FROED One Government Center Fall River, MA 02722-7700 Tel 508-324-2620 Fax 508-677-2840 info@froed.org		OFFICIALS ON BOARD WITH ENERGY INITIATIVE The Herald News, Wednesday, April 8, 2009 - Page A1 Fall River — Optimism reigned as Mayor Robert Correia unveiled a wide-ranging plan to spur the city through clean energy and green jobs. The crowd of about 125 applauded several times as Correia, joined for a time by U.S. Reps. Barney Frank and James McGovern, and Newport Collaborative Architects Inc. Principal John K. Grosvenor, talked about the Fall River Energy Enterprise and rifled through colorful slides that offered a future that would harness energy from places such as the Quequechan and Taunton rivers, as well as wind and solar possibilities. The vision left City Councilor Pat Casey looking forward to the city’s potential future. “This could really be an uplift for the people of Fall River,” Casey said after the presentation concluded. “I realize this is a project that is just starting, but I like the idea that anyone can be a part of this. I’m just so, so excited.” Fellow councilor Brian Bigelow, who chairs the council’s Economic Development and Tourism Committee, said he favors the idea because it puts Fall River ahead of the curve in attempting to reap the benefits of green industries, rather than the city trying to play catch-up. “I think this is incredible, not just because of what it could bring to individual businesses, but it’s a vision of what could be and brings back an approach that was used years ago,” Bigelow said, referring to harnessing the Quequechan River for power. Bigelow was also encouraged by the willingness of the federal government to back green industries, giving him hope the vision presented Tuesday could one day become reality. “This is mammoth,” Bigelow said. As those councilors expressed optimism for the plan, Council Vice President Raymond Hague was a bit more guarded, recalling past proposals that never saw the light of day. “It looks like a nice project,” Hague said. “I remember about 20 years ago a similar thing proposed that would have brought a beach to the bottom of Kennedy Park, but I haven’t seen that yet. But I think this is an aggressive, well-thought-out plan tied into future energy needs. I hope it moves forward, it looks like a lot of time and energy went into it, so we’ll see what happens.” If the plan does move forward, Bristol Community College President John Sbrega said, the school will be prepared to help the city train workers to fill the city’s needs. “BCC stands ready to do what we can,” Sbrega said. “The green jobs wave is a curriculum change that we’ve been looking at throughout, so we’ll certainly do what we can to help with this." Back