Approval of Cape Wind

Cape Wind, a project that would lead to construction of the country’s first offshore wind farm covering 25 miles of Nantucket Sound, has been approved by the federal government after nine years. The project has been debated on various levels, including the impact the turbines would have on nature and aesthetics in the area, property values, the profits allocated to a private developer, and the emphasis being placed on switching to alternative sources of energy. Some compromises have been made to lessen the concerns of opponents, such as reducing the number of turbines from 170 to 130, and painting them a different color and leaving their lights on for fewer hours a day to make them less visible. Despite the concerns of the opponents, the project is claimed to be able to provide 75% of the power for Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, and Nantucket, and to reduce carbon dioxide emissions equivalent to an amount reduced by taking 170,000 cars off the road.
http://www.mindfully.org/Heritage/2003/Polar-Bear-Poisoning5jul03.htm