Cape Wind: Ken Salazar Approves Horseshoe Shoal, Nantucket Sound

by NowPublic Staff | April 28, 2010 at 11:19 am

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Cape Wind Project: Ken Salazar Approves Wind Farm For Horseshoe Shoal Site in Nantucket Sound

Despite years of opposition from the Kennedy family, to local Indian tribes, the controversial Cape Wind Energy Project was given the green light by Ken Salazar, the United States Secretary of the Interior on Wednesday.

The Cape Wind energy farm is located about 5 miles off the coast of Massachusetts at Horseshoe Shoal in Nantucket Sound.

"This project fits with the tradition of sustainable development in the area," Salazar said in Boston.

Although small in terms of its production -- the $1 billion facility would produce enough electricity to power about 400,000 houses -- its approval raises hopes that other offshore wind projects will follow.

To power those 400,000 homes Cape Wind will leverage 130 turbines which will generate 420 megawatts of power. The Cape Wind turbines are 400 feet high and will occupy a massive 24 square miles but Cape Wind Associates which owns the Cape Wind Project still has some more work to do.

Without providing specific details, Salazar said project developers will be required to undergo more marine and archaeological reviews and take steps to reduce the turbines’ visibility from the shore. He also said the project would be reduced in size from 170 to 130 wind turbines - a “change” that surprised many because the size of the project had been reduced long ago. Salazar said the conditions are “stringent,” but the project’s nine-year review has been thorough.

Opposition to the Cape Wind Energy Farm came from high profile names like Robert Kennedy Jr. whose family owns property on Martha's Vineyard that will soon have a view of the wind farm is opposed to the new energy project but it the criticism does not end there.

Criticism has come from the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound who state that Nantucket Sound is known worldwide for its wildlife and natural beauty.[19] In addition, they state that the proposed wind farm would be located near shipping lanes. The Cape Cod Commission has also sought to block the plan. The Massachusetts Fishermen's Partnership (a combination of several fishing organizations) has also spoken out against the project. Local fishermen are also nearly unanimously against the project, citing the fact that for many of them, up to 60% of their annual income comes from catch caught on Horseshoe Shoals, which they claim would disappear and would have to be replaced by steaming to fishing grounds farther out to sea if the project is completed.

Public opinion surveys show that a vast majority of the residents of Massachusetts support the Cape Wind Energy Project.