CHEVRON BUILDS RHODE ISLAND WIND

RI picks Chevron for Narragansett wind project
Eric Tucker, December 22, 2009 (AP)

"Rhode Island has selected Chevron Energy Solutions to develop and maintain several onshore wind turbines in the coastal town of Narragansett…

"Chevron's proposal beat out bids from three other firms. It plans to finance the site work and turbine construction without funding from the town or state…Current plans call for the turbines to be built on four sites owned by either the town or the state. The first turbine could be finished by the end of next year…Each turbine could cost somewhere between $3 million to $3.5 million…The precise number of turbines hasn't been determined, nor has their height or capacity…"

What the Chevron turbines will look like. (click to enlarge)

"The state initially selected five sites for the turbines in Narragansett — a coastal town in southeastern Rhode Island — but withdrew one and now plans to proceed on four properties, including at a wastewater treatment facility near Scarborough State Beach.

"Chevron Energy Solutions, a clean energy company based in San Francisco, is a subsidiary of energy giant Chevron Corp…[Rhode Island Governor Don] Carcieri praised the company as a "proven leader in renewable energy" and said wind was the proven best source available for renewable energy…[Chevron said] it was pleased to have been selected and looked forward to helping the state and town meet their energy goals."

Naragansetters don't object to wind like the Back Bay snobs to the North. (click to enlarge)

"The turbines are separate from a larger [offshore] wind farm that Carcieri has proposed building miles off Block Island with the goal of generating about 15 percent of the state's electricity. His administration has selected Hoboken, N.J.-based Deepwater Wind LLC for that project.

"Last summer, the town and state sent 34-question surveys to around 800 randomly selected Narragansett residents to measure public reaction to the proposal. More than three-quarters of respondents reacted favorably to the proposed turbines…John Torgan, of the environmental group Save the Bay, said his organization embraced wind energy but that it was imperative that sites for turbines be selected in as transparent a method as possible…"