Offshore Wind Farm Vote Tomorrow

Offshore Wind Farm Vote Tomorrow

A state Senate committee will hold a vote on an offshore wind farm bill tomorrow.

The bill would bypass the Public Utilities Commission—which has rejected a contract between Deepwater Wind and National Grid—and allow four state agencies to approve it instead. Deepwater Wind has proposed a small, eight-turbine wind farm off Block Island.

The bill, 2010-S 2819,is under consideration by the Senate Committee on Environment & Agriculture, which meets 3 p.m. tomorrow in Room 310 of the State House.

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In addition to altering the contract approval process, the bill also calls for an independently audited construction process to monitor the costs and the installation of an undersea transmission cable between Block Island and the mainland.