http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1098446_small-islands-are-biggest-beneficiaries-of-renewable-energy
Small Islands Are Biggest Beneficiaries Of Renewable Energy
When it comes to sites where renewable energy can have the biggest
impact, it's best to look offshore.
Islands are often cut off from mainland grid infrastructure, which
drives up energy costs for the people who live there.
That creates a powerful incentive for switching to renewable sources,
and often means there's little if any local competition for
renewable-energy projects.
Even so, a wind farm first proposed for Block Island--a popular tourist
spot off the coast of Rhode Island--is just now beginning construction.
That wind farm could become a potential milestone for energy in New
England, according to a recent Navigant Research blog post.
New England generates relatively little energy locally, instead
importing large amounts of coal and natural gas from other parts of the
country to fuel its power plants.
But the wind farm demonstrates an alternative--one that takes advantage
of the region's copious coastlines.
Regardless of whether wind gains traction in other parts of New England,
Block Island looks set to benefit from it.
Island residents pay some of the highest electricity rates in the
country: up to $0.50 per kilowatt-hour. (The national average is $0.12
per kWh.)
Even Hawaii's notoriously-high average rate of $0.37 per kWh can't match
that.
Deepwater Wind--the company running the Block Island wind farm--claims
the project will lower electricity rates by up to 40 percent.
Like many New England tourist destinations, Block Island has a much
smaller population outside the summer months.
There are only about 1,000 year-round residents, meaning electricity
demand shrinks dramatically during the off-season.
That means the wind farm's 30 megawatts of power output will be far more
than what the island consumes during most of the year.
With some form of energy storage, Block Island could become a net
exporter of electricity, Navigant says, via a planned transmission line
to the mainland.
As with other island communities, residents may soon find that
clean-energy sources can resolve past issues with energy infrastructure.
Block Island is just another example of how renewable energy can turn
isolation into an asset.
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