Audra Parker, chief operating officer and executive director of the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound, stated this past Monday in the Cape Cod Times that, “Cape Wind is nowhere near a done deal — and the fight is far from over.” Parker addressed the FAA’s release of a “presumed hazard” report regarding Cape Wind’s potential radar interference in an op-ed piece for the regional paper.

Citing the Department of Interior’s inspector general-led investigation into potential wrongdoing in the federal review of Cape Wind and the denial of a “critical” permit by the Cape Cod Commission, Parker details a laundry list of unsettled issues standing in the way of the Cape Wind project. On the offensive Audra charged, “As long as Cape Wind continues to target a heavily conflicted site, it will face serious community, political, legal and financing challenges, each one putting the project even further from reality.”

Parker, a resident of Osterville, voices concern for what many Cape Cod locals consider to be a cornerstone of the anti-Cape Wind argument: the project’s “poorly sited” location in Nantucket Sound. She asserts, “relocation is the only responsible next step” and suggests finding a “better location that doesn’t needlessly risk our safety, our economy, and our home.”

While there is no doubt that Nantucket Sound is a heavily contested area, and Cape Wind an extremely controversial project, it is unsure how much longer the fierce battle will wage on. As Parker assures, one thing is certain for the future of the highly contentious Cape Wind debate: final approval will not come easy; it will be fought tooth-and-nail until the bitter end.

Eddie Keenan IV

The MMS has extended the public comment window for the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) until March 21, 2009. A record of decision, therefore, cannot be issued by the Interior Department until after the public comment window has ended. Although this marks yet another delay for Cape Wind, the same one-month extension was issued in 2008 following the release of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS).

Comments may be submitted to the MMS by using the Public Comment System.

Click here to view the FEIS.

The Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound filed a lawsuit Feb. 20 against the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management  (CZM) challenging its finding in January that the Cape Wind project adequately meets state environmental requirements for activities in federal waters.  Charlie McLaughlin, Barnstable’s attorney, confirmed that the town filed a similar suit the same day in the county Superior Court.

This marks a shift in focus from Obama’s Interior Department, who’s decision on Cape Wind is pending, to the court system of Massachusetts. The opponents of Cape Wind contend that the state agency’s determination has violated the law and, moreover, was reached prematurely. According to a prepared statement released on Wednesday, Alliance President and CEO Glenn G. Wattley said, “In its decision on Cape Wind’s impacts, CZM has clearly violated the law and abandoned its own mission to protect our coastal environment.” The Alliance asserts that CZM failed to consult with the Cape Cod Commission on its decision as required by law.

In the prepared statement the Alliance also noted that in prior comments on Cape Wind the CZM itself has stated, “The project will have both direct and indirect impacts to natural resources and uses within the Massachusetts coastal zone and the adjacent waters.”

While it remains to be seen whether the lawsuit will significantly interfere with the Cape Wind project, you can be sure to see more legal challenges and press releases over the next several weeks.  Only two weeks ago, Alliance Audra Parker vowed the fight over the Cape Wind project was far from over, and that’s quickly becoming clear.

Eddie Keenan IV

Ken Salazar has finally spoken up about Cape Wind! No, the Secretary of the Interior has not yet signed off on a lease for the Cape Wind Associates, but his comments in a recentinterview with the Associated Press mark the first time that Salazar has publicly discussed the controversial offshore wind farm proposal.

Salazar called Cape Wind a “good project,” one that “makes sense.” But in what will surely raise the ire of Cape Wind opponents, he said that it was important “we get this thing done and not get stuck in a not-in-my-backyard syndrome.”

As if realizing that opponents don’t particularly appreciate being reduced to NIMBYists, Salazar added that the idea of picking either renewable energy or conservationism is a “false choice,” that one was not exclusive of the other.

Still no word on when we can expect the long-awaited lease for Cape Wind. Stay tuned!

Last Thursday the Massachusetts Energy Facilities Siting Board (EFSB) voted in favor of issuing Cape Wind Associates a “super permit,” a composite certificate that encompasses nine outstanding state and local approvals related to electric cables.

The EFSB instructed Cape Wind to work with the seaside towns of Yarmouth and Barnstable in order to agree on “reasonable and customary conditions” for permits for burying electric cables. If an agreement is not reached, the board will intervene and decide upon reasonable conditions.

If formally approved, the certificate, which will receive a final vote by EFSB within sixty days, will officially conclude Cape Wind’s permitting at both the state and local levels. In doing so the measure would effectively trump the Cape Cod Commission procedural denial of the Cape Wind project. Without missing a beat, the Cape Cod Commission fired back with claims that the state board lacks the jurisdiction to overturn its previous denial of the project. This marks the second time in the past two years that the Energy Facilities Siting Board has asserted its authority over the regional planning and regulatory agency.

Eddie Keenan IV

Speaking at a Senate Energy Committee hearing today, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar brought up Cape Wind again. While much of the hearing focused on jurisdiction over offshore alternative energy projects, Salazar did offer a vague time frame as to when we can expect a decision on the offshore wind project.

Having tossed himself into the Cape Wind fray just a week ago, Salazar said today that “we would hope that we would be able to move forward with a decision on [Cape Wind]…sometime in the next several months.”

Sometime in the next several months? Well, at least it’s something, right? Now we won’t have to keep on hitting refresh on our news-feed every fifteen minutes in anticipation of the announcement…

Following President Obama’s announcement of a finalized framework for renewable energy production on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf (OCS), responses were jubilant in looking toward the future.

