Every project has a good side and a downside. In the case of the first American offshore wind farm, these sides seem equal. The construction of the facility is expected to begin this fall in Nantucket Sound, Massachusetts, upsetting locals and high personalities.
Le’s begin with the bright side of things! The Cape Wind Energy Project has been approved by the federal government and given in the care of Energy Management Inc. It will start in the fall and after it will get finished, the offshore facility will consist of a grid organization of 130 wind turbine generators, each with a maximum blade height of 440 feet (134 meters).
The German company Siemens AG will supply the project with the needed turbines, which are expected to provide 400,000 homes from around the area with electricity.
All of this is great! Now le’s talk about the controversial side of the project. Its blessing but also its curse comes from its location, right between the mainland of the cape and the islands of Martha’s Vineyard (a high-rank vacation destination) on one side and the Nantucket Island, on the other.
The problem with this location is that it interferes with the local people’s business – Indian tribes or fishermen, but also with the Kennedy family, since its compound in Hyannis Port is right in front of Nantucket Sound.
In response to these discontents, secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar assures the public that “the department has taken extraordinary steps to fully evaluate Cape Wind’s potential impacts on environmental and cultural resources of Nantucket Sound.”
I guess the department decided it wasn’t anything that serious, since it went ahead with the project anyway and focused on the clean energy benefit instead!
[via Reuters]
