R.I. Renewable Energy Fund allots
money to draft offshore zoning plan

PROVIDENCE – The R.I. Renewable Energy Fund’s board of trustees have approved funding to develop a Special Area Management Plan for the state’s offshore waters.

The plan is to be drafted by the R.I. Coastal Resources Management Council and the University of Rhode Island, according to Gov. Donald L. Carcieri. URI will provide data to the state agency, and the CRMC will then draw up the SAMP’s regulatory framework.

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“The SAMP will be executed in two phases, over a period of two years,” Carcieri said in a statement yesterday afternoon. “The first phase will develop a zoning map for Rhode Island’s offshore waters – determining, among other things, defined areas where energy facilities may be constructed, taking into account not only environmental issues, but also resolving potential use conflicts. The second phase will develop design and construction rules for offshore energy projects.”

The federal Coastal Zone Management Act specifies that, in regions where a SAMP applies, project permits may be granted based on an Environmental Assessment rather than the more strenuous Environmental Impact Statement, the governor noted.

“The SAMP will expedite the permitting of an offshore wind farm capable of supplying 15 percent of Rhode Island’s electric energy usage, fulfilling my goal to reduce the state’s dependence on fossil fuels and foreign sources of oil and natural gas,” Carcieri said.

Other states planning offshore wind or wave projects “are pursuing more-traditional permitting process,” his office added.