America might finally catch up to Europe and Asia with offshore wind farms. The US federal government finally green lighted a project today that will bring a 24 square mile 130-turbine farm to the waters 5 miles off the coast of Cape Cod in Nantuket Sound. It’s said to generate 75% of Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, and Nantuket’s power requirement. Great, right?
Well even though it’s been approved by state and federal government, okay’d by both Greenpeace and the Sierra Club, the project is still controversial and bound to be tied up in the courts for years.
Everyone from local governments to the Kennedy’s to the coastal Wamponag tribe along with countless environmentalist groups are against the project. Their complaints range from killing the pristine view and therefore harming the tourism industry to violating tribal rights by prohibiting unobstructed views of the sunrise in the case of the Indians.
Needless to say don’t expect the wind farm to go up over night. It will be held up until every group either has its time in court or is bought-out. But hopefully when it does go up, it will clear the way for similar wind farms. It’s progress, people. Just get out of the way.