Plans for wind turbine development are moving forward in Narragansett, bringing the state a step closer to Gov. Donald Carcieri's '65 renewable energy goal - to use wind to produce 15 percent of the state's energy by 2011.
The Department of Environmental Management received permission last Tuesday from the State Properties Committee - which manages land and property holdings in the state's interest -to seek proposals from energy companies to build and run wind turbines on state-owned land in Narragansett. The committee "gave a go-ahead," said Chris Kearns of Environment Rhode Island, a statewide advocacy organization.
Christopher Wilkins, president pro tempore of the Narragansett Town Council, said the town is also looking at various town-owned properties on which to harvest wind energy.
Research on potential wind power in Narragansett began two years ago, he said, after the governor announced his plan for renewable energy.
"We're pretty much way ahead of the curve on ... alternative energy," Wilkins said.
Although winds are stronger offshore, Narragansett is looking to place wind turbines onshore to reduce opposition from fishermen, Wilkins said. The town will probably face protests from neighbors wherever the wind turbines are erected, he said, noting that some people "love to champion the wind energy movement but don't want to see it from the decks of their houses."
Narragansett is looking to locate its wind turbines either at one of its high schools or middle schools, or at a public wastewater treatment center near Scarborough State Beach. Wilkins said the water treatment center is the most likely candidate because the wind power would be used to run the treatment plant.
The town has applied for federal funding and is waiting to see if the project will receive aid from the recently approved economic stimulus plan.
Still, Wilkins noted that the costs and feasibility of the wind-harvesting project in Narragansett are unknown. "There's more questions than there are answers out there at this point," he said.
Michael Sullivan, director of the Department of Environmental Management, said his office has been working with Narragansett, Providence, Jamestown and Cranston to develop plans for wind turbines.
The department is also developing regulations and guidelines for the turbines, he added.
Sullivan said the department plans to erect a meteorological tower in Narragansett which will collect data "on the reliability and intensity of wind" and help the state determine where a wind turbine would be most effective.
In addition to helping Narragansett develop wind energy, the state department is also looking to build its own wind turbine in the town and use the power to run department buildings. "We will consume our own green energy to the extent practical" in order to "practice what they preach," he said.
The department also hopes to install a small wind turbine to help power the new state-owned beach building at Salty Brine State Beach in Narragansett or the Fisherman's Memorial State Park campground, he said.
"You'd be amazed at the number of people who want to go camping at our facilities with a 50-foot (recreational vehicle) with central air, and they want to be able to plug it in to our camp ground facilities," Sullivan said.
Kearns said the state was "making good progress" on the wind-power initiative, adding that it needs more environmental legislation on the books. "There's always more work to be done," he said.
