Nantucket Sound Offshore Wind Farm Passes Critical Hurdle

A $1 billion plan to build an offshore wind farm near Cape Cod on the Massachusetts coastline has passed a critical state hurdle, a major victory for a developer that has endured a seven-year regulatory process and a well-financed campaign to kill the project. The Massachusetts Energy Facilities Siting Board unanimously approved Cape Wind Associates’ plan, which would plant 130 wind turbines over a 24-square-mile area of Nantucket Sound, a shallow area of water that sits within view of resort communities on the Cape, Nantucket, and Martha’s Vineyard. A coalition of politicians, business owners, and fishermen have challenged the project, saying the turbines would pose a threat to wildlife, fishing boats, and the local tourist economy. Cape Wind Associates is now awaiting approval from the U.S. Department of the Interior, which just last month released the long-awaited guidelines for leasing areas offshore for energy projects. In January, the project received a favorable review from the Interior Department’s Minerals Management Service, which concluded that the project would have minimal negative impact. If approved, the project would power 400,000 homes.