Proposed offshore wind farm near Cape Cod to take a big step forward

Articles — By forcechange on December 2, 2008 5:27 pm

A giant offshore wind farm in the waters near Cape Cod is expected to take a big step forward this week with the anticipated approval of the final environmental review by the federal Minerals Management Service.  If this project moves forward, it will be the first offshore wind farm in the United States. 

The 130 turbine, 170 MW wind farm is planned for the waters of Nantucket Sound and will be positioned about five to eight miles offshore.  The project is being built by Cape Wind and will cost around $1 billion and could open by 2011 if the process does not get tied up in court.

Unfortunately, a group of local NIMBYs are seeking to block the project, arguing that the 440 foot turbines would depress their property values and deter tourists.  Whether the project is able to move forward or is sued to death by obstructionists should provide a good indication to other developers as to the viability of future offshore wind projects.  As is usually the case, these self-interested homeowners will probably misuse important environmental laws to find holes in the process instead of the substance of the project.  Hopefully the courts and government leaders won’t allow that to stand in the way of the project.  In these situations, everyone should have a voice in the debate, just not a veto.

Note: the above photo is a computer generation of what the wind farm will look like from on-shore. The video below is a Greenpeace ad in support of the project.