Nation's first offshore wind farm approved for Nantucket Sound

Nation's first offshore wind farm approved for Nantucket Sound

By Wayne Drash, CNN
April 28, 2010 12:04 p.m. EDT

Opponents of the wind farm had argued Nantucket Sound should not be turned into an industrial park.STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar approves nation's first offshore wind farm
Battle over the 130 wind turbines has raged for nine years in Cape Cod
The wind farm will cover about 25 square miles of Nantucket Sound

(CNN) -- Interior Secretary Ken Salazar on Wednesday approved the nation's first offshore wind farm, signing off on a project that has split Cape Cod over the last nine years.

The 130 turbines are to be located several miles from the Massachusetts shore in the iconic waters of Nantucket Sound.

"I am approving the Cape Wind project," Salazar told reporters in Boston. "This will be the first of many projects up and down the coast."

The location of the wind farm has stirred heated emotions over the years. Cape Wind, as the project is known, became one of the most heavily vetted energy projects in the world. Seventeen state and federal agencies weighed in, reviewing everything from its impact on shipping, aviation and fisheries.

Salazar visited the Cape earlier this year. At the time, he pledged to cut through the nine-years of regulatory red tape and make a final decision by the end of April.

The most notable opponent was the late Sen. Ted Kennedy, a champion of green energy who, to the dismay of environmentalists, fought against the wind farm. The Kennedy compound would have a view of the wind turbines.

See how the views on the Cape will change

Other opponents ranged from billionaire energy giant William Koch to former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. American Indians in the region also objected, saying the wind farm would be located on sacred ancestral grounds and would disturb important sunrise ceremonies.

Cape Wind controversy

Interactive map: Video and info

Video: Cronkite's initial objection to turbines
Greenpeace, the Sierra Club and nearly every major environmental group in the nation supported the project, saying it's necessary in moving the nation forward. Six governors in the region also backed Cape Wind.

"Even though we enjoy overwhelming majority support, it's not a popularity contest," Cape Wind CEO Jim Gordon told CNN. "This decision needs to be made on the merits. And the record shows that it is in the public interest."

In an editorial today, the Boston Globe said simply: "Make clean energy a reality; approve Cape Wind now." The New York Times earlier this week also endorsed the project.

"Offshore wind farms are a common sight in Europe but not here," the Times wrote. "Cape Wind would be this country's first -- sending, finally, a signal to the world about America's resolve to fight global warming and reduce its dependence on foreign oil."

The wind farm would bring hundreds of jobs and provide up to 75 percent of the power needed by the Cape and islands of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket, according to Cape Wind.

See the location of the wind farm

The 130 turbines, spaced a third- to a half-mile apart, will cover about 25 of the 500 square miles of Nantucket Sound. They will stand more than 40 stories tall, well over 10 times bigger than nearly every other structure around the Cape.

Cape Wind has said the project will not necessarily bring cheaper energy, but will bring cleaner electricity and become a model for offshore wind energy.

The Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound, the project's chief nemesis, has vowed to file suit to continue to try to block it. The project already has withstood multiple court challenges.

Barbara Hill has long supported Cape Wind as the executive director of the grassroots organization Clean Power Now.

"We're going to be partying later on tonight," she said. "We applaud Secretary Salazar for his vision and leadership in making this landmark decision and look forward to the day when the wind farm in Nantucket Sound will be producing the majority of the electrical needs of the Cape and islands."

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Nation's first offshore wind farm approved for Nantucket Sound

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Showing 25 of 86 comments
Sort by johnnyhouse
johnnyhouse Wind power is the oldest form of power and still the cheapest and cleanest unless it is being generated by a politician.
2 minutes ago | Like | Report abuse
davandk
davandk Hot air power. If only we could harness THAT resource!
0 minutes ago | Like | Report abuse

