Quote:
Salazar approves Cape wind farm
http://www.capecodonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100428/NEWS/4280326
BOSTON - US Interior Secretary Ken Salazar approved the proposed Nantucket Sound wind farm today, a move proponents herald as a giant leap forward and opponents decry as a dangerous misstep.
His approval is the culmination of nearly a decade of review by local, state and federal agencies of the plan to build 130 wind turbines on Horseshoe Shoal in the Sound.
The so-called “record of decision†to approve a lease for the plan by Cape Wind Associates, LLC, opens the door for an expected onslaught of lawsuits by the project's opponents.
"This will be the first of many projects up and down the Atlantic coast," Salazar said standing next to Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, a wind farm supporter.
Salazar said he was approving the Cape Wind project “with modifications that will protect the historical, cultural and environmental resources†of Nantucket Sound. Among these were the reduction of the project from 170 turbines to 130 turbines - a requirement the developer has already made to reduce the visual impact of the turbines - and to do additional marine archeological surveys.
The Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) restated their intention this week to pursue legal action if Salazar approved the project, saying that the decision is a “litmus test†for promises made by President Barack Obama's administration to the American Indian tribes. They argue that the 440-foot tall wind turbines will interfere with important sunrise ceremonies and disturb ancient burial grounds in once-dry land beneath the Sound.
Officials today said there would be mitigation funds made available to the Indian tribes by the wind farm developer and by the state that may possibly be used for cultural activities.
Cape Wind has scheduled a 2:15 p.m. press conference at the Park Plaza Hotel in Boston. A live broadcast of the press conference may be available at Cape Wind's website: www.capewind.org.
There is no official word yet on plans today by wind farm foe Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound.
Elected officials and others weighed in this afternoon on Salazar's ruling:
· U.S. Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass.: “This day was a long time in coming, but I believe the future of wind power in the Massachusetts and the United States will be stronger knowing that the process was exhaustive, and that it was allowed to work and wind its way through the vetting at all levels with public input."
· U.S. Sen. Scott Brown, R-Mass.: "I am strongly opposed to the administration's misguided decision to move forward with Cape Wind," "While I support the concept of wind power as an alternative source of energy, Nantucket Sound is a national treasure that should be protected from industrialization."
· Massachusetts Republican Party Chairman Jennifer Nassour: "It's no surprise that Governor Deval Patrick would support such an imprudent decision on Cape Wind from his buddy President Obama. Instead of preserving the environmental sanctuary of the Cape Cod shoreline, Governor Patrick chose to line his campaign coffers and pay back National Grid and Cape Wind for their sweetheart deal. Governor Patrick should immediately return donations from National Grid executives.â€
· State Rep. Jeffrey Perry, R-Sandwich: "Secretary Salazar's approval of this project today is not the final step in the process. There is still a long way to go, and officials are jumping the gun if they think this project is a done deal."
· Marstons Mills resident and former Massachusetts Sen. Paul Kirk told the Boston Herald Tuesday night: "Nantucket Sound is a very special place for a lot of reasons." He added: "In this time of high unemployment and the need for job creation, we're talking about a lot of taxpayer subsidies for a project with (turbines) that are being manufactured offshore."
· American Wind Energy Association: "AWEA applauds Secretary Salazar for approving the Cape Wind project. Such forward-thinking decisions are necessary for the U.S. to realize the many environmental and economic benefits of offshore wind. The U.S. offshore wind industry will build on the success and the lessons learned from the nearly twenty years of experience in Europe to provide clean, pollution-free, electricity along the coasts and in the Great Lakes."
Cape Wind opponents also argue the project would have been a danger to public safety, hurt the environment and damage the region's tourism industry and real estate values.
Despite these objections, the federal government and the state of Massachusetts have returned largely favorable reviews of the project, including environmental studies that have found minimal impacts on wildlife. Cape Wind's supporters say the project, which could be the country's first offshore wind farm, will pave the way for clean energy sources and the fight against climate change.
The project could still be stymied if the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court decides in a case heard earlier this year to require more review by the state or the Cape Cod Commission. The Cape's regional planning and regulatory agency rejected the project on procedural grounds two years ago.
