PROVIDENCE, RI – Roots2Empower was recently awarded a grant from SouthCoast Community Foundation for their project “Powering Energy Justice: Building a Diverse, Equitable, and Inclusive Offshore Wind Industry.” A social justice 501c(3) nonprofit based in Rhode Island’s tri-cities Pawtucket, Providence, and Central Falls, Roots2Empower’s mission is to enable civic engagement and break the cycle of poverty, incarceration, and recidivism for low-income and marginalized communities. This grant will support Roots2Empower’s work educating and engaging community members on the clean energy transition, the essential role of offshore wind energy, and how they can get involved, provide input, and access family-sustaining careers. Their first community meeting for Pawtucket residents will be from 2-4 pm at the Pawtucket Public Library in the Campbell Auditorium on February 24th.
“Offshore wind energy is critically needed to decarbonize our economy and put an end to disproportionate health, environmental, and economic impacts that our low-income and communities of color too often face,” said Tarshire Battle, Roots2Empower’s founding executive director. “Roots2Empower is excited to put this grant to work, bridging the power of offshore wind with the power of our communities to co-create a clean energy economy that lifts all people, starting with those facing the steepest barriers.”
Public education that is science-backed and community-centered is needed now more than ever. Fossil fuel interests have scaled their work with climate denial think tanks in attempts to obstruct offshore wind projects, circulating misinformation and scare tactics. According to a 2019 Brattle Group study, offshore wind holds over half the technical resource potential available to meet New England’s clean energy goals. Roots2Empower’s project will help to ensure that low-income and disadvantaged communities have access to accurate information, can make their voices heard informing the development of offshore wind projects, and understand how projects operate over their lifetime, including the years-long permitting process that occurs pre-construction.
“Community foundations, like the SouthCoast Community Foundation, play a pivotal role in fostering connections between funders and impactful organizations such as Roots 2Empower. Through the funding of initiatives like their ‘Powering Energy Justice: Building a Diverse, Equitable, & Inclusive Offshore Wind Industry’ program, community foundations, and funders can actively champion equity within the blue economy,” said Dr. Melanie Edwards-Tavares, President and CEO of the SouthCoast Community Foundation.
The grant was backed by the SouthCoast Wind Fund, established in 2021 as part of SouthCoast Wind’s commitment to ensuring residents of the South Coast region can take an active part in, and benefit from the offshore wind industry. SouthCoast Wind is developing an offshore wind lease area in federal waters 30 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard that has the potential to generate 2,400 megawatts of clean energy, enough to power over one million homes, create 27,000 local jobs, and avoid 4 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually.
“We’re excited to have Roots2Empower among our first Fund recipients and look forward to supporting their vital and important work. SouthCoast Wind is committed to ensuring that all residents and businesses along New England’s south coast have equal opportunity to be a part of and benefit from the offshore wind industry.” said Francis Slingsby, CEO of SouthCoast Wind.
Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Connecticut recently signed a memorandum of understanding to enable a coordinated selection of their next round of offshore wind projects needed to meet their climate goals. Bids in all three states are due January 31, 2024, and successful projects will be critical for each state to meet its climate goals.
Rhode Island set binding carbon reduction targets with the passage of the 2021 Act on Climate, the next of which is a 45% cut in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. The mandate includes considerations of environmental justice, job quality and workforce, and diversity, equity, and inclusion. These requirements carried over to the upcoming solicitation.
“Addressing the climate crisis is no small task for the Ocean State,” said Nicole DiPaolo, director of energy justice at Roots2Empower. “From sea-level rise to legacy pollution, addressing the infrastructure, energy, and transportation needs to prepare for and prevent some of the worst impacts of climate change will require fundamental shifts from an extractive economy to a regenerative one. The needs of low-income, marginalized Rhode Islanders must be made central to that transition, co-creating solutions and getting informed consent from communities every step of the way.”