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Green light for $1bn Cape Wind offshore wind farm

Ken Salazar said he believed the public benefits of the Cape Wind project would outweigh its impacts

Cape Wind, America’s first offshore wind project was approved yesterday by the Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salazar in an important decision for the US offshore wind industry.

The $1 billion project is to build 130 wind turbines on the Horseshoe Shoal in Nantucket Sound, off the coast of Massachusetts.

Approval came with conditions to minimize the potential impacts from construction and operation of the facility.

In his decision, Sec. Salazar had to weigh up the environmental and economic benefits of the 468-megawatt renewable energy project against the claims that the 400-foot-tall turbines will disrupt a sacred site for Native American tribes in the Cape Cod area.

Sec Salazar also had to consider the views of the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, which had recommended refusal for the project based on its impact on the views from historic sites in the area (see this BrighterEnergy.org story).

The Secretary for the Interior said he disagreed with the Council’s view.

Explaining his decision, Sec. Salazar said that after careful consideration, he believed the public benefits “weigh in favor” of approval for the project.

“Importance”

Announcing his decision at the State House in Boston, Sec. Salazar said: “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.”

Covering 25 square miles of ocean, 5.2 miles from the mainland shoreline, 13.8 miles from Nantucket Island and 9 miles from Martha’s Vineyard, the project is expected to average 182MW generating capacity.

Using wind turbines made by German manufacturer Siemens, the Cape Wind project is expected to generate enough power to provide 75% of the electricity supply for nearby Cape Cod, Martha’s ineyard and Nantucket Island, or enough power for 200,000 homes.

It is expected to create several hundred construction jobs,  cutting carbon dioxide emissions from conventional power plants by 700,000 tons annually.

The Department of the Interior said it would have the equivalent environmental impact to taking 175,000 cars off the road for a year.

Approval for the project could open the door to other offshore wind proposals in America’s Atlantic waters, which the Department suggested could see a million megawatts of capacity developed, creating “thousands of manufacturing, construction and operations jobs”.

Tribes

Sec. Salazar insisted his Department had taken “extraordinary” steps to evaluate the claims of the Wampanoag Tribes that said the wind farm would impact their culture and traditions.

In a concession to the tribes, he has required that Cape Wind Associates, the developer of the project, change its design and wind turbine configuration to “diminish the visual effects of the project” as well as carrying out more seabed surveys to make sure no archaeological resources are disturbed by the development.

If anything is found on the surveys, development would be halted, he said.

Sec. Salazar said: “After almost a decade of exhaustive study and analyses, I believe that this undertaking can be developed responsibly and with consideration to the historic and cultural resources in the project area.

“Impacts to the historic properties can and will be minimized and mitigated and we will ensure that cultural resources will not be harmed or destroyed during the construction, maintenance, and decommissioning of the project,” he added.

Nantucket Sound is already a “working landscape”, he said, with “significant commercial, recreational and other resource-intensive activities”, and has existing tall structures like broadcasting towers.

This bold step sends a signal that the United States is serious about securing its energy future” - Tom King, National Grid

“Visual and physical impacts associated with Nantucket Sound and its associated shorelines abound; it is not an untouched landscape,” said the Department.

National Grid

Power utility National Grid, which is expected to buy the generated electricity, said approval for the project marked an “historic step forward” for the facility.

Tom King, President of National Grid, said: “This bold step by the Obama administration sends a signal that the United States is serious about securing its energy future and is willing to take action to make that happen.”

The British company said renewable energy would help mitigate climate change, increase domestic energy supplies, and benefit customers and communities by providing a “cleaner, more secure energy future”.

“That is why we have been working to negotiate a power purchase agreement with Cape Wind. Our negotiations are going very well and we are optimistic that we will have more to say about our progress in the near future,” said Mr King.