Guv Carcieri pushes wind power

By Jim Stergios
June 6th, 2008

To the south comes a lot of energy around advancing wind power. Don’t expect T. Boone Pickens, his 667 wind turbines or $2 billion in investment in the wind sector to come in li’l Rhodey. But Carcieri has structured a bidding process that could shape a great addition to the grid. In a press release today, RI Guv Donald Carcieri’s office notes:

At the May 27th deadline, seven companies had submitted proposals to the State of Rhode Island to construct and operate an off-shore wind farm designed to generate 1.3 million megawatt-hours per year of renewable energy.

The Guv seeks to reach the goal of “achieving 15% of our energy from wind.”

Under Governor Carcieri’s plan, the state will review bids on the basis of total cost to Rhode Island ratepayers, the qualification and experience of the bidder in constructing wind projects, and the number of jobs and the amount of tax dollars to be created. The state plans to award a contract to the best bidder, who will then begin the process of seeking the necessary regulatory permits. An evaluation team will review the seven proposals over the next couple of months.