Cape Wind must also secure the Federal Aviation Administration's approval to locate the turbines in the Sound.
And, the company needs to sign an agreement to sell the power, a key to convincing investors and banks to back the project, which has been estimated to cost upwards of $2 billion. Negotiations with the utility about a power purchase agreement are ongoing.
Today's announcement comes as Salazar's boss and Patrick's good friend, President Barack Obama, makes a two-day, three-state Midwestern trip, focusing on his economic and clean-energy programs as job creators. Yesterday, the president toured the Iowa plant of a German company, Siemens, that makes blades for wind turbines and is set to supply turbines for the proposed Nantucket Sound wind farm.
Patrick said that Siemens will locate its headquarters for offshore wind projects in Massachusetts because of the Cape Wind project. There is already a testing center for large scale turbines under construction in Charlestown, according to the governor.
“We are on our way. ... The whole world will be our customer,†Patrick said in describing how Massachusetts will become a center for wind energy.
Opponents wanted the project moved out of Nantucket Sound. The late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, whose Hyannisport family compound is on Nantucket Sound, fought Cape Wind and termed it a special-interest giveaway and would mar a pristine landscape.
Times staff writer Karen Jeffrey and the Associated Press contributed to this story.
http://www.capecodonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100428/NEWS/4280326
BOSTON - US Interior Secretary Ken Salazar approved the proposed Nantucket Sound wind farm today, a move proponents herald as a giant leap forward and opponents decry as a dangerous misstep.
His approval is the culmination of nearly a decade of review by local, state and federal agencies of the plan to build 130 wind turbines on Horseshoe Shoal in the Sound.
The so-called “record of decision†to approve a lease for the plan by Cape Wind Associates, LLC, opens the door for an expected onslaught of lawsuits by the project's opponents.
"This will be the first of many projects up and down the Atlantic coast," Salazar said standing next to Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, a wind farm supporter.
Salazar said he was approving the Cape Wind project “with modifications that will protect the historical, cultural and environmental resources†of Nantucket Sound. Among these were the reduction of the project from 170 turbines to 130 turbines - a requirement the developer has already made to reduce the visual impact of the turbines - and to do additional marine archeological surveys.
The Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) restated their intention this week to pursue legal action if Salazar approved the project, saying that the decision is a “litmus test†for promises made by President Barack Obama's administration to the American Indian tribes. They argue that the 440-foot tall wind turbines will interfere with important sunrise ceremonies and disturb ancient burial grounds in once-dry land beneath the Sound.
Officials today said there would be mitigation funds made available to the Indian tribes by the wind farm developer and by the state that may possibly be used for cultural activities.
Cape Wind has scheduled a 2:15 p.m. press conference at the Park Plaza Hotel in Boston. A live broadcast of the press conference may be available at Cape Wind's website: www.capewind.org.
There is no official word yet on plans today by wind farm foe Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound.
Elected officials and others weighed in this afternoon on Salazar's ruling:
· U.S. Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass.: “This day was a long time in coming, but I believe the future of wind power in the Massachusetts and the United States will be stronger knowing that the process was exhaustive, and that it was allowed to work and wind its way through the vetting at all levels with public input."
· U.S. Sen. Scott Brown, R-Mass.: "I am strongly opposed to the administration's misguided decision to move forward with Cape Wind," "While I support the concept of wind power as an alternative source of energy, Nantucket Sound is a national treasure that should be protected from industrialization."
· Massachusetts Republican Party Chairman Jennifer Nassour: "It's no surprise that Governor Deval Patrick would support such an imprudent decision on Cape Wind from his buddy President Obama. Instead of preserving the environmental sanctuary of the Cape Cod shoreline, Governor Patrick chose to line his campaign coffers and pay back National Grid and Cape Wind for their sweetheart deal. Governor Patrick should immediately return donations from National Grid executives.â€
· State Rep. Jeffrey Perry, R-Sandwich: "Secretary Salazar's approval of this project today is not the final step in the process. There is still a long way to go, and officials are jumping the gun if they think this project is a done deal."
