Projo 7 to 7 News Blog

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- The company planning to build a wind farm near Block Island praised a new agreement between two federal agencies designed to streamline the approval process for its much larger wind farm planned further off the Rhode Island coast.

The Department of Interior and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission announced the deal in Washington on Thursday. It gives Interior's Minerals Management Service authority over solar and wind projects on the Outer Comtinental Shelf. FERC will deal with offshore projects designed to draw power from waves, tides and ocean currents.

Chris Wissemann, chief operating officer of Deepwater Wind, which signed an agreement with Rhode Island in January to build the first offshore wind farm in North America, said the pact "is long overdue good news for wind developers looking at tapping our rich offshore wind resources. Today we are more than three years late setting the ground rules for offshore wind development because of this bureaucratic squabble over who is in charge."

In a statement, Wissemann said the agreement "is the first of many steps" needed to move the U.S. away from fossil fuels.

The initial plans by Deepwater Wind Rhode Island LLC call for placing eight turbines in state waters, three or more miles from Block Island, by 2012 at a cost of $50 million to $100 million. The project has not received state approval.

The second phase, expected to cost over $1 billion, would have 100 turbines in federal waters and generate 15 percent of the electricity needed in Rhode Island.

Graphics: See how one turbine measures up downtown

gemery@projo.com / 401-277-7442

 Tags  Block Island Bock Island RI wind power

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