Tag Archives: R.I. Coastal Resources Management Council

Fewer turbines but more conflict for Revolution Wind farm

The fishing industry and offshore wind developers are again at odds over how a mammoth array of 80-story-high wind turbines will affect ocean species, and the fishermen whose livelihoods depend on them. And without consensus on the potential damage, the two sides also can’t agree on what measures – including money – are enough to offset the harm caused by the Revolution Wind project. Even a 33% cut to the number of wind turbines – from 100 to 65 – negotiated by state coastal regulators hasn’t done much to reduce conflict. Developers Orsted A/S and Eversource Energy LLC have agreed to pay $12.9 million, to commercial and charter boat fishermen to offset potential revenue losses caused by the noise, electromagnetic field waves, boulder moving and other disturbances that the towers and undersea cables cause to the delicate underwater ecosystem. >click to read< 08:46

State officials to vote Tuesday on Vineyard Wind project

The R.I. Coastal Resources Management Council is scheduled Tuesday to vote whether Vineyard Wind’s proposed 84-turbine offshore wind energy farm – the first large-scale project of its kind in the nation – is consistent with state policy. The council’s decision – called a federal consistency determination – is needed as part of the federal permitting process. Much of the vote is expected to rest on a newly agreed upon $16.7 million “financial mitigation package” between New Bedford-based Vineyard Wind and the Rhode Island Fisheries Advisory Board to provide compensation for anticipated impacts of the project on the state’s commercial fishing businesses. >click to read<12:54

Tuesday’s council meeting is open to the public. It is scheduled to start at 6 p.m. at the Corless Auditorium at the University of Rhode Island’s Bay Campus on South Ferry Road in Narragansett.