application request on Friday.

The U.S. Department of Interior will auction off leases next month for the rights to build wind farms off the New England coast. One Rhode Island Company qualified to make a bid.

The auction will be for two areas in federal waters between Block Island and Martha’s Vineyard. Only nine companies made the cut to bid on leases to build wind farms on the outer continental shelf. Deepwater Wind is the lone Rhode Island business in the hunt. But its CEO, Jeff Grybowski is feeling confident about Deepwater’s chances.

In Portsmouth, the town council wants to see if a private firm could help fix and run its broken wind turbine.

The Portsmouth town Council will get an update tonight on its broken wind turbine. The turbine has stood motionless for almost a year.

Heavy winds, heavy rain, and warmer than usual temperatures.  We have an interesting start to  the day.  State education officials are defending standardized test scores as a requirement for high school diplomas. These stories and more on the RIPR Morning News Podcast.

Do you have insight or expertise on this topic? Please email us, we'd like to hear from you.  news@ripr.org

The Naval Station is looking at the possibility of erecting 12 wind turbines on its properties on Aquidneck Island. The Naval Station’s spokeswoman Lisa Rama, says the goal is for the turbines to produce enough electricity to power the base.

A documentary looking at the Cape Wind offshore wind energy project opens Friday at the Cable Car Cinema in Providence. The movie "Cape Spin" focuses on the battle to construct 130 wind turbines in Nantucket Sound. A visiting professor at the Brown Center Environmental Studies, Dawn King, says the movie focuses on the fight between wind supporters and those who really don’t want turbines in their backyard.

The Army Corps of Engineers has extended the comment period for the wind farm off Block Island to early February.  It’s the second time the corps has extended the deadline.