Consortium Still 'Testing The Winds'

Today's Hummel Report takes a look at the results of harnessing wind power by the cities and towns in the East Bay -- including East Providence -- 4 years and $400,000 later.

Nine East Bay communities formed a partnership – the East Bay Energy Consortium (EBEC) – four years ago to explore making some money from wind turbines.  The cities and towns, including East Providence, got some significant financial help with nearly half a million dollars in public seed money from the RI Economic Development Corporation, according to today's Hummel Report.  That amount of cash, in turn, attracted the attention of a private developer who was interested in developing a potential $55 million project of his own in Tiverton.  Instead of embracing the private project, though, the economic development corporation saw it as a threat. And Jim Hummel finds that heading into 2013 the fate of the public project is still unclear. In …

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Govstench

10:30 pm on Friday, February 22, 2013

This is nothing more than another expansion of government. Municipalities have zero experience in the power industry and the Tiverton Windturbine fiasco is just another example. This EBEC is a creation of green advocates that hired a high powered attorney to "steamroll" municipalities in the East Bay to jump on board. This thing needs to be killed off all together.   more ›

Energy Group Cleared of Alleged Violations

The RI Attorney General's Office ruled last week that the East Bay Energy Consortium did not violate the state's open meetings and public records laws.

  The East Bay Energy Consortium has been cleared of public records and open meetings laws violations. The RI Attorney General made its ruling last Friday on a complaint lodged by a Tiverton man, Gerald Felise, who is the CEO of eCo Industrial Park and Natural Energy Generators, according to a story posted on eastbayri.com. The ruling said that EBEC, a consortium of nine RI towns at the time of the complaint – East Providence, Barrington, Warren, Bristol, Little Compton, Portsmouth, Tiverton, Middletown, and Newport, did not break the law when it failed to provide him in a timely manner with the minutes of dozens of meetings between 2009 and 2012.  In the opinion published a week ago, RI Special Assistant Attorney General Maria R. Corvese …

Council Supports East Bay Energy Consortium Legislation

Project supporters are hopeful the legislation is passed by early June and wind turbines will be spinning soon after.

In a 4-0 vote during Tuesday's meeting, East Providence City Council members approved supporting a resolution that urges the General Assembly to enact legislation that establishes the East Bay Energy Consortium (EBEC). Nine communities have agreed join in on the green project that would erect wind turbines to cut energy costs. Project supporters are hopeful the legislation will be approved by May or early June, according to East Providence Planning Director Jeanne Boyle.  A potential site has been targeted in Tiverton. It is an industrial area, she said. It's still unknown how energy dividends would be split among the involved communities. Eric Bush, project manager of the project attended the meeting to answer questions councilors may …

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Govstench

6:51 pm on Wednesday, May 9, 2012

xatianAquidneck, you are exchanging one fiefdom for another. Have you read the bill? If you have not, then I understand your response. Otherwise, your statement is just spin. No one said anything about taking over the world. Wind turbines are only 35% efficient under best conditions. Land based turbines are the best to have but they must be placed in remote locations. I would ask the bigger …   more ›