· Marstons Mills resident and former Massachusetts Sen. Paul Kirk told the Boston Herald Tuesday night: "Nantucket Sound is a very special place for a lot of reasons." He added: "In this time of high unemployment and the need for job creation, we're talking about a lot of taxpayer subsidies for a project with (turbines) that are being manufactured offshore."
· American Wind Energy Association: "AWEA applauds Secretary Salazar for approving the Cape Wind project. Such forward-thinking decisions are necessary for the U.S. to realize the many environmental and economic benefits of offshore wind. The U.S. offshore wind industry will build on the success and the lessons learned from the nearly twenty years of experience in Europe to provide clean, pollution-free, electricity along the coasts and in the Great Lakes."
Cape Wind opponents also argue the project would have been a danger to public safety, hurt the environment and damage the region's tourism industry and real estate values.
Despite these objections, the federal government and the state of Massachusetts have returned largely favorable reviews of the project, including environmental studies that have found minimal impacts on wildlife. Cape Wind's supporters say the project, which could be the country's first offshore wind farm, will pave the way for clean energy sources and the fight against climate change.
The project could still be stymied if the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court decides in a case heard earlier this year to require more review by the state or the Cape Cod Commission. The Cape's regional planning and regulatory agency rejected the project on procedural grounds two years ago.
Cape Wind must also secure the Federal Aviation Administration's approval to locate the turbines in the Sound.
And, the company needs to sign an agreement to sell the power, a key to convincing investors and banks to back the project, which has been estimated to cost upwards of $2 billion. Negotiations with the utility about a power purchase agreement are ongoing.
Today's announcement comes as Salazar's boss and Patrick's good friend, President Barack Obama, makes a two-day, three-state Midwestern trip, focusing on his economic and clean-energy programs as job creators. Yesterday, the president toured the Iowa plant of a German company, Siemens, that makes blades for wind turbines and is set to supply turbines for the proposed Nantucket Sound wind farm.
Patrick said that Siemens will locate its headquarters for offshore wind projects in Massachusetts because of the Cape Wind project. There is already a testing center for large scale turbines under construction in Charlestown, according to the governor.
“We are on our way. ... The whole world will be our customer,†Patrick said in describing how Massachusetts will become a center for wind energy.
Opponents wanted the project moved out of Nantucket Sound. The late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, whose Hyannisport family compound is on Nantucket Sound, fought Cape Wind and termed it a special-interest giveaway and would mar a pristine landscape.
Times staff writer Karen Jeffrey and the Associated Press contributed to this story.
Quite an interesting background to this. I grew up on Cape Cod until I hit 18, so obviously I'm familiar with the wind farm. I know a ton of people on both sides, and the issue itself is not inherently partisan... well, parts of it are, but as many places like to point out, the deceased Ted Kennedy was very much opposed to the wind farm, likely due to the real estate the Kennedy clan owns that looks out over Nantucket Sound. The Native American clan on Cape Cod is also opposed to it, although some of their stated reasons (such as sun rituals being interfered with by the turbines) have been debunked. Research by the American Corps of Engineers showed that no significant environmental harm would occur due to the turbines, although Salazar approved this with a reduction of 170 to 130 turbines and more surveys to be done.
There are reactions and opinions from a few of the names in MA in the article. Obviously it's not completely nonpartisan (FOX News's article on it had to use the word "controversial" 4 times to make sure it sunk in), but I think it's pretty neat. This entire legal debate has been going on for almost a decade, so it's nice that maybe they can finally start building now.
Edit: Not that it matters, but I feel squarely in the "for" category here. Ever since high school the majority of people my age couldn't understand all the crying from opponents. Almost all of it came down to NIMBYism; the most vocal folks owned real estate on the shore that they used only during the summer, and as they cried crocodile tears over preserving Cape Cod's history and environment, they drove around in gas-guzzlers to the newest McDonald's plopped down by the beach. Bah humbug to them, I say. Kennedy clan included.
Edited, Apr 28th 2010 2:21pm by LockeColeMA