As a native of Massachusetts, a long time summer visitor to the Cape and most important, a recreational boater/sailor who adores using the pristine waters of Nantucket Sound, my heart is broken. This is one of the loveliest spots on earth and accessible to all. This will definitely be a navigational hazard to boats of all sizes, including passenger and cargo ferries, as well as aircraft that fly to the Islands in a variety of weather, including heavy fog. This is a very poor decision and I hope that it is appealed immediately! Surely there are better places to put a wind farm than in the middle of a body of water so often socked in by fog - making visibility almost impossible. less
6 minutes ago | Like | Report abuse
Headly66
Headly66 I guess you made your comment before you read the article. The towers will be 5 miles offshore and in shallows where big ships and ferries can not go anyway.
0 minutes ago | Like | Report abuse LunkHead
LunkHead sour grapes, lame excuses
1 minute ago | Like | Report abuse
Guest
Guest the near future has reached the Cape... hopefully this project enhances the lives of many in the surrounding area...God knows that the economy in the US needs rebuilding and this is a positive step for the environment and the people who live there...
7 minutes ago | Like (2) | Report abuse
TheFaithful
TheFaithful It wouldn't be a problem if it was blocking the sunset, but it's blocking the sunrise! :D
6 minutes ago | Like | Report abuse
PJinChicago
PJinChicago A hamster wheel for illegals to run on and power AZ would be cool.
8 minutes ago | Like (1) | Report abuse NotCreative2
NotCreative2 Everyone complains that oil is too expensive, but wait untill they build a windfarm near by and double your electric bill.
8 minutes ago | Like | Report abuse
WeGetIt
WeGetIt Wow you put a lot of thought into the issue... And how much do you think oil will cost in 30 years? 40? 50? oops, all gone!
5 minutes ago | Like | Report abuse
Ballz
Ballz With all the collective cash in that area, Im surprised that these rich folks did just pay the company to not build there. Cmon, excercice those dollars you rich greedy people.
9 minutes ago | Like | Report abuse Knightsounds
Knightsounds It's about time
9 minutes ago | Like | Report abuse LunkHead
LunkHead
let the belching deep water oil wells in the gulf and the blown off mountain top coal fields in Tn fuel us. Americans can't have the exponential economic growth and live the opulent lifestyles it wants and not accept a minor inconvenience like a supposed eye sore in the way of their sunset. We need ...more
let the belching deep water oil wells in the gulf and the blown off mountain top coal fields in Tn fuel us. Americans can't have the exponential economic growth and live the opulent lifestyles it wants and not accept a minor inconvenience like a supposed eye sore in the way of their sunset. We need to grow up and live in little homes like Europeans, Asians, south Americans and Africans (did I forget anyone) less
10 minutes ago | Like (4) | Report abuse bg222
bg222 The simple fact Europe uses wind farms means its socialist and we shouldn't adopt any of their ideas (whoops democracy started in ancient Greece). This is a dark road where are starting on, we should all be in fear.
10 minutes ago | Like | Report abuse nanika
nanika What's the point of saving the environment if we make it too ugly to enjoy. Why couldn't they find another spot along the coast that isn't as widely used or as pristine as this one?
11 minutes ago | Like | Report abuse
Vratar

Vratar The closest point to land will be 5 miles; at that distance, the towers will appear 1/2 inch tall. From Nantucket, it will be 14 miles, and the towers will look like no more than specks on the horizon. Hardly an eyesore to most...
1 minute ago | Like | Report abuse PayNotaxes

PayNotaxes Because it was deemed the BEST and most Effiecient Spot.
8 minutes ago | Like | Report abuse
civility1

civility1 Why cant we just turn our lights off at night ? Cape Wind (formerly called Cape Cod - but you know where the cod went...) will be filling up with boomer retirees soon and as a rule, they go to bed pretty early.
17 minutes ago | Like (1) | Report abuse BuckeyeBob
BuckeyeBob It's about freakin time!!! Go figure, big coal was against it!
18 minutes ago | Like (4) | Report abuse
davandk

davandk Fossil fuels are idiotic. Our get rich quick mentality to make it the most used by our society will go sown as one of the great blunders of the human race.
15 minutes ago | Like (2) | Report abuse
Guest
Guest What a bunch of hypocrites. The Kennedys and their ultra-rich friends and neighbors want to fly around in their private jets and tell the rest of us to make the planet a better place for them while they are willing to scrafice nothing. It's good that America can still function properly sometimes.
18 minutes ago | Like (10)

Now if we can get some of the other liberals to give a little more like Barbara Boxer to let them put the Solar Farm in California she blocked because of the poor desert turtle. We could actually start making some progress. Just saw the some of the new wind farms in Kansas and Wyoming. They look awesome. less
11 minutes ago | Like (2) | Report abuse
Omega1234
Omega1234 75% of the regions demand. I fail to see the issue here. The benefits far outweigh the negative impact.
19 minutes ago | Like (4) | Report abuse
PaddyReagan

PaddyReagan Actually, the phrase was "...up to 75%". We're all familiar with that phrase. We see it in the newspaper everyday. "Up to 75% off." That item is a lime green cowboy hat made of pony hair buried under pink t-shirts for men.
12 minutes ago | Like | Report abuse
maverick73

To understand how far the US lags behind in clean energy development, remote Himalayan villages in northern Nepal have been using solar panels on their roofs to harness solar energy since the eighties. Enough talking after nine years; it's about time the US finally got round to harnessing their enormous potential in clean energy!!!