Sean Corcoran's Cape Wind Blog

Cape Wind footprint

The latest lowdown on the showdown from our lead reporter Sean Corcoran. Check this space every Thursday for a new column.

WCAI's on-air coverage of Cape Wind


November 18, 2009

I was at a wedding this past weekend. It was one of those affairs where you know practically no one and you end up at a table with strangers who first ask, "Where do you live?" And as soon as I said, "Cape Cod," a woman seated to my right mentioned Cape Wind.

"Oh, I understand the Indians down there are now saying they are against the project for some sort of religious reasons," she said, clearly indicating she found that stance ridiculous. She also said she didn't understand why, after all this time (nearly 8 years of review), the Wampanoag Tribes suddenly would come out against the project.

This woman didn't know I cover the wind farm proposal for a news organization. But her remarks clearly indicated to me that the debate about Cape Wind has shifted from being one about the project's merits and potential impacts to one about "those Indians" and what many non-natives perceive as 11th-hour opposition.

The nation's media has clearly sat up and noticed that eight years later, there's still no wind farm in Nantucket Sound. And while until recently the people most often blamed for the lack of progress were Sen. Ted Kennedy and a NIMBY crowd in Osterville and Hyannisport, there's now a new group to target -- the Native American tribes in Mashpee and on Martha's Vineyard.

Here are a few articles with that theme:

From the Worcester Telegram, make sure you note the catchy headline, playing off the idea, I guess, that Native Americans use smoke signals. Or maybe it's that they smoke peace pipes... Read it here.

And I still can't believe the Providence Journal's editorial, which you can read here.

Regarding the Journal's editorial, Editorial Page Editor Robert Whitcomb still has not returned my phone message asking for clarity on the numerous assertions that a "small group of rich people have paid some members of the Wampanoag Tribe to oppose Cape Wind."

Now, if that's true, it's a big story and deserves great attention (read my blog from Nov. 5). This project is too big a deal to allow blatant corruption to go unchecked. But so far, the Journal's accusations appear to be unsubstantiated charges that denigrate an entire group of people.

I also should note that Whitcomb has been well-involved in the Cape Wind debate, co-authoring the largely pro-Cape Wind book "Cape Wind: Money, Celebrity, Class, Politics, and the Battle for Our Energy Future on Nantucket Sound" with Wendy Williams. Cape Wind is not an issue Whitcomb and Williams are playing down the middle, and that is their choice. Everyone is entitled to an opinion.

In fairness to the Tribe, however, let's not pretend that the Wampanoag suddenly have discovered there's a project under consideration for Nantucket Sound and are only now, 8 years into this debate, speaking out against it. No, the tribes have been on record as opposed to this project for years. It's only now, during this Section 106 process (a process I've been writing about since the spring) that the Wampanoag have a place at the table to voice their concerns and perhaps delay a final federal decision.

Whether the project should go forward despite the Native Americans' opposition is up to the government. And if editorial pages want to give their opinions, that's fine and good and proper. But let's not accuse the tribes of corruption without evidence. Let's not imply that their relationship with the land and sea of this area is a bunch of bologna they are trotting out for cash.

The Wampanoag call themselves "The People of the First Light," and that's not a phrase they've just picked up over the past few months. It's not some new branding initiative that some crafty Boston marketing firm came up with. Nantucket Sound, the area's waterways, and the tribes' culture and history are serious business around here.

Also, if the federal government wants to do what Cape Wind suggests and dismiss tribe members' concerns, put aside the Section 106 process (which you can read about in many entries below), and simply make a decision about this project, it has the power to do that. There's no reason to mock the Native Americans because they disagree.

HISTORIC COMMISSION

What seems to have added to proponents' aggravation about the latest Cape Wind delay is a Nov. 5 report from the Massachusetts Historical Commission's Office. The opinion supports the Wampanoag position that Nantucket Sound is a traditional cultural property and is eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places.

In a 21-page report, the MHC writes that "there is extensive archaeological, historical, and ethnographic information that supports the opinion" that the Sound is eligible for listing on the Register. The report concludes, "The identity and culture of the indigenous Wampanoags are inextricably linked to Nantucket Sound."

This position by the MHC is in direct opposition to the U.S. Minerals Management Service, the lead federal review agency for the project. The Minerals Service reportedly has said that Sound is not eligible for the Register. And Gov. Deval Patrick agrees with the federal assessment, labeling the MHC decision, "ridiculous."

"We are going to have to get serious about alternative energy installations where they make sense, and every environmental and regulatory review has concluded that Cape Wind makes sense," Patrick told UPI.

Just whom is right is impossible to say. But this MHC decision does add a new wrinkle, and probably more delay. The federal government now has to decide if the Sound should be listed on the Register, and then decide whether the project should be approved or not.

THE REGISTER

While I don't know if the Sound fits the criteria set up for the National Register of Historic Places, one person who does have some insight is Thomas King, who co-authored the National Park Service's "Guidelines for Evaluating and Documenting Traditional Cultural Properties."

King is slated to speak about whether or not Nantucket Sound is eligible for the designation on Monday, Nov. 23, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Cape Cod Community College's Tilden Arts Center.

If you're looking for a preview, you can know in advance that King thinks the Wampanoag Tribes have a point.

In a letter to the New York Times in response to an editorial, King writes, "I disagree with your statements that the tribes 'claim' about the cultural significance of Nantucket Sound 'seems unsupportable.' As a co-author of the federal guidelines about what consitutes a 'traditional cultural property' eligible for the National Register of Historic Place, I think the tribes' argument would be easity supportable."

You can read King's letter in its entirety here.

TIMING

Now may not be the time to dismiss concerns of Native Americans and then look to the White House for support. President Barack Obama recently hosted tribes from across the United States at the White House. And last week the White House issued a "Presidential Memorandum on Tribal Consultation," which might concern some Cape Wind proponents who hope the White House will put this National Register issue to bed quickly.

The memo instructs government agencies to recognize the "special relationship" tribes have with the federal government. And it says that executive departments and agencies are "charged with engaging in regular and meaningful consultation and collaboration with tribