Deepwater in negotiations with state on easement

Deepwater Wind is making another attempt in its five-year effort to keep its five-turbine Block Island Wind Farm alive – this time with a new proposal for a cable landing site on state land at Scarborough Beach in Narragansett.
The revised Block Island Transmission System plan now under review by the R.I. Department of Environmental Management is Deepwater Wind’s response to concerns that arose with an earlier electric-cable landing site proposed at Narragansett Town Beach. Deepwater withdrew that proposal in August.
Days after the proposal was withdrawn, Narragansett Town Council voted 5-0 to deny the request of Deepwater for “permanent or temporary easements needed on property owned by the town, including, but not limited to, the town beach,” said Narragansett interim Town Manager Richard Kerbel.
Even thought Deepwater withdrew its request before the vote, “the council wanted to express its opposition,” Kerbel said.
In a Sept. 27 letter to Narragansett Town Council, Deepwater Wind CEO Jeff Grybowski wrote:
“We have taken seriously the issues raised by the town. So we have proposed a new route that addresses the key concerns we heard: no overhead cables, no use of Town Beach and no switchyard near public facilities.”
The revised plan uses parcels in Narragansett owned by the R.I. Department of Transportation and the R.I. Department of Environmental Management.
Grybowski thinks the revisions will be approved.
“There are a couple of important points to note. One is that we’ve proposed to bury the cable all throughout state roads, so there won’t be any overhead lines. So it will be, at the end of the day, a cable that no one will actually see,” said Grybowski.
“Two, the proposed landing location is very near some existing utilities that are already on Scarborough Beach, in particular several large stormwater drains that empty out into the very northern part of Scarborough,” Grybowski said. “We chose a location at that beach that is not the actively managed, recreational part of the beach.”
The cable is to be buried 10-feet under the sand and according to Deepwater, “poses no danger to beachgoers.”
Deepwater Wind’s revised plan includes a 20-foot-tall building for equipment to control the cable, called a switchyard, to be located on a DOT parcel at the intersection of Route 108 and Route 1. “That makes some sense as well, because that infrastructure will be located near DOT’s road salt operations,” said Grybowski.”So it’s a good place [for] commercial and industrial uses.”
The Block Island Transmission System is a companion element to the wind-farm proposal being considered by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and many other federal and state agencies.
The transmission system includes a cable buried 6 feet under the ocean floor along an 18-mile route from the waters off Block Island to landfall at Scarborough State Beach; the onshore portion of the cable buried beneath state roads, including Burnside Avenue, Route 108 and Route 1; and a connection to National Grid’s Wakefield substation.
The proposal for the Scarborough Beach cable landing site was on the Sept. 26 agenda for the State Properties Committee, but was taken off the schedule to allow for negotiations with the state Department of Environmental Management.
“DEM is currently evaluating Deepwater Wind’s proposal and negotiations are underway,”
said DEM spokeswoman Gail Mastrati. “It is our understanding that DOT is also in the process of reviewing the proposal submitted to that agency by Deepwater Wind.”
Grybowski said one of the issues being considered in the negotiations is the fee Deepwater would pay for the easement on state property used for the cable transmission system.
“That’s one of the main issues to go over, the terms of payment. The state has the easement appraised and then we have discussions about what we would pay the state,” said Grybowski. “At the end of the day, we’re going to have to pay fair market value for the easement.”
Once an agreement is reached, the DEM will request that the proposal be put on the agenda of the State Properties Committee for consideration, said Mastrati.
Even as the Block Island Wind Farm plan moves forward and the cable landing site revisions are considered, Grybowski said he knows developing a wind-energy project will not be a smooth ride.
“There clearly is a small and vocal group of opponents who frankly are opposed to renewable energy projects,” said Grybowski. “It seems as though every week they have a different complaint and as we address the complaint, they come up with a different complaint. “I think that the overwhelming majority of residents will be quite nonplussed by the whole thing, typical utility work, cable in the road, not a big deal,” said Grybowski. “To those folks who seem to have taken it on as a hobby to oppose the project in Narragansett, my guess is there’s not much I can do about those folks.”
A group of Narragansett residents have formed a Political Action Committee called Deepwater Resistance.
Since they’re changing the location where the cable is coming ashore and changing much of the design infrastructure on land, Deepwater Resistance Chairman Bob Shields wants the company to file a revised environmental report for the project.
“We don’t know what the engineering drawings show. We don’t know how many private properties border the route Deepwater might take. We want to gather public opinion,” said Shields.
Deepwater Resistance member Jim O’Neil, who lives in Narragansett and has a cottage on Block Island, said he opposes the Block Island Wind Farm for several reasons, including economic ones, because the projected cost of electricity produced by the Block Island Wind Farm is higher than what’s being shown in new studies for onshore wind energy, notably in Massachusetts. And while those prices could vary, he would like to see alternatives considered.
“I’m not opposed to renewable energy,” said O’Neil. “But this project would impose burdens on the ratepayer. I’d like to look at other sources of renewable energy that might be much more efficient, such as onshore wind, solar and hydroelectric.
“And think about the fragile nature of our beach and what happened with a storm like Sandy,” O’Neil said. “Scarborough Beach is one of the prime areas we’ve been fighting to protect from development.”
Even with the revised cable route and continuing pockets of opposition, Grybowski said plans for the Block Island Wind Farm remain firm.
“We’re still full-steam ahead and 100 percent committed to the project,” said Grybowski. “I think we’ll get an agreement at some point for a landing location. We’re still on track for some construction to start at the end of 2014 and to begin operations in the summer of 2015.” •

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