Consortium Still 'Testing The Winds'

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 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. The Bristol Town Council voted to withdraw from the commission in October.

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 short, four years and $400,000 later, the communities still have a long way to go to decide how to move forward. 

See the latest Hummel Report – “Testing the Winds.”