![]() In short, the plant has raised local, state and global issues, and galvanized the community. With major life cycle impacts of fracking and methane leakage, building a huge natural gas plant risks locking the state into decades of a high-carbon development pathway. The Conservation Law Foundation filed testimony and a motion to dismiss against the plant, claiming that building it will make it impossible for the state to meet its greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals. The strength of the local opposition surprised many, as three coalitions consistently turned out hundreds of impassioned attendees at meetings and public hearings at the local high school. Finally local politicians began taking stands against the proposed facility the townships have denied the company access to the town water supply and refused to negotiate a tax agreement with the plant. Local opposition turned out to be surprisingly fierce, as residents of the peaceful town raised issue after issue with the plans, including the hundreds of diesel oil trucks that would be plying rural roads to fill massive backup fuel supply tanks and the proposed reopening of a town well that was already contaminated with MTBE, a fuel additive known to cause cancer. However, opposition has steadily mounted and the tide may be turning against the plant. The Invenergy siting in Rhode Island seemed political genius at the time, and to most observers the announcement made the plant seem a “done deal” from the start. The plant is expected to employ over 300 people during its 18-month construction but create only two dozen permanent positions. Governor Gina Raimondo saw the investment as a coup for economic development in the state, bringing in tax revenues and creating construction jobs. The facility would sit next to a major natural gas pipeline where it slices through the corner of Rhode Island, fueled largely by gas extracted through hydraulic fracturing in Pennsylvania.įracturing is exactly what this plant has done to Rhode Island’s politics and society since last year’s announcement.įracturing is exactly what this plant has done to Rhode Island’s politics and society since last year’s announcement. Announced by a merchant Chicago-based investor called Invenergy at a press event with the governor and the Laborers Union International Union at their side, the facility would invest about $700 million dollars and produce 850-1,000 megawatts of power. On one side is a huge power plant proposed for the far northwest corner of the state in the rural woods in Burrillville, Rhode Island. ![]() Depending upon which road it takes, tiny Rhode Island could be a leader of a new energy age for the U.S., or a middling actor locked into fossil fuel infrastructure for decades. The contrast between two major projects-a huge natural gas-fired power plant and towering offshore wind turbines-could not be greater, and the long-term implications of the decisions for the state and the country are far-reaching.
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