Cape Wind

The Cape Wind Project is a proposed offshore wind farm on Horseshoe Shoal in Nantucket Sound off Cape Cod in Massachusetts (41.542°N 70.321°W / 41.542; -70.321). If the project moves forward on schedule, it will become one of the first offshore wind farms in the United States.

A 2007 public opinion survey found that more than four out of five Massachusetts residents (84 percent) -- including 58 percent of those who live on the Cape and on the Islands -- explicitly support "the proposed Cape Wind offshore wind farm that would involve wind turbines being placed in Nantucket Sound about five and a half miles from the Town of Hyannis." A June 2006 survey posed the same question and found 81 percent support statewide and 61 percent in Cape Cod/the Islands.

A recent book by Wendy Williams argues that the fight over Cape Wind involves a powerful, privileged minority imposing their will on the majority.

Overview

Cape Wind is a $900 million renewable energy project proposed by a private developer, Cape Wind Associates. The project will build the first offshore wind energy plant in the United States. If constructed, it would also be the largest such project to date.

The footprint for the proposed project covers 24 square miles, 13.8 miles from the island town of Nantucket. The project envisions 130 wind turbines, each 247 feet in height — about 80% of the height the Statue of Liberty, which stands at 305 feet. The highest blade tip height will be 417 feet above the surface of the water. The turbines would be sited between 4-11 miles offshore depending on the shoreline and would be visible on the horizon as half a degree high. At peak generation, the turbines will generate 420 megawatts of renewable electricity. This is enough to meet the needs of 420,000 homes. The project is expected to produce an average of 170 megawatts of electricity at any given time, about 75% of the average electricity demand for Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard, and Nantucket island. It could offset close to a million tons carbon dioxide every year and should produce enough electricity to offset the consumption of 113 million gallons of oil annually. [3]

Currently 45% of the Cape region's electricity comes from the nearby Canal Power Plant in Sandwich [4], which burns bunker oil and natural gas.[5][6] The Cape Wind proposal is relatively unique in that it would directly offset petroleum usage unlike most of the country where electrical power generation from oil is rare.

One of the reasons supporters like this project has to do with the potential for less oil to be used or shipped to the Cape Cod power plant. Fuel for this plant has been part of two major oil spills, the first on December 15, 1976 when the tanker Argo Merchant ran aground southeast of Nantucket Island, Massachusetts spilling 7.7 million U.S. gallons (29,000 m³) of oil. [7] Another oil spill occurred in April 2003, when a Bouchard Company barge carrying oil for the Mirant Canal Generating Plant ran aground spilling 98,000 gallons of oil, which killed 450 birds and shutdown 100,000 acres (400 km²) of shell fishing beds.[8], [9]

Controversy

Supporters of the project, led by the non-profit grassroots organization Clean Power Now[10], cite wind's ability to displace oil and gas consumption with clean, locally produced energy and claim the project is the best option for much needed new generating capacity in the region. It would supply 75% of the average electrical needs of Cape Cod and the Islands. The Massachusetts Audubon Society conditionally endorsed the project in March 2006 as safe for birds, but asked for further studies.[11]

On March 29, 2007, Secretary Ian Bowles, Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Economic Affairs, determined that the Cape Wind Final Environmental Impact Report submitted on the project adequately and properly complies with the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act and with its implementing regulations.

Criticism has come mainly from the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound who state that Nantucket Sound is known worldwide for its wildlife and natural beauty.[12] In addition, they state that the proposed wind farm would be located near shipping lanes. Other opponents include some prominent individuals who normally support sustainable energy. Proponents suggest that some of this opposition is motivated in part by ownership of real-estate on Nantucket, Martha's Vineyard or the mainland and that it raises issues of environmental justice. Robert Kennedy, Jr., whose family's Kennedy Compound is within sight of the proposed wind farm, wrote an essay stating his support for wind power in general, but opposing this project. It was published in the New York Times op-ed page on December 16, 2005.[13] The amount of controversy misrepresents the view of most Massachusetts citizens: 81% of adults support the project, 61% of Cape Cod residents support it, and only 14% of adults oppose it.[14]

Public opinion survey results

A 2007 Opinion Research Corporation (ORC) survey of 600 state residents found that nine out of 10 Massachusetts residents (93 percent) agree that the state should be "a national leader in using cleaner and renewable energy on a large scale by moving ahead with offshore wind power" and other clean energy initiatives. This statement is supported by 78 percent of those who live on the Cape and on the Islands.

The 2007 ORC survey also found that more than four out of five Massachusetts residents (84 percent) -- including 58 percent of those who live on the Cape and on the Islands -- explicitly support "the proposed Cape Wind offshore wind farm that would involve wind turbines being placed in Nantucket Sound about five and a half miles from the Town of Hyannis." (A June 2006 survey posed the same question and found 81 percent support statewide and 61 percent in Cape Cod/the Islands.)

In 2007, more than three out of four Massachusetts residents surveyed (78 percent) -- and 61 percent of those living on the Cape and on the Islands -- support wind as the best energy resource to provide electricity to Cape Cod and the Islands. Statewide, the support for other alternatives was as follows: nuclear (10 percent); coal (4 percent); and other (5 percent).

