PROVIDENCE, R.I. — The final sections of the five wind turbines that will be installed soon off Block Island left Europe on Friday and are on their way across the Atlantic Ocean.
When they arrive in about two weeks, Deepwater Wind will have all the pieces of the giant six-megawatt turbines in Rhode Island and will be ready to start installing them in August at the project site three miles southeast of Block Island. Installation of the turbines constitutes the final stretch of construction for the Block Island Wind Farm.
With the turbines in place, the 30-megawatt project that will be the first offshore wind farm in the United States should go into operation in the fall.
Turbine manufacturer General Electric Renewable Energy spent last week moving the nacelles — the housings containing critical generating equipment that will sit at the top of the turbine towers — from the company’s factory in Saint-Nazaire, France, onto the Brave Tern, a vessel that specializes in installing offshore wind turbines.
Jeffrey Grybowski, CEO of Providence-based Deepwater, was in France observing the load-out of the nacelles onto the ship owned and operated by a Norwegian company, Fred. Olsen Windcarrier.
"It is a very delicate operation, requiring a great deal of engineering and precision to lift the 400-ton nacelles and place them precisely on the deck in specific positions," Grybowski stated in a recent email. "The Fred. Olsen vessel and crew are first-class and are very capable of this job."
In preparation for the voyage, Fred. Olsen had to build steel structures on the deck of the Brave Tern to support the nacelles during their transatlantic journey.
The Brave Tern won’t be the only large jack-up vessel — one that can rise out of the water on telescopic legs for added stability — that will take part in the installation process. Two ships owned by Louisiana-based Montco that sailed north from the Gulf of Mexico are readying for construction at the Port of Davisville in the Quonset Business Park.
"We are in the home stretch, " Grybowski said. "Blades will be in the air in about a month; it will be a national milestone."
Suit dismissed
In other news related to the Block Island Wind Farm, a federal court judge has dismissed a lawsuit that sought to void a power-purchase agreement signed between Deepwater Wind and utility National Grid.
U.S. District Court Chief Judge William E. Smith ruled that the case was filed after the expiration of a three-year statute of limitations that went into effect after the Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission approved the contract in 2010.
The suit was filed a year ago by Benjamin Riggs, a longtime critic of the Deepwater project; former state legislator Laurence Ehrhardt; and the Rhode Island Manufacturers Association. They alleged that the long-term contract violates federal laws because it will impose hefty above-market costs on Rhode Island electric ratepayers. The price that National Grid will pay for power from the wind farm is significantly higher than what it currently pays for electricity from a variety of conventional and renewable sources.
Page 2 of 2 - Smith did not rule on the merits of their argument.
The suit was the last remaining legal challenge to the wind farm.
Heated about plant
In response to urgings from Burrillville residents, Governor Raimondo will hold a special meeting in town on Monday to hear their concerns about a proposed natural gas-burning power plant that would be among the largest fossil-fuel generators in New England.
The community meeting will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. in Burrillville High School.
Although Burrillville townspeople and environmental groups have expressed opposition to the plant — citing concerns about water and air quality, noise and climate change effects — Raimondo has continued to back the 1,000-megawatt project proposed by Chicago-based Invenergy. She contends that it will create construction jobs and help temper the state’s high electric rates.
In advance of the meeting, opponents with the Fighting Against Natural Gas, or FANG, Collective are marching 23 miles from the State House to Burrillville High School. The march started Saturday and is set to end in time for the meeting.
"We want the governor to know that people from across the state support the residents of Burrillville and their fight against Invenergy’s toxic power plant. This is the governor’s climate and environmental legacy moment, and the whole state is watching," Sherrie Anne Andre, of The FANG Collective, stated in a release.
— akuffner@providencejournal.com
(401) 277-7457
On Twitter: @KuffnerAlex
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