September 7, 2016 — The first off-shore wind farm in the U.S. is nearing completion off the coast of Rhode Island. In the past there’s been opposition to these ventures. But this one, which has been planned as a demonstration project, has managed to go forward.
A Rhode Island company, Deepwater Wind, is behind this nearly $300 million project. The five turbines were recently finished after more than a year of construction.
“The first off-shore wind farm in America will be ready to start spinning its blades, and that’s a momentous occasion, believe me,” said Jeffrey Grybowski, Deepwater’s CEO and a former chief of staff for Rhode Island Gov. Donald L. Carcieri.
But there is another constituency which isn’t so keen on these off-shore wind farms: commercial fishermen. In this part of the Atlantic they catch squid and cod, and there’s a scallops fishery, which alone generates a half billion dollars a year. They’re worried that their livelihood will suffer. And in fact, in Rhode Island commercial fishing was disrupted during construction and one operation had to be relocated.