Carcieri moves ahead with Deepwater

The gov's office has sent out a release with this news:

Governor Donald L. Carcieri today announced that the state has signed a joint development agreement with Deepwater Wind Rhode Island, LLC outlining the terms and conditions for the construction of a wind energy development off the shores of Rhode Island that will provide 1.3 million megawatt hours per year of renewable energy - 15 percent of all electricity used in the state.  The Governor also announced that as a result of negotiations between the state and Deepwater Wind, the developer has revised the construction schedule to put the development on pace to be the first off-shore wind farm constructed in North America.

"This agreement sets the stage for Rhode Island to be the leader in the emerging renewable energy industry in the Northeast, and brings us one step closer to increasing our use of renewable sources to generate 20 percent of our electricity needs," said Governor Donald L. Carcieri.  "With this agreement, we have set a clear timetable for the development including the construction of a major manufacturing facility at Quonset, bringing an estimated 800 high quality jobs to Rhode Island."

Deepwater Wind's Chief Operating Officer, Chris Wissemann, said, "We are delighted to have reached this important milestone with Governor Carcieri and the state of Rhode Island.  We are aggressively moving forward with our plan to deliver renewable energy and develop a green collar industry in the state by building North America's first off-shore wind farm.  We are looking forward to working with state and federal authorities to begin construction in late 2010."

For my recent post outlining the difference of opinion about Deepwater between the governor and two legislative leaders, click here.