August 15, 2024 — Newport’s Energy and Environment Commission hosted a panel discussion on Aug. 8, “The Effect of Climate Change and Offshore Wind on Fisheries and Ocean Ecosystems,” where representatives from NOAA, the URI Graduate School of Oceanography, The Commercial Fisheries Center of Rhode Island, and the Kingston -based Commercial Fisheries Research Foundation responded to a series of prompts posed by commission Vice Chair Emily Conklin.
A Q&A session followed, with about 60 people gathered at City Hall to participate. Many in attendance brought strong opinions both for and against the large- scale offshore wind development projects being built off the coast of Newport and Little Compton.
During the public Q&A, multiple people voiced skepticism about the quality of research being conducted by URI and other local institutions due to the fact that offshore wind companies have funded some of the studies. Jeremy Collie, a professor of oceanography at URI, pushed back on the notion that research funded by the offshore wind developers is inherently biased or untrustworthy .