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Cape Wind to begin construction before year is out

It should take about two years to construct the Cape Wind offshore wind farm

Construction on America’s first offshore wind farm could begin before the year is out, after this week’s approval of the 468-megawatt Cape Wind project.

Consent was given by US Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar on Wednesday for the 130-turbine proposal for the Horseshoe Shoal area of Nantucket Sound, off the coast of Massachusetts (see this BrighterEnergy.org story).

Commenting after the decision, Cape Wind Associates president Jim Gordon said: “Secretary Salazar’s decision today to approve Cape Wind has launched the American offshore wind industry.

“It allows our nation to harness an abundant and inexhaustible clean energy source for greater energy independence, a healthier environment and green jobs.”

The power plant developer added: “We hope to begin construction of Cape Wind before the end of the year.”

Construction is expected to take two years or less.

Once complete, the wind farm is expectedt generate around 1.5 million megawatt-hours of renewable electricity each year, or enough to supply about 230,000 homes.

Consultants have suggested the project could cut $800 million off New England electricity bills over a two-decade period.

Regulatory framework

The US, which gets a little less than 2% of its electricity from wind power at present, has not yet installed a single turbine offshore. By comparison, Europe now has 830 offshore wind turbines up and running, providing just over 2,000MW of rated power.

A number of projects are in the early stages of development in the US, for proposed locations along the East Coast and in the Great Lakes.

However, with no history of offshore wind development in this country, one of the big tests was whether a project could get through the regulatory and permitting process.

Some nine years in the making, the Cape Wind decision will now offer confidence to other offshore wind project developers.

Mr Gordon said: “Going first is never easy and Cape Wind is proud of the role we played in raising awareness for what will become a major component of our energy future and in helping the United States develop a regulatory framework for this new exciting industry.”

Opponents

Going first is never easy” – Jim Gordon, Cape Wind

Reacting to the “crucial milestone”, the Cape Wind developer was grateful for the support of leading groups and Massachusetts citizens, but added his hope that opponents of the project could somehow get on board.

Mr Gordon said: “While this project was exhaustively analyzed and debated and even with Federal and State approvals demonstrating the significant environmental and economic benefits of Cape Wind, we recognize there are some local opponents who disagree with Secretary Salazar’s decision.

“We appreciate their involvement in helping to shape the project and we now reach out to ask them to join the community and country in ushering in a new era of environmental stewardship, energy security and prosperity,” Mr Gordon added.

Cape Wind completed State and local permitting in 2009, the project is to use 3.6MW-rated turbines produced by German multinational manufacturer Siemens, which are already being used in offshore wind farms in Europe.

Opponents to the project include two Native American groups in the Cape Cod area, who have said the 400-foot-tall turbines would impact on their cultural and religious requirement for a pristine horizon to the south-east.

The groups are currently considering their next steps in responding to the offshore wind project’s consent (see this BrighterEnergy.org story).