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The Cape Wind offshore wind power project has been the most contested renewable energy project in the country to date. It seems every couple of weeks brings a new objection to the project which would install 130 turbines off the coast of Cape Cod in Nantucket Sound. But Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar has said he will issue a final decision on the project by April, putting an end to almost ten years of fighting.
Cape Wind stands to be the country's first major offshore wind installation. First announced in 2001, a series of complaints and lawsuits have held it back, mainly coming from groups who believe the wind farm, set to rise 440 feet above the surface, will ruin the natural beauty of the sound, and American Indian tribes who use the sound as part of their rituals.
Salazar will have to consider all of the complaints against just as many petitions from groups urging approval of the project.
In defense of the project, the designers have produced scale models of what the project would look like from the nearest shorelines (the closest is pictured above), and the turbines are barely visible. Also, the area is well-suited for wind power. The project would have a capacity of 420 MW and at average wind speeds for the area, could produce three-quarters of the Cape and Islands' electricity needs. But that doesn't mean some of the objections aren't valid. It will be a tough decision for Salazar and I don't envy his position.
For a refresher on the project here's a nice rundown.
via NY Times
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written by Wind Technician, January 14, 2010
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written by RON BEATY, January 15, 2010
As a colonial-rooted Cape Cod native who firmly believes in the sanctity of our maritime heritage, I am writing to ardently express my steadfast support for the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound. Based upon sensible logic, data and reasoning, I am also conversely opposed to the controversial Cape Wind Project which seeks to despoil and rob us of the pristine nautical legacy bestowed by our forefathers. As a result of the likely profound damaging regional financial, ecological and public safety consequences Cape Wind would wrought upon us all, it should not be allowed to proceed forward to fruition.
The project poses a cogent danger to essential air and sea navigation. Siting the project in Nantucket Sound is a breach of the public trust. Contrary to their sham claims, the cost of the electricity which the project will produce would not be cheap or competitive. It would be an unbearable fiscal burden hoisted upon us without our sanction or consent. Furthermore, it will represent a deleterious local economic blow by it's absconding of undeserved taxpayer-funded subsidies, forced real estate devaluations, and lost revenues from commercial and tourism activities. The proposed one hundred thirty wind turbines will perpetually cause unsightly visual contamination and distressing noise pollution. Finally, Cape Wind will unnecessarily endanger a critical marine and wildlife habitat.
Off-shore deep water wind has surfaced as a cost-effective and technologically feasible option in lieu of the Nantucket Sound situated Cape Wind Project. Cape Wind has chosen a location which possesses countless expenses as well as hazards to public safety, the marine environment, and the local economy. Deeper-water sites offer more powerful winds and the advantages of clean renewable energy without surrendering the irreplaceable natural beauty of Nantucket Sound.
More distantly sited off-shore locations guarantee the advantages of clean wind power without many of the harmful effects of close-shore siting. Furthermore, there would be little harmful impact upon air and marine navigational safety and local tourist-based economies.
In 2007, the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) estimated a total off-shore wind energy resource of over 1000 GW. The potential for deep water locations greater than 30 m (or 100 feet) is enormous. Approximately ninety percent of the off-shore wind potential in the United States resides in deep water.
With the aforesaid thoughtful rationales in mind, along with the inherently unfair and inequitable nature of the proposed Cape Wind Project itself, it must not become a reality which will forever doom our children and grandchildren to a ghastly socially inhumane legacy.
Ron Beaty
West Barnstable, MA
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written by Ida, January 26, 2010
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written by Daniel D Martin, February 12, 2010
They are probably so rich they do not see the real threat of staying behind on WIND ,SOLAR AND GEOPOWER GENERATION only road together with nuclear to free us from oil import dependency and trade and budget deficits
GET IT MORONS,THIS PROJECTS ARE NO LUXURY !
WE NEED THEM TO STAY AS A TOP WORLD COUNTRY!
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written by Daniel D Martin, February 12, 2010
WE JUST NEED TO IMPROVE OUR TRANSMISSION LINES AND INTRODUCE WIDELY ELECTRIC CARS THAT WILL BE CHARGED AT NIGHT TIME WHEN CONSUMPTION IS USUALLY SMALLER AND WINDS ARE STRONGER
WIND POWERIS SPECIALLY BENEFITIAL TO RURAL NORTH COMUNITIES AND FARMS THATWILL NOT DEPEND ON THE GRID FOR ITS ELECTRICITY IN HARSH WINTER MONTHS ,EXACTLY WHEN THE WINDS ARE STRONGER TOO
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