Clean renewable energy is widely supported over nuclear power in Massachusetts, including on the Cape and on the Islands. Massachusetts residents would prefer to see solar power (91 percent), more energy conservation (90 percent), and wind power (89 percent) used first before resorting to more nuclear power. On the Cape and on the Islands, the views were very similar, with strong support for wind power (75 percent); conservation (81 percent); and solar (84 percent).

2007 survey results are based on telephone interviews conducted among a sample of 600 householders aged 18 and over. Interviewing was completed by Opinion Research Corporation, for the Newton-based Civil Society Institute, during July and August 2007.

Current status

Cape Wind received final environmental approval from the Commonwealth of Massachusettes on March 30, 2007.[15] Federal review is still required.

Cape Wind originally applied for a permit under Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 with the US Army Corps of Engineers in 2001. The Army Corps eventually presented a draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). In a public comment period, many Federal agencies, local governments, and community groups found the draft EIS to have deficiencies. Due to passage of the 2005 Energy Bill, the regulatory authority for off-shore energy projects has been transferred from the Army Corps to the Minerals Management Service (MMS) within the Department of Interior. Whereas Cape Wind had expected to obtain approval quickly from the Army Corps, this transfer of authority to the MMS has delayed the project. The MMS should issue a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) in the spring of 2007 followed by a 60 day comment period and public hearings. The Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR) should be completed in late 2007 and a final decision rendered in early 2008.

2006 Coast Guard Authorization bill "poison pill" amendment

Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska) and U.S. Senator Edward M Kennedy (D-Massachusetts) added a section to a Coast Guard reauthorization bill that would have banned any offshore wind project that is sited within 1.5 miles of a shipping channel, effectively killing the project. Young suggested that Cape Wind could pose a hazard to navigation. Kennedy was accused of taking a NIMBY approach as he has a home on the Cape. [16]

During conference on the Coast Guard bill, lawmakers agreed to a more narrow prohibition that would simply allow either the Coast Guard or the governor of Massachusetts to stop the Cape Wind project specifically. The break in the talks came after Republican Senator Gordon H. Smith (R-Oregon) backed the measure, breaking a stalemate.

The amendment has been attached to a broad Coast Guard authorization bill that faces floor votes in the House and the Senate, where its future remains unclear. [17] In a letter dated May 5, 2006, Under Secretary of Energy David K. Garman opposed the amendment on behalf of the Bush administration and said "singling out wind generation in this manner could have a chilling impact on the continued investment and growth of this promising renewable energy resource." (Boston Globe, May 6)

Some members of the Massachusetts delegation to the United States Congress and former Governor of Massachusetts Mitt Romney are opposed to the Cape Wind project. However, current Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick has expressed strong support for the project in addition to other renewable energy projects.

2006 election

Cape Wind was an issue in the 2006 election for Governor of Massachusetts. The winner, Democrat Deval Patrick, supported the project; his Republican opponent, former Lieutenant Governor Kerry Healey, opposed it. [18] [19]

Movies

In 2003 a documentary film entitled Wind Over Water about the controversy over the Cape Wind Project was released. The film by journalist Ole Tangen Jr. chronicled the debate as it unfolded on the Cape. An independent production, the filmmaker interviewed subjects from both sides of the debate including Jim Gordon of Cape Wind and Isaac Rosen, then director of the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound. Focusing also on wind power in general, Wind Over Water features aerial footage of the offshore wind farm at Horns Rev in Denmark and footage from various wind farms in the U.S. On December 6, 2003 the film made its world and Cape Cod premiere at the Lillie Auditorium in Woods Hole. Even The Daily Show has covered the Cape Wind project.[[20]]

Books

Wendy Williams and Robert Whitcomb have recently written a book about the project's history called Cape Wind: Money, Celebrity, Class, Politics and the Battle for Our Energy Future on Nantucket Sound. The authors argue that the fight over Cape Wind represents the broader problem here in the U.S. of a powerful, privileged minority imposing their will on the majority.

Other Cape Cod wind projects

According to a report in the Boston Globe, May 24, 2006, Jay M. Cashman, owner of a large construction company that built part of the Big Dig, proposes to build a $750 million wind farm in Buzzards Bay, about 20 miles west of the proposed Cape Wind site. The Cashman farm would be closer (2 mi) to shore and would consist of 120 turbines, each 450 foot tall. The projected generation capacity is 300 MW. According to the Globe, some opponents of the Cape Wind project have expressed interest in the Cashman plan.[21]

See also

• wind power
• NIMBY
• Energy Policy Act of 2005

External links

• Cape Wind Project Page
• Clean Power Now - a pro-project advocacy group
• Hull Mass. Wind Project Page
• Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound - 501(c)(3) nonprofit "environmental" organization dedicated to the long-term preservation of Nantucket Sound. See this for more information
• Review of Cape Wind Project by local resident
• Draft Environmental Impact Statement - Produced by the US Army Corps of Engineers
• Comments on the DEIS - Nearly 5,000 Written Comments
• [22] The Counter Cape Wind Blog
• Windstop.org anti-project advocacy group
• MIT MIT Research on Stakeholder Participation in the Cape Wind Project
• Cape Wind poll
• capecodonline.com Statewide poll: 80% support Cape Wind plan (inactive link, 14 November 2006)
• Boston Globe Audubon Society supports Cape Wind.
• Massive Offshore Wind Turbines Safe for Birds
• OffshoreWind.net A list of proposed North American offshore wind projects