On April 28, 2010, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar approved Cape Wind Associates, LLC’s proposed $1 billion, 130-turbine wind farm off the coast of Cape Cod in Nantucket Sound, about five miles from the nearest shoreline. The project, when constructed, would be the first wind energy project on the Outer Continental Shelf, and would generate enough energy to power more than 200,000 homes in Massachusetts. The scale of the project is significant; it would cover approximately 25 square miles, and the tip of the highest blade of each turbine would reach 440 feet above the surface of the water.
Supporters, including the Sierra Club and Greenpeace, argue that the project would provide a clean, renewable source of energy and hundreds of construction jobs, and would decrease the region’s reliance on fossil fuels and benefit the environment by lowering emissions of greenhouse gases.
Opponents have focused on negative impacts to natural beauty and the surrounding area’s historic landmarks. In addition, they claim that infrastructure improvements will result in sharply increased costs over those for conventional power. The Wampanoag tribe, which requires unobstructed views of the sunrise for sacred ceremonies, has announced that it will challenge the project for violations of tribal rights.
In response to concerns expressed during the consultations with tribes and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, the Department of the Interior (“DOI”) required the developer to change the design and configuration of the wind farm to mitigate potential visual and historic impacts.
This is not the final hurdle that this project must clear, however. The Federal Aviation Administration has yet to make a final determination on the project and the developer has not yet entered into a contract with the local utility, National Grid, to carry the power. Nine state and local permits are being appealed in the courts, and nearly a dozen parties have filed notices of intention to sue for violations of various environmental laws and regulations.
Despite the remaining steps before construction may begin, DOI’s approval of the Cape Wind project is seen as a positive sign for several other proposed offshore wind projects along the eastern seaboard. Each project will face its own complex federal, state and local permitting issues, but DOI’s action on Cape Wind will likely provide valuable political momentum to other proposed offshore wind projects.
Read the full DOI press release here.
