PROVIDENCE — Deepwater Wind, the developer planning two wind farms off the Rhode Island coast, has moved its corporate headquarters here from New Jersey.
The company announced Monday that it is now based out of what was a satellite office at 56 Exchange Terrace in downtown Providence. The office, which opened in April 2009 with only one full-time employee, has been expanded to accommodate staff from Hoboken, N.J., and several new hires, including, most recently, a lawyer who once served as chief of staff to Governor Carcieri.
Jeffrey Grybowski, who was chief of staff to Carcieri from 2003 to 2007, has been named Deepwater’s chief administrative officer and senior vice president for strategy and external affairs, according to the announcement. After leaving state government, Grybowski became a partner at the law firm Hinckley, Allen & Snyder, where, starting in May 2008, Deepwater was one of his clients.
Grybowski was a frequent presence at the State House over the past two years, advocating on Deepwater’s behalf. In his new job, he will coordinate Deepwater’s development efforts in the Northeast and will lead the company’s public-policy strategies.
Grybowski will work in the Providence office as part of the current nine-member team that includes CEO William M. Moore, who helped develop land-based wind farms in upstate New York; chief development officer Paul Rich, who has been based in Providence since the office opened; Chris van Beek, managing director and chief of technology, projects and operations; and Aileen Kenney, director of permitting. The company also has a one-person office on Block Island.
“The talent we have added to our development team enhances our ability to build the nation’s first offshore wind farms serving our core markets, including Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New York and New Jersey,” Moore said in a statement. “The establishment of our corporate headquarters in Providence also furthers our commitment to establishing an East Coast wind-energy hub.”
Governor Carcieri applauded the move, referring to Deepwater’s plan to create an assembly facility, which would eventually employ up to 800 people, at Quonset Point in North Kingstown.
“This is much more than an energy project,” Carcieri said in a statement. “This is about creating a new industry in Rhode Island, an industry that puts Rhode Island at the epicenter of the emerging alternative-energy market. Deepwater Wind will help bring new economic activity, jobs and opportunity to Rhode Island. From construction through operation, Deepwater Wind projects will provide high-quality green-collar jobs.”
The move comes as Deepwater steps up efforts to build an eight-turbine wind farm in state waters off Block Island that would serve as a test project before the company’s 100-turbine proposal in federal waters farther off the Rhode Island coast.
The Block Island project, which aims to be the first offshore wind farm in the U.S., cleared a major hurdle last month when the state Public Utilities Commission approved a long-term agreement for the sale of the power it would generate to National Grid, Rhode Island’s main utility.
The approval, however, came in controversial fashion. The General Assembly approved a law designed for Deepwater’s benefit after the PUC rejected its first power-purchase agreement with National Grid.
Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch, the Conservation Law Foundation and two manufacturing companies have appealed the PUC approval to the state Supreme Court. The PUC submitted the written record of its case to the court on Monday, a move that will allow a docket to be opened and a schedule of proceedings to be set. But a ruling from the court is not expected for months.
Despite the appeals, Deepwater is moving ahead with the Block Island wind farm. It must order components this calendar year to qualify for federal investment tax credits that are equal to 30 percent of the $200-million project cost. To qualify, the company must pay 5 percent of the total cost by Dec. 31.
Founded in 2005, Deepwater is backed by D.E. Shaw & Co., which had provided $21 billion in investments and committed capital as of July 1. D.E. Shaw is also a major investor in First Wind, a Boston company developing land-based wind farms in Hawaii, Maine, New York and elsewhere.
Deepwater will maintain its office in New Jersey, where the company is planning an offshore wind farm in federal waters through Garden State Offshore Energy, a partnership with energy company PSEG. The company has permission to install a weather-monitoring tower in the ocean in preparation for that project. Deepwater is also working on plans for a development in New York.
“We remain committed to our presence in New York and New Jersey, and are excited about the progress our projects there are showing,” Moore said.
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