Energy prices, particularly for oil and gasoline, were a constant source of heartburn for businesses and consumers in the first half of the year, shrinking profit margins and pinching wallets. Few people realized oil prices had hit their peak when they reached $147 in July, after prices plummeted back to earth, with oil down about 70 percent by the end of the year.
Nevertheless, the oil shock and ongoing concern about climate change gave new momentum to the search for renewable energy sources. Businesses and homeowners found a variety of ways to save energy, from compact fluorescent light bulbs to solar panels.
In September, Gov. Donald L. Carcieri announced that his administration had picked Deepwater Wind, a company based in New Jersey, to construct a 100-turbine offshore wind farm that could produce 385 megawatts of electricity. The governor hopes the project, which is not expected to come on line before 2012, will eventually generate 15 percent of the state’s electricity. The Carcieri administration spent the end of the year negotiating an agreement with Deepwater, which was also picked to construct a wind farm off the New Jersey coast.
In order to streamline the regulatory process for the wind farm, the R.I. Coastal Resources Management Council and other agencies launched a two-year program to develop a Special Area Management Plan (SAMP) for Rhode Island’s coastal waters. The SAMP will create the equivalent of municipal land-use zoning for the ocean, designating parts of the sea for marine fisheries, cable cords, protected habitats, shipping lanes and ferry routes, as well as the proposed wind farm. •
Ted Nesi
The focus should be on efficiency first, and then renewable energy. The aim should be to help homeowners and businesses fund efficiency upgrades and retrofits, which would reduce carbon emissions and energy consumption, save homeowners money, and create a wealth of ‘green jobs’. Getting our buildings as efficient as possible will set the stage for and reduce the cost of renewable energy development.