Report: Wind energy could displace 2M metric tons of carbon dioxide in R.I.

A REPORT BY THE ENVIRONMENT AMERICA RESEARCH & POLICY CENTER said Rhode Island could generate enough electricity from wind to power nearly 300,000 homes in 2030. / COURTESY ENVIRONMENT AMERICA RESEARCH & POLICY CENTER
A REPORT BY THE ENVIRONMENT AMERICA RESEARCH & POLICY CENTER said Rhode Island could generate enough electricity from wind to power nearly 300,000 homes in 2030. / COURTESY ENVIRONMENT AMERICA RESEARCH & POLICY CENTER

PROVIDENCE – An energy report on Thursday predicted Rhode Island could generate enough electricity from wind to power nearly 300,000 homes in 2030.
Environmental advocates are using the report, “More Wind, Less Warming,” to dissuade congressional lawmakers from voting against the Clean Power Plan, which the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency proposed earlier this year to cut carbon pollution from power plants.
“Wind power can replace the dirty energy sources of the past and the pollution that comes with them,” said Channing Jones, campaign director of Environment Rhode Island, in a press release.
Wind energy in Rhode Island could displace 2 million metric tons of carbon dioxide, which is comparable to taking about 356,000 vehicles off the road, according to the report, which was produced by the Environment America Research & Policy Center.
“This report just shows that the Clean Power Plan is totally achievable and should be just the beginning of our efforts to combat global warming and reduce pollution,” said Sen. Tom Udall, D-New Mexico, in a statement. “That’s why we should affirm, not block, the Clean Power Plan and reinstate the tax credits that can spur more wind development here in state.”
The report estimates the U.S. could power itself 10 times over with wind that blows over land and off the east coast. Rhode Island’s greatest wind potential is offshore, according to the report, which predicts it will expand significantly in the next 15 years. By 2030, it predicts wind energy could provide electricity for 298,517 Rhode Island homes.
“Congress needs to provide stability so that American workers can make more of our own energy here at home, and reduce carbon pollution as rapidly and cheaply as possible,” said Tom Kiernan, CEO of the American Wind Energy Association, which was responsible for the analysis of the report.
“We need to get out of short-term thinking,” he said. “That’s why we are urging the senate today to stand up for renewable energy.”
Read the report HERE.

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