Cape Wind Project Approval Brings Cheers and Jeers
Cape Cod is known for a number of things, including the Kennedy Compound and being the setting for the "Jaws" franchise. The next thing added to that list will be the first offshore wind turbine farm.
This week, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar approved the 130-turbine Cape Wind project and as a result, there were cheers and jeers.
Proponents of the project say that Cape Wind will produce 468 megawatts (MW) of electricity, about the same as a medium-sized coal-fired power plant.
"Approval," Kit Kennedy tells OnEarth.org, "is a green light for developing offshore wind power." As head of the air and energy program at NRDC, Kennedy has been a leading advocate for developing a clean source of energy while protecting the ocean ecosystem in and around Nantucket Sound. "Secretary Salazar said as much on Wednesday," adds Kennedy. "He pointed out that Cape Wind was just the first of many offshore wind projects planned for the east coast."
Despite the value the Cape Wind project will bring in terms of alternative energy, it doesn't compare to others around the country. For example, there's a wind farm in Texas that creates 780 MW and one in Iowa, that has generated up to 2,661 MW in 2008 - five-and-a-half times greater than what Cape Wind's capacity will be when operational. Compared to the nation's total installed wind capacity (25,000 MW), Cape Wind doesn't compare.
However, naysayers argue that the numbers aren't what's at play here. It's the fact that this wind farm has set the precedence for future, offshore wind farms that opponents say are an eye sore.
Tom Cahill, a vocal Massachusetts Gubernatorial candidate is one such naysayer, pointing out that this is more of an opportunity for business than saving energy.
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