The US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has contracted the University of Rhode Island (URI) to assess the effect of the 30MW Block Island offshore wind farm on recreation and tourism.
The information gathered from the two-year project will be used to help regulators, industry, communities and researchers measure the impacts of offshore renewable energy facilities on recreation and tourism activities.
The project will produce the first empirical data on the tourism impacts of offshore wind, as well as provide a suite of indicators that can be used to assess the potential effects of future projects in the US.
It will also offer a subset of indicators that can be used to monitor the effects of the wind farm on Rhode Island’s recreation and tourism activities in the future.
BOEM office of renewable energy programs industry economist Amy Stillings said: “This project will build upon BOEM’s completed and ongoing studies seeking to characterize the effects of offshore wind on recreation and tourism activities.”
Block Island Tourism Council executive director Jessica Willi said: “The Block Island community looks forward to having a greater understanding about how the wind farm interacts with island tourism and recreation as it is very important to the people who live here and earn livings from these industries.”
Image: Block Island wind farm (Deepwater Wind)
Tourism spotlight on Block Island
Study for BOEM to assess impact of 30MW wind farm on recreation
By EBS