WHERE CAPE WIND STANDS (AND DOESN'T)

Cape Wind's fate unclear, even in Obama's hands
Jay Lindsay, January 24, 2010 (AP via Washington Post)

"After eight years of review, the future of a controversial wind farm off Cape Cod now rests in what would seem to be [the Obama administration’s] friendly hands…But it's tough to tell if Cape Wind's prospects just got better or worse.

"Obama has never mentioned the project…Some Cape Wind advocates have chalked up Obama's silence to respect for the late Sen. Edward Kennedy, an early and influential Obama backer. Kennedy battled the project fiercely, writing Obama of his opposition the month before he died…Obama's Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, who pledged this month to decide whether to approve Cape Wind by the end of April, has called it "a good project." But two Obama appointees…have links to its chief opposition, the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound…[though they] are recused from any decisions involving Cape Wind…The Obama administration is awaiting the Interior Department's Cape Wind review before taking a position…"

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Jason Jones 180 - Nantucket
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Jason Jones investigates Cape Wind

"Cape Wind, expected to cost $1 billion, aims to provide 75 percent of the Cape's electricity with 130 turbines, each about 440 feet tall, erected in Nantucket Sound. Its developers stand to benefit as a major electricity provider to a state aiming to create enough wind power capacity to power 800,000 homes by 2020…Opponents say the project is a hazard to aviation and wildlife and would mar historic vistas, including the view from the Kennedy compound. They want it moved out of the sound to an alternate site Cape Wind says is not feasible.

"Since he took office, Obama has spoken several times about [the value of onshore and offshore] wind energy…Barbara Hill of the pro-Cape Wind group Clean Power said she finds Obama's silence on Cape Wind [confusing] because its success is so crucial to future offshore wind projects…Sue Reid, an attorney with the Conservation Law Foundation and a project proponent, said she believes Obama is simply being careful not to prejudge the project before the approval process ends…"

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"On July 8, Kennedy and U.S. Rep. William Delahunt wrote Obama and asked him to postpone any decision until Cape Wind was subjected to new ocean zoning rules still being devised by Obama's national Ocean Policy Task Force…The task force has since said its rules are "not meant to delay or halt" existing projects, but such projects are expected to take the "goals and principles" of the marine zoning rules into account…Kennedy also asked Obama to direct the task force [to protect Nantucket Sound]…

"The sound was ruled eligible for that protection on Jan. 4…That ruling brought the prospect of more delay and prompted Salazar to intervene. If he approves Cape Wind, a few smaller issues would remain, including review by the FAA, headed by [Randy] Babbitt. He has worked as an alliance consultant on its claims that Cape Wind could interfere with airplane radar signals… [but] has been recused from any involvement in Cape Wind decisions…Cape Wind spokesman Mark Rodgers said the project will ultimately succeed on its merits, which were validated over years of review…[It could be] the only offshore wind project [built] during Obama's term."