Massachusetts Wind Farm Denied Permit

Massachusetts Wind Farm Denied Permit



October 2007

 The Cape Cod Commission 
has denied a permit for the nation's first proposed offshore wind farm to 
run submarine and upland transmission cables from the site in Nantucket 
Sound to connect with the power grid on the mainland. 
After voting against the proposal Thursday, the commission said it denied 
the permit application on procedural grounds "without prejudice" because 
"Cape Wind had failed to submit information" requested by a subcommittee 
reviewing the application "in a timely manner" and yet would not agree to 
an extension of the 60 day decision period. 
Cape Wind President Jim Gordon said, "The Commission's denial based, not 
on the merits but, on claims that Cape Wind provided insufficient 
information does not square with the record. Since 2001, Cape Wind has 
been providing extensive information about these cables to the Cape Cod 
Commission and State and Federal agencies." 
"In fact, in 2005 the Massachusetts Energy Facilities Siting Board 
approved Cape Wind's electric cable because it found that Cape Wind would 
provide needed renewable electricity, deliver significant air quality 
benefits, lower electric costs and increase electric transmission 
reliability," Gordon said. 
Still, in its record of decision, the Cape Cod Commission wrote that 
because it had insufficient information, "the Subcommittee was unable to 
reach a conclusion with respect to the project's consistency with local 
bylaws, and whether the probable benefits of the project outweigh the 
probable detriments." 
Cape Wind is proposing to place 130 wind turbines on Horseshoe Shoal in 
Nantucket Sound to produce up to 420 megawatts of power. In average winds, 
Cape Wind will provide three quarters of the Cape and Islands electricity 
needs, the company says. 
"No other agency, state or federal, involved in the permitting review of 
the Cape Wind project cares as much about Cape Cod as does the 
Commission,” said Glenn Wattley, chief executive officer of the Alliance 
to Protect Nantucket Sound, an organization opposed to the offshore wind 
farm. 
The Alliance is critical of "Cape Wind's unprecedented plan to lay claim 
to 25 square miles of publicly owned ocean in Nantucket Sound for an 
industrial-scale electricity generating plant." 
"The Commission refused to bow to a Boston developer and finally took the 
only vote it could take in denying Cape Wind the permit it requested after 
it flatly refused to provide the necessary information and sufficient time 
for review," Watley said. 
The wind farm project requires permits from 17 federal, state and local 
agencies under the National Environmental Policy Act and the Massachusetts 
Environmental Policy Act, before construction can start. Company plans 
call for operation to begin in 2009. 
In 2007, the Massachusetts Executive Office of Environmental Affairs 
approved Cape Wind's Final Environmental Impact Report and Massachusetts 
Environmental Secretary, Ian Bowles, wrote, "Overall, the project 
represents a balanced and thoughtful commitment to action that will 
contribute to the long term preservation and enhancement of our 
environment." 
Gordon said the company intends "to pursue the necessary relief required 
to override the Cape Cod Commission's attempt to delay important renewable 
energy benefits for Massachusetts citizens.” 
"With the price of oil approaching $90 per barrel, increasing calls for 
energy independence and action on global warming," Gordons said, "it's sad 
and disappointing that the Cape Cod Commission would vote to deny Cape 
Wind's application for its buried electric cables to deliver 75 percent of 
the Cape and Islands electricity with clean, renewable energy." 
"Cape Wind is committed to ensuring that Massachusetts becomes a global 
leader in offshore renewable energy while contributing to a healthier 
environment and increased energy and economic security." 

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