EXTRA...

7 bid to build Rhode Island's offshore wind farms; Kerry demurs on Cabinet post

7 bid to build Rhode Island's offshore wind farms

The original deadline of May 16 had been extended by two weeks to allow the developers more time to prepare their bids.PROVIDENCE -- Seven developers, one as far away as Houston, have submitted proposals to build an offshore wind farm off the coast of Rhode Island. Yesterday was the deadline for private developers to respond to the state's "request for proposals" that sought bids to finance, construct and operate a wind farm big enough to supply 15 percent of the state's electricity usage. The project, which has been proposed by Governor Carcieri, is expected to be about the same size and scope of the proposed Cape Wind project in Massachusetts and could cost up to $1.9 billion...

"Releasing the details of the individual proposals prior to the technical review would likely put the state at a competitive disadvantage, which would violate the spirit if not the letter of the purchasing law," said Barbara H. Trainor, media coordinator for the governor's office.

The companies that submitted bids were:
Allco Renewable Energy Group Limited LLC, New York, N.Y.; Bluewater Wind LLC, Providence; Deep Water Wind Rhode Island LLC, Hoboken, N.J.; DKRW Wind LLC, Houston; Fishermen's Energy of Rhode Island, Bristol; Great Eastern Wind LLC, Providence; and WindPowerpro.us, Woodbridge, N.J... Providence Journal.
_____

Kerry faces a potential challenge from Gloucester lawyer Edward O'Reilly in the Democratic primary and Republican Jeffrey Beatty of Cape Cod (above) in the general election. O'Reilly and Beatty have returned the necessary signatures to get on the ballot, but still have additional paperwork to file, according to a spokesman in the Secretary of State's office. The deadline to file is Tuesday. Kerry makes North Shore stops
Demurs on Cabinet, Faces Cape Codder

Four years later, Sen. John Kerry's focus has returned to November. "November can't come fast enough," he said during a trip to Salem and Beverly. "We are so terribly gridlocked and stalled in terms of the agenda of the country, and it's very sad to see great institutions avoiding the major choices of our time right now."

Kerry, 64, was the Democratic Party's nominee for president in 2004, but lost to President Bush. This fall, he is asking voters to elect him to a fifth term in the U.S. Senate.

During a meeting Thursday with editors of The Salem News, Kerry shared an update on his ailing colleague, Ted Kennedy; addressed the possibility of accepting a post in presidential candidate Barack Obama's cabinet; pitched a plan to help reduce gas prices; and stressed the vital importance of alternative energy options. .. Salem News.