President Obama noted in his speech at a wind turbine factory in Iowa, “It is estimated that if we fully pursue our potential for wind energy—both on land and offshore—wind can generate as much as 20% of our electricity by 2030.”

Strangely, he mentions offshore wind projects in New Jersey and Delaware, but didn’t mention Cape Wind.  Maybe he forgot?

In an MMS press release Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar said, “It is fitting that on Earth Day President Obama is taking this bold step toward opening America’s oceans and new energy frontier, so that we can wisely build a clean energy economy that will create millions of new jobs across the country.” Salazar added, “This new framework will enhance our energy security and create the foundation for a new offshore energy sector that will employ Americans developing clean and renewable energy.”

In response, a statement was issued by Civil Society Institute and Clean Power Now which read, “Now, it’s time for the Obama Administration to take the next step and issue a Record of Decision on Cape Wind as soon as possible so we can begin to move aggressively to exploit the abundant offshore wind energy potential with a shovel ready project.”

But opponents say not so fast. According to Peter Kenney, the silver bullet is that the Cape Wind permitting process is no longer grandfathered.  He said, “Now MMS can revisit all of the problems that weren’t resolved in the Federal Environmental Impact Statement.  It is clear that they have tightened up their review standards.”

Talking with the press, Salazar was careful to note that the new guidelines will definitely be applied to the Cape Wind project, so we’ll have to wait to see how that affects Cape Wind’s federal permitting process.  Obviously, there’s still plenty left to figure out at MMS.

That’s right! Cape Wind: The Fight for the Future of Power now has a home on cable television. We’ve still got a lot of work to do on the film, but this is a big step for us.  We’re putting a full court press on the editing of the film and plan on having everything wrapped up and rolling out by the end of the year.  We’re also currently developing a rather ambitious national outreach program in partnership with Working Films to accompany the film’s release.

Thanks to all who’ve supported us and in advance to those who will provide support in the future. If you or your organization is interested in learning more about our film and the outreach program we’re developing please contact me via info@rebirthproductions.net.

The lessons learned by the Cape Wind experience have universal applications, so no matter what community you serve or are served by, there’s something for you.

Thanks,
Dan

The site long mentioned by opponents of Cape Wind as a an alternative to Cape Wind’s offshore site has finally been selected by the state of Massachusetts for development of a sizable wind farm. Because it is relatively remote from residences, the site should have little opposition as the process for permitting begins.

Quoted from the Boston Globe:

The Massachusetts National Guard today announced a proposal to build a wind farm on the Massachusetts Military Reservation that would include up to 17 turbines and vastly increase the amount of electricity generated by wind power in the state.

As the first of many steps toward building the project at the 22,000-acre facility on Cape Cod, the National Guard has filed a site plan for review with the Federal Aviation Administration and the Air Force Space Command.

Depending on the size, number, and capacity of the turbines, the project could produce up to 34 megawatts of power, boosting Governor Deval Patrick’s goal to develop 2,000 megawatts of wind power in Massachusetts by 2020. Currently, 11 wind turbines across the state have a total capacity of 6.8 megawatts, according to Robert Keough, spokesman for the state’s Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs.

The plan has won the support of numerous elected officials, including Patrick, Senate President Therese Murray, and US Representative William Delahunt.
“Putting wind turbines at MMR makes sense both economically and environmentally,” said Murray.

The plan has also received the support of community activists who have vehemently protested the Cape Wind project, a controversial proposal to build 130 wind turbines in Nantucket Sound. “It’s something we’ve been saying all along, that you can say yes to wind, but no to Cape Wind,” said Audra Parker, executive director of the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound.

Mark Rodgers, a Cape Wind spokesman, said the project had considered the reservation as a potential site but eventually rejected it. “We determined placing the same kind of wind farm there as we’re looking to do offshore could probably produce half as much energy,” he said. “That said, there certainly is good potential to do wind development at that site.”

Before projects go forward, the FAA reviews them to determine if they pose a hazard to aviation, said Jim Peters, New England spokesman for the FAA. Wind turbines, for example, can interfere with air traffic radar signals (a problem that has been raised with the Cape Wind project). If it is determined that the project is a hazard, the FAA will provide a list of ways to mitigate the hazard in order to move forward, Peters said.

For those of you familiar with the Cape Wind fight, you know that it hasn’t always been the stuff of tea parties. As a reminder that the cultural phenomenon of Cape Wind can get pretty weird, folks are now arguing over the legacy of “the most trusted man in America”. Yesterday, Walter Brooks, publisher and editor of the blossoming “online newspaper” Cape Cod Today, and ardent Cape Wind supporter, took Cliff Carroll to task over comments at the Windstop.org website about Walter Cronkite’s early role as unwitting spokesman for the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound

There was a lot of media coverage surrounding Cronkite’s statements and subsequent revisions, but the history is known mostly through anecdotes, which you’ll see in the film. As usual for Cape Wind, tempers are flared and the language is pointed. After all, if Cape Wind is about anything, it’s about the Future of Power in America.

See Windstop’s post at their homepage: windstop.org, and Walter’s reaction at Cape Cod Today: http://www.capecodtoday.com/blogs/index.php/2009/08/06/21st-centory-american-toies-sink-to-new?blog=69