Dear Neighbors:
I hope you are enjoying Labor Day weekend. In this week’s letter I will discuss the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s order halting construction of the Revolution Wind project and an upcoming community meeting.
A. The Revolutionary Wind Stop Work Order
As reported in the Providence Journal, the United States Bureau of Ocean Energy Management ordered to Orsted to halt work on the Revolution Wind project, a 704 megawatt offshore wind farm expected to provide electricity to more than 350,000 residents of Rhode Island and Connecticut. The $4 billion project is currently around 80% complete and was scheduled to come online in the second half of next year.
In the short term, the stop work order puts more than a hundred out of work. In the medium term, it puts a strain on Orsted that affects its ability to continue and complete the project at a later time. If the project is ultimately cancelled, the loss of capacity could result in rolling brownouts and blackouts, while also placing a strain on the implementation on Rhode Island’s Act on Climate, which mandates reductions in carbon emissions on a timetable make Rhode Island “carbon neutral” by 2050. Rhode Island’s green future depends upon solar and wind power directly to replace our existing electricity demand, but also indirectly to create capacity to convert fossil fuel building heating and cooling systems to electric heat pumps, as well as to power electric vehicles.
The Attorney General is reviewing the legality of the stop work order, which may result in litigation. In the meantime, the Governors of Rhode Island and Connecticut, along with the two states’ Congressional delegations, are exploring different ways to end the stop work order. Earlier this year, the State of New York gained the cancellation of similar stop work order by agreeing to build a pipeline it previously had rejected as unnecessary.
This development affects the work of the Executive Climate Change Coordinating Council (EC4) planning the implementation of the Act on Climate. EC4 is on track to complete its strategic implementation plan by this December 31. When the General Assembly returns to session in January, the Senate study commission reviewing the Act on Climate’s successful implementation (on which I serve as Chair) will hold a series of hearings to review that strategic plan, consider the technical and policy opportunities and challenges, and propose any necessary supplemental legislation.
B. Community Meeting
The Revolution Wind stop work order is only the most recent example of Trump administration initiatives that create new challenges for our State’s policies and priorities. The General Assembly budget included the formation of work groups to prepare, by October 31, reports that will offer options for the State to respond to some of these challenges. As those reports are developed, I would like to hear your thoughts and ideas at a community meeting I have scheduled. It will take place on Wednesday, September 24 from 6:00 – 7:45 at the Rochambeau Library. I look forward to seeing you there.