Christopher Warfel
Letters to the Editor
The Providence Journal
2/4/2013
I was recently elected to the Town Council of Block Island. My nearly 30 years of professional work has been in conventional- and renewable-energy production and use. My master’s thesis involved the application of wind technology to produce drinking water by desalination.
I have worked in 200-megwatt fossil-fueled power plants and installed 1,000-watt renewable-energy systems. I have worked in the power planning and supply department of a major New England utility.
I have concluded that the Deepwater Wind project is a very bad project, not just for Block Island, but for Rhode Island as a whole. There are far more economical ways in which to develop renewable energy in the state — ways that will deliver lower-cost energy for a much longer time, at far less risk to the environment, and keep more money in the Rhode Island economy.
This project is eerily reminiscent of 38 Studios, with Governor Carcieri and the legislature forcing this project upon the taxpayers by fiat. When will we ever learn? I have created an online petition opposing this project at: http://www.ipetitions.com/widget/view/sliver/540687
It appears that the main green aspect of this project is the money that flowing to the out-of-state two hedge funds that own Deepwater Wind. Please sign this petition by Feb. 8 if you feel so moved.
Christopher Warfel
Block Island, Rhode Island
H/T RI Taxpayers
