Feb. 17--People hiking out to Black Point or the Camp Cronin fishing access in Narragansett may one day find something new on the rugged and scenic coastline -- large commercial wind turbines.

The state Department of Environmental Management, working in cooperation with the Town of Narragansett and the City of Providence, is looking for proposals from private developers to erect three turbines in Narragansett. In addition to Black Point, the state is looking at land at the west end of the Escape Road in Galilee and land owned by either the state or Providence at Camp Cronin, on the west shore of Point Judith.

Narragansett is looking into the feasibility of erecting a turbine near its sewage treatment plant south of Scarborough State Beach.

"We're looking to benefit the state as much as possible," said DEM Director W. Michael Sullivan. "We're trying to show that DEM can practice what it preaches."

The State Properties Committee is scheduled to review the three DEM proposals when it meets this morning in Providence.

In stepping forward, Sullivan is jumping into a growing pool of proposals to bring wind turbines to Rhode Island to generate electricity.

The state has selected a company called Deepwater Wind to develop a $1.5-billion wind farm offshore, following state mapping and planning. The goal is to generate 15 percent of the state's energy with the turbines.

A second company, Grays Harbor Ocean Energy Co., is looking for federal permits to erect 100 turbines offshore.

A third company, Allco Renewable Energy Group Ltd., announced recently that it has approached a half-dozen Rhode Island communities with turbine proposals.

The Town of Portsmouth is constructing a new turbine, and Barrington is considering a similar move.

David J. Crook Sr., president of the Narragansett Town Council, said he doesn't expect any public opposition to the proposals in his town.

"It's all open land, not near any neighbors," he said.

Crook said the town is spending a lot of money for electricity and it needs to do what it can to mitigate the costs.

"If we don't look at this, we'll be left behind," he said.

The DEM initiative was prompted by Sullivan. He asked his staff to review all DEM properties to determine feasible sites for wind energy.

Thomas D. Getz, an assistant to the director for strategic planning, said engineering studies indicated the most feasible areas in terms of wind energy were Little Compton, Narragansett and Westerly. The DEM doesn't own land in Little Compton, he said. Westerly was ruled out because of its importance for migratory birds. That left DEM properties in Narragansett, particularly those not jammed with people in the summer.

Sullivan said the state would probably look for cash payments from turbine developers, in exchange for making state land available. The Fishermen's Memorial Park campground alone, he said, uses about $50,000 in electricity each summer.

The DEM also plans to install a wind turbine at Salty Brine State Beach, in Narragansett. But that will be a small demonstration model, said Sullivan, to power a couple of light bulbs.

-----

To see more of the The Providence Journal, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.projo.com.

Copyright (c) 2009, The Providence Journal, R.I.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.

A service of YellowBrix, Inc.