RI is trying to figure out how to properly site all renewable generation projects. Part of that process includes getting input from the public. There is a meeting, detailed below, that is being held Thursday September 15th from 6 to 9 PM at the URI Costal Institute. The meeting is open to the public and comments will be invited. In fact correspondence inside the RESP says they aren’t hearing much feedback from the public at all.
If you are concerned about where someone can or can not put up a wind turbine, attending this meeting will provide a rare opportunity to share your opinions with the folks that are writing the new regulations for the state.
Rhode Islands new Renewable Energy Siting Partnership (RESP) project is
convening a stakeholder group under the auspices of the University of Rhode
Island (URI) on Thursday, September 15, 2011 from 6:00 – 9:00 p.m. in the
Hazard rooms at the URI Coastal Institute building on the Narragansett Bay
Campus. The meeting is open to the public, and all are welcome, as the goal
is to have a diverse and well-rounded stakeholder process. A light dinner
will be provided from 5:30-6:00 p.m. Please contact Amber Neville at
401.874.6106 or amber@crc.uri.edu if you plan to attend. Directions are
available at http://www.gso.uri.edu/about-gso/directions .
The State of Rhode Island and many of its communities are consider in
investing in renewable energy infrastructure. URI has been invited by the
state to provide technical expertise about the effects renewable energy
may have on the people, wildlife and natural resources of Rhode Island.
Based on this information, and through extensive public involvement, a URI
team of skilled professionals in the fields of energy, research and
planning will then develop guidelines that can be used by Rhode Islands
cities and towns to site and manage this new activity. Additionally, the
RESP project will make state and municipal energy information accessible
to the public through the creation of a comprehensive online energy database.
The RESP stakeholder process will provide a forum to engage key
constituencies and interested citizens. The stakeholder group members will
be able to voice their concerns and issues, provide thoughtful input, and
learn about renewable energy research in Rhode Island. They will also have
opportunities to preview tools the RESP project is developing to assist in
the analysis of land-based wind, water and solar energy issues.
The RESP is not an advocacy effort. It brings science and lessons learned
from other places to the table and builds on the multiple renewable energy
efforts underway in Rhode Island so municipalities and the state can make
informed, fact-based decisions.
For more information about the RESP project, contact Teresa Crean at
tcrean@crc.uri.edu or 401.874.6626, Danny Musher at dannymusher@uri.edu or
401.874.5705, or visit the web site at http://seagrant.gso.uri.edu/resp/