NEWPORT – Citing a number of concerns, including community opposition to the location of large wind turbines near the city’s Point neighborhood, the U.S. Navy has shelved its proposed wind energy project in Newport, according to ecoRInews.
The change of heart came after significant resistance on the plan, which had concluded that the naval base could save $3 million annually if a 9 megawatt facility were installed. The push to build the alternative energy project comes from a Department of the Navy directive that one-quarter of the facility’s electricity should be derived from renewable sources by 2030.
The planning process for the wind energy project began three years ago, but it became clear through environmental impact studies and public hearings that Newport residents were uncomfortable with having nearly 400-foot tall wind turbines set so close to the city. At the same time, the Navy determined that the southernmost placement of the turbines, thus closest to the city, would produce the most electricity.
EcoRInews quoted a spokeswoman for Naval Station Newport saying that the base was continuing to study alternative-energy ideas, pointing to solar-energy potential for filling the Navy’s clean energy goals.
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