Today, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court decided to uphold the comprehensive permit for Cape Wind’s transmission lines issued by the state’s Energy Facilities Siting Board (EFSB)–a welcome and much-anticipated milestone for the nation’s first major offshore wind energy project. CLF has been actively involved in moving the ball forward on Cape Wind throughout its nine-year review and permitting process, and we’re thrilled that Cape Wind will finally have an opportunity to to move forward and provide Massachusetts with clean, renewable power.
Here’s what CLF Staff Attorney Shanna Cleveland had to say on the subject:
“The Court thoroughly reviewed the extensive record in this case and correctly concluded that the state siting board rigorously scrutinized the project and fulfilled its obligation to safeguard the public trust. Cape Wind will provide electricity without producing any harmful greenhouse gas emissions, and its clean energy benefits are expected to significantly outweigh its impacts. The Court’s affirmation of Cape Wind’s comprehensive state permit is a significant step on the path toward a clean energy future for New England and the nation.”
Frank Haggerty
For years Cape Wind Associates, which plans to build 130 wind turbines in Nantucket Sound, told us that it could supply renewable energy to the New England market and save ratepayers $25 million a year!
Now we learn , ratepayers are going to end up paying $82 million annually more than what they currently pay for the power to be supplied by Cape Wind. That is far cry from paying the $25 million less that Cape Wind originally promised. It’s a case of bait-and-switch !
The country has evidently arrived at a point in its legal culture where no negative consequences seem to exist for making false or misleading claims to sell wind energy—the stuff dreams are made of. But industrial wind is a bunco scheme of enormous consequence. And people who value intellectual honesty should not quietly be fleeced by such mendacity, even from their government
CLF’s Shanna Cleveland discusses Cape Wind on NECN [video] | CLF Scoop
[...] }); }Watch CLF Staff Attorney Shanna Cleveland discuss the recent Supreme Judicial Court victory for Cape Wind on NECN’s “Broadside” TV program with Chet Curtis (standing in for [...]