Woonsocket does not need more pollution

Invenergy, a Chicago-based energy giant, is proposing to build a gigawatt fossil-fuel-fired power plant in Burrillville. The Burrillville Town Council has spoken out against the plan and has adopted a resolution supported since then by numerous communities across the state.

As reported by RI NPR, Governor Raimondo told Mr. Polsky, CEO of Invenergy: “You should know we are going to make sure that you are successful here.” Members of the Energy Facility Siting Board, which will decide about the fate of the proposed power plant, serve at the pleasure of governor. Is it surprising that there is widespread distrust the regulatory process?

Building the proposed power plant will make it impossible for the state to attain the already insufficient greenhouse emission reduction targets required by the Resilient Rhode Island Act of 2014. That is not one of Invenergy's concerns. The company needs water to cool its pollution-belching, soon-to-be-stranded asset and it has already been turned down by the water utilities of Harrisville and Pascoag. In a desperate last-minute attempt, the company is now negotiating with the Woonsocket City Council to buy cooling water from the cit, which has become a major player in this spectacle.

It is no secret that Woonsocket is strapped for cash, but the last thing the citizens of Woonsocket need is more air pollution added to its already unhealthy air. Read this post in Rhode Island Future to find out more about the threat facing Woonsocket and Invenergy's offer it cannot refuse.