Cape Wind decision draws broad support
Posted on 29. Apr, 2010 by crowley in Blog, Renewable Energy News
The State House News Service in Boston led its first story on the Cape Wind decision with this sentence:
SALAZAR APPROVES CAPE WIND: Interior Secretary Ken Salazar approved a 130-turbine wind farm in Nantucket Sound Wednesday as “the final decision of the United States of America,” saying he was “very confident” the long-awaited verdict would withstand opposition.
State House News also noted statements from the following organizations:
– The Conservation Law Foundation, Mass Audubon, and the Union of Concerned Scientists applauded the decision in a joint statement. The groups said the project’s nine-year review was “much longer than is typical for a traditional coal power plant” and predicted Cape Wind “could meet as much as 75 percent of the electricity demand for Cape Cod and the Islands.” John Kassel, president of Conservation Law Foundation, said in a statement: “Today is a turning point for New England in which we can start to turn smokestacks into wind turbines. It is fitting that Massachusetts, which has no coal or oil of its own to burn, should be first in the water with offshore wind, a carbon-free energy source which we have in abundance.”
– The National Resources Defense Council said the decision “paves the way for other facilities to get off the ground nationwide.” In a statement, council president Frances Beinecke said, “Cape Wind represents a significant clean energy first for America. It shows us we can repower our country, we can do it the right way, and we can start today. Renewable energy projects like these not only help fight climate change, they can create jobs and play a central role in our economic recovery.”
– LCV President Gene Karpinski and Massachusetts League of Environmental Voters Executive Director Lora Wondolowski said: “We applaud Secretary Salazar’s approval of the Cape Wind Project, an important step towards transitioning our nation to cleaner, more secure sources of energy. We have sat idle while countries in Europe have continued to reap the benefits of offshore wind development and now it is time to take advantage of clean energy sources in our own backyard, which will help make America more energy independent and curb dangerous carbon pollution. After a long process that took an exhaustive look at the environmental impacts of the Cape Wind Project, we are pleased that Secretary Salazar came to the right decision in granting its approval. Cape Wind represents a tremendous opportunity for renewable energy in the Commonwealth and will help make Massachusetts a leader in the nation as we transition to a clean energy economy.”
A story in the on-line editions of The Boston Globe quoted George Bachrach, president of the Environmental League of Massachusetts, saying it was “a critical step toward ending our reliance on foreign oil and achieving energy independence.”
“Those who continue to resist and litigate are simply on the wrong side of history,” he said.
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