Jen McCann, NE Wind Power and the Latest from the Rhode Island Shoreline

October 4, 2020

Let's take a trip to the beautiful Rhode Island coast!

Peter and Tyler welcome to the American Shoreline Podcast Jen McCann, Director of US Coastal Programs at the University of Rhode Island Coastal Resources Center and Director of Extension for RI Sea Grant. Jen has been on the front lines of Rhode Island coastal issues for a few decades now and she is a key player in the effort to chart the future of offshore wind power. This "Small but Mighty" state -- smallest in the Union at 1,212 square miles -- hopes to lead the way on offshore wind power in the northeast.  They have an early lead with the Block Island wind farm, a small 30 MW farm just off shore.  But, as other NE states lay claim to offshore wind territories, the competition is heating up and protecting commercial fishing, contending with viewscapes, and providing proper port facilities make ramping up wind power a tricky balance.  Catch the breeze on this fascinating issue with a true coastal professional.  Only on ASPN, the Voice of the Coastal Community!


Show Transcription
This transcription was generated by a computer. Please excuse any errors.
Peter Ravella & Tyler Buckingham

Peter and Tyler joined forces in 2015 and from the first meeting began discussing a project that would become Coastal News Today and the American Shoreline Podcast Network. At the time, Peter and Tyler were coastal consultants for Pete’s firm, PAR Consulting, LLC. In that role, they worked with coastal communities in Texas, Florida, and North Carolina, engaged in grant writing, coastal project development, shoreline erosion and land use planning, permitting, and financial planning for communities undertaking big beach restoration projects. Between and among their consulting tasks, they kept talking and kept building the idea of CNT & ASPN. In almost every arena they worked, public engagement played a central role. They spent thousands of hours talking with coastal stakeholders, like business owners, hotel operators, condo managers, watermen, property owners, enviros, surfers, and fishermen. They dived deep into the value, meaning, and responsibility for the American shoreline, segment-by-segment. Common threads emerged, themes were revealed, differences uncovered. There was a big conversation going on along the American shoreline! But, no place to have it. That's where CNT and ASPN were born.