First U.S. wind farm approved for Nantucket sound over local objections

FILE - The sun rises over Nantucket Sound as seen from Popponesset Beach
in Mashpee, Mass., on Cape Cod. U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar 
cleared the way for the construction of a 130-turbine wind farm in the Sound.
(AP Photo/Julia Cumes, File)

WASHINGTON - April 30, 2010 - Surviving a ten year struggle, Cape Wind Associates have conquered the concerned descendants of Pilgrims and hostile, Native Americans to gain approval for a 130 turbine wind farm located six miles off Hyannis Port, Massachusetts in as little as 12 feet of water.

Cape Wind Associates will harness energy from the wind to add an hourly average of 182 electric megawatts to the power distribution grid. All energy must be converted to BTUs (British Thermal Units) to properly assess its positive contribution to the national energy deficit. Multiplied out, Cape Wind will add 5.5 trillion BTUs to America’s reliable energy resources. Put another way, it replaces about 930 million barrels of imported oil over the course of a year, every year once in operation.

Nearby residents opposed the wind farm because they said it would hinder their view of the ocean.

According to Cape Wind Associates Communications Director Mark Rogers, the 400 foot tall turbines are located far enough out to sea that they will appear about as tall from the shoreline as an NFL referee from the top row of Patriot's stadium.

The turbines sit in water too shallow for most sailboats or large motorized ships to navigate. Blades will most closely approach the water about eight stories above a calm sea.

U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, right, announces approval of the nation's first
offshore wind farm, off Cape Cod, as Massachusetts. 
(AP Photo/Steven Senne)

The 130 supporting poles will be pounded into the seabed like huge nails driven with Paul Bunyan’s sledge hammer. Rogers says that the process should be completed within two months after construction begins and even then, the sound should not be audible on shore.

The project will create several hundred construction jobs when it begins in 2011. Post construction, about 40 permanent jobs are created.

The almost final decision to go ahead was announced earlier this week by Secretary of the Interior Salazar.

“After careful consideration of all the concerns expressed during the lengthy review and consultation process and thorough analyses of the many factors involved, I find that the public benefits weigh in favor of approving the Cape Wind project at the Horseshoe Shoal location,” Salazar said in an announcement at the State House in Boston.

All permitting is complete as soon as operational plans are submitted and approved to local governmental agencies. Construction will begin next spring.

“With this decision we are beginning a new direction in our Nation’s energy future, ushering in America’s first offshore wind energy facility and opening a new chapter in the history of this region.”

The Cape Wind project would be the first wind farm on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf, generating enough power to meet 75 percent of the electricity demand for Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket Island combined. The project would create several hundred construction jobs and be one of the largest greenhouse gas reduction initiatives in the nation, cutting carbon dioxide emissions from conventional power plants by 700,000 tons annually. That is equivalent to removing 175,000 cars from the road for a year.

Salazar said he understood and respected the views of the Tribes and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, but noted that as Secretary of the Interior, he must balance broad, national public interest priorities in his decisions.

“The need to preserve the environmental resources and rich cultural heritage of Nantucket Sound must be weighed in the balance with the importance of developing new renewable energy sources and strengthening our Nation’s energy security while battling climate change and creating jobs,” Salazar said.

Rogers said that the 130 wind turbines will be purchased from Siemens after being manufactured in Denmark. No wind turbines for marine use are currently manufactured in the United States. Cape Wind marks the first marine project in the U.S. Marine wind farms are better established in Europe.

Earlier this week, President Obama visited a factory which makes blades for Siemens turbines in Ft. Madison Iowa.

Marine wind farms take advantage of stronger winds during daylight hours when peak loads more typically occur.

Al Portner is a former daily newspaper editor and publisher in seven states and author of the forthcoming “Mark Twain and the Tale of Grant’s Memoir.” Portner is also the proprietor of The Assignment Desk, LLC and provides writers, editors, and photographers for numerous kinds of contract projects from proposals and speeches to public relations and journalism. Reach him at alanportner@gmail.com.