UPDATED: AG, Environmental Group Appeal Deepwater Case to Supreme Court

UPDATED: AG, Environmental Group Appeal Deepwater Case to Supreme Court

Attorney General Patrick Lynch and the Conservation Law Foundation have filed appeals with the state Supreme Court hoping to overturn the state Public Utilities Commission’s approval of a wind farm off Block Island, proposed by Deepwater Wind.  

“In appealing the PUC’s decision to approve this outrageously bad sweetheart deal for Rhode Island, we appeal to the court of last resort to correct the result of a distorted process,” Lynch said.

"As I’ve repeatedly said, I’m all for green energy,” Lynch added. “But in this case, green energy translates into greenbacks for the developers of an anti-competitive project with a limited scope that will force us to buy overpriced electricity for the next 20 years in order to subsidize one company, rather than jobs that are so desperately needed. It now falls upon a Court that values the Constitution to sort through this tangled web.”

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In its appeal, the Conservation Law Foundation argues that the approval was illegal and unconstitutional. Spokeswoman Karen Wood said the group believes the decision violates the doctrine of the separation of powers in the state constitution.