Cape Wind
Harnessing wind power is essential to protecting our oceans, our beaches and our communities from the continuing damage caused by pollution from fossil fuel-fired power plants, including the compelling threat of global warming caused by greenhouse gas pollution. New England is fortunate to have bountiful wind energy resources, both on land and offshore.
In 2001, Cape Wind Associates proposed a 130 turbine wind farm in federal waters in Nantucket Sound. The Cape Wind project will generate up to 454 megawatts of power - enough electricity to meet 75 percent of the annual electricity needs of Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket. The wind farm proposal has undergone years of rigorous environmental and permitting review led by the federal Minerals Management Service (MMS), in consultation with more than a dozen other federal and state agencies, and has secured a comprehensive permit from the Massachusetts Energy Facilities Siting Board. The project requires a favorable Record of Decision and lease from MMS prior to construction and operation.
Based on careful study of the environmental review for the project, including the federal Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS), CLF believes Cape Wind’s benefits will far outweigh its impacts. In addition, Cape Wind is a critically important clean energy project because of the significant amount of clean energy it will supply and because it is a pioneering project that will serve as a beacon for future clean renewable energy development in the region. CLF and other environmental and clean energy stakeholders thus have had good reason to work for many years to ensure that the environmental review for the project is fair, rigorous and timely. Unfortunately, project opponents have engaged in numerous strategies to derail not just the Cape Wind project, but also the mere consideration of this and all future wind farm proposals. Opposition tactics have included lawsuits challenging the regulatory review process; legislative attempts to ban offshore wind development; and political maneuvers to prevent release of key environmental review documents. CLF is pleased that each of these tactics has fallen short, and we will continue to advocate for fair process leading to final approval.
Contacts:
Susan Reid
Director, MA Clean Energy & Climate Change Initiative
Shanna Cleveland
Staff Attorney
Seth Kaplan
Vice President for Climate Advocacy
Featured Advocacy Documents:
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