R.I . RENEWABLE ENERGY SITING PARTNERSHIP FINAL REPORT VOLUME 1 SUMMARY REPORT RESP RENEWABLE ENERGY SITING PARTNERSHIP VOLUMES I AND II CREDITS The Renewable Energy Siting Partnership document is a product of the 2011 Memorandum of Understanding between the Rhode Island Office of Energy Resources, then directed by Kenneth Payne, and the University of Rhode Island. The RESP document was created under the management of Principle Investigators Marion Gold, URI Outreach Center and Jennifer McCann, URI CRC/RISG. Management Team To demonstrate the University of Rhode Island’s commitment to the RESP project, Dr. John Kirby, Dean of the College of the Environment and Life Sciences (CELS), and David M. Farmer, Dean of the Graduate School of Oceanography appointed the following people to oversee all aspects of the RESP: Marion Gold, URI Outreach Center Jennifer McCann, CRC/RISG Dennis Nixon, URI GSO Richard Rhodes, Ph.D., URI CELS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The State of Rhode Island Office of Energy Resources gratefully acknowledges the extensive time, energy, and thought the following committed individuals dedicated to the creation of the Rhode Island Renewable Energy Siting Partnership Final Report: Project Team Marion Gold, team lead, URI Outreach Center Jennifer McCann, team lead, CRC/RISG Michelle Carnevale, CRC/RISG Teresa Crean, CRC/RISG Sue Kennedy, CRC/RISG Helen Manning, CRC Danny Musher, URI Outreach Center Amber Neville, CRC/RISG Sarah Schumann Rachel Sholly, URI Outreach Center Chip Young, URI CI Research Team Senior Advisor: Malcolm Spaulding, Ph.D., URI DOE Annette Grilli, Ph.D., URI DOE John Merrill, Ph.D., URI GSO Peter Paton, Ph.D., URI Gopu Potty, Ph.D., URI DOE James Opaluch, Ph.D., URI CELS Sarah Butler, URI Thomas Boving, Ph.D., URI CELS Pamela Cady, URI CELS Christopher Damon, URI Tiffany Davis, URI Corrie Heinz, URI Kelly Knorr, URI James H. Miller, URI Danny Musher, URI Outreach Center Edson Okwelum, URI ENRE Christopher O’Reilly, URI Research Finance and Support Team Kate Manning Butler, CRC/RISG Mike Milkman, URI Outreach Center Technical Team Environmental Data Center, Department of Natural Resources Science at URI: Peter August Christopher Damon Tiffany-Lane Davis Charles LaBash Consultants 10up LLC Applied Science Associates, Inc. Environment Northeast Roger Williams University Sea Grant Law Fellows and Faculty Susan Farady, Director, Marine Affairs Institute, Director, RISG Legal Program Julia Wyman, Staff Attorney, Marine Affairs Institute Sarah Parker Scott R. Gunst, Jr. Kaitlin Sweeney Brandon Biggs URI Outreach Center Energy Fellows Nathan Brown Kristina DiSanto Alexa Fedorchak Eric Kretsch Cara Nunez Christopher Caisse Sarah Martin Sabrina Ulmasova State Agency Assistance and Coordination RI Coastal Resources Management Council RI Department of Environmental Management RI Economic Development Corporation RI Office of Energy Resources RI Office of the Governor RI Department of Administration, Division of Planning, Statewide Planning Program Government Agency Review Robert Ballou, RI DEM James Boyd, CRMC Barbara Cesaro, RI OER Kevin Flynn, RI SPP Paul Gonsalves, RI SPP Nancy Hess, RI SPP Christopher Kearns, Office of the Governor Hannah Morini, RI EDC Kenneth Payne, RI OER Jared Rhodes, RI SPP TECHNICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEMBERS Acoustics Jim Cummings, Acoustic Ecology Institute Peter McPhee, Massachusetts Clean Energy Center Ken Kaliski, Resource Systems Group, Inc. Avian and Bat Eugenia Marks, Rhode Island Audubon Society Rhonda Smith, USFWS Charlie Brown, RI DEM Economics Abigail Anthony, Ph.D, Environment Northeast Bogdan Prokopovych, College of Business Administration, URI Thomas Grigalunas, Ph.D, Professor Emeritus of Environmental and Natural Resource Economics, URI Timothy Tyrrell, Ph.D, School of Community Resources and Development, ASU Hydropower and Hydropower Resource Guy Lefebvre, RI Rivers Council Rachel Calabro, Save the Bay Jon Petrillo, The Essex Partnership, LLC. Art Gold, Ph.D, Watershed Hydrology, URI Douglas Hall, Idaho National Laboratory Wind and Water Program Alisa Richardson, RI DEM Office of Water Resources Catherine Sparks, RI DEM Landfill Solar Mark Dennen, RI DEM Landfill Closure Program Palmer Moore, NEXAMP, Inc. Alan Benevides, Woodard & Curran, Inc. RI Energy.Org Abigail Anthony, Ph.D, Environment Northeast Mike Guerard, Optimal Energy, Inc. Stephan Wollenburg, Energy Consumers Alliance of New England Shadow Flicker Ken Kaliski, Resource Systems Group, Inc. Peter McPhee, Massachusetts Clean Energy Center Wind Energy Chapter Malcolm Spaulding, Ph.D, URI Engineering Tyler Studds, Massachusetts Clean Energy Center Stephan Wollenburg, Energy Consumers Alliance of New England Wind Power Modeling and Siting John Merrill, Ph.D, URI Graduate School of Oceanography Tyler Studds, Massachusetts Clean Energy Center Wind Resource Assessment Annette Grilli, Ph.D, URI Engineering Peter McPhee, Massachusetts Clean Energy Center RESP PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT The RESP stakeholder and public engagement process brought together a diverse and well-rounded group of key constituencies by reaching out to two core groups of people simultaneously. The first group included organizations deemed to be essential in developing and implementing renewable energy siting strategies in the state, including municipalities, relevant state and federal agencies, regional planning councils, non-governmental organizations, chambers of commerce, historical societies, universities, tourism groups, utilities, land trusts, and the Narragansett Indian Tribe. The second key group was self-selecting, and included members of the public and the business community. Both groups were indispensable to creating a transparent and objective RESP process meeting the needs of all Rhode Islanders. MUNICIPAL WORKING GROUP The RESP Team acknowledges and appreciates the contributions of the municipal representatives who attended the six Municipal Working Group meetings between October 2011 and March 2012. Attendees included town planners, town managers, and town council members from all of Rhode Island’s 39 cities and towns, as well as representatives from regional planning councils. Sessions, which took place at the University of Rhode Island Bay Campus, were open to the public but targeted towards the needs of municipal planners and decision makers. RESP STAKEHOLDER GROUP Residents, Citizens, and Members of the RI Public that engaged in the public stakeholder process throughout the 16–month-long course of the RESP. 3 Sisters Design East Bay Energy Consortium Alteris Renewables East Providence Fuel Oil Company Apex Wind Endless Energy Applied Science Associates Energy Consumers Alliance of New Aquidneck Island Land Trust England Aquidneck Island Planning Commission Environment Northeast Audubon Society of Rhode Island Environmental Council of RI Barrington Renewable Energy Committee ESS Group Blackstone River Watershed Council Essex Partnership Block Island Power Company Fall River Mill Owners Association Bristol Wind Power Filarski/ architecture + planning + research Bryant University Grubb and Ellis Real Estate Chariho Middle School Guardian Fuel and Energy Conanicut Energy NERC Renewables Conservation Law Foundation Newport Energy and Environment Cranston Public Schools Commission CurveWater LLC Newport Harbor Corporation Deep Blue Technologies Newport Solar Department of Environmental Management Newport Waterfront Events DeWayne Allen Associates NEXAMP Division of Planning North Kingstown High School E2SOL LLC Northeast Sustainable Energy Association EA Engineering Ocean State Clean Cities Office of Energy Resources Solar Canopy LLC People’s Power and Light Soltas Energy Point Energy Solutions SPG Renewables Providence Water Supply Board Stillwater Preservation Conservancy Real Goods Solar Tech Comm Partners Representative Larry Ehrhardt The Nature Conservancy Representative Teresa Tanzi U.S. Department of Agriculture Rhode Island School of Design U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Rhode Power U.S. Navy RI Land Trust Council University of Rhode Island RI Rivers Council VHB Roger Williams University Washington County Regional Planning rTerra Council Save the Bay Wind Energy Development LLC Schneider Electric Wood-Pawcatuck Watershed Association Senator Jack Reed Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council DOA SPP WIND ADVISORY COMMITTEE (2010 – 2012) A committee formed to help the Rhode Island Division of Planning, Statewide Planning Program develop a set of wind energy siting guidelines. Jeff Broadhead, Washington County Regional Planning Council Lisa Bryer, Town of Jamestown Julian Dash, RI Economic Development Corporation Thomas Getz, (Retired) RI Department of Environmental Management Daniel Goulet, Coastal Resources Management Council Gary Gump, Town of Portsmouth Amy Kullenberg, Conservation Law Foundation Bruce Long, Town of Middletown Karina Lutz, People’s Power and Light Daniel Mendelsohn, Applied Science Associates Colin O’ Sullivan, North Kingstown Resident Kenneth Payne, (Retired) RI Office of Energy Resources Garry Plunkett, East Bay Wind Consortium Jon Reiner, Town of North Kingstown Andrew Shapiro, Apex Wind Larry Taft, Audubon Society of Rhode Island Barry Wenskowicz, Narragansett Bay Commission HYDROPOWER WORKING GROUP A working group comprised of academics, state and federal agencies, non-profit and environmental groups, and others all with expertise in issues surrounding hydropower development in Rhode Island. The group contributed to the formation of RIDEM’s Draft Guidance on Siting Considerations for Development of New Hydropower