Clash Could Blow Cape Cod Wind Farm Out of the Water

A proposed 130-turbine wind farm off Cape Cod has long been criticized by residents who have said it would spoil their view. But the project took an even harder blow from the Massachusetts Historical Commission recently when it agreed with a local Indian tribe that the location should be considered for listing—and protection—in the National Historic Register.

 

Cape Wind, which is operated by a group of investors, has spent $40 million in the last eight years. The project is expected to have a total price tag of $1 billion and would receive support in the form of a tax credit or cash subsidy. The proposed 130 offshore turbines would provide 75% of the electricity used on the Cape.

 

Two Wampanoag Indian tribes argue that the location is historically and culturally linked to their society and should be protected with an Historic Register listing. The commission agreed and is expected to make a decision on the question of the sound's eligibility for traditional cultural property status.

 

If the commission rules in favor of the tribes, the effect on future wind farms along the east coast could be enormous.

 

"If the tribes are successful, that would have a severe chilling effect (on the entire wind industry) because tribes up and down the coast could make the same claim," Cape Wind Communications Director Mark Rodgers said in a CNET news article.

 

The U.S. Minerals Management Service, in an environmental review, earlier determined that the commission should not rule in favor of protection because the effects on the view would be minor and because no historic archaeological resources were identified in the location. The turbines would be placed five miles off the Cape Cod coast, and simulations indicate the turbines would be seen as small spikes on the sound's horizon.

 

But the Cape Wind project has been facing other battles, not just its skirmish with the Wampanoags and the Historic Commission—even though the project has already worked through the siting and environmental permits process. Local opposition groups are good at what they do and carry considerable financial and political clout. The late Senator Edward Kennedy opposed the project.

 

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, whose agency has final say on federal approval of the project, said he wants a decision by the end of the year.

   Quick Take: Yuck, what a mess. A classic case of yes but not in my back yard versus renewable wind energy. We don't have the legal expertise to say yea or nay to the tribes' contention and the commission's agreement with their position. But we do know, at the very least, the project will be delayed. And, as the Cape Wind spokesman warned, the final decision could have repercussions for the wind industry and green power generation throughout the East Coast. We can only hope the coolest heads prevail.

   CNET news article

   More renewables resources on SGN

   Massachusetts Stimulus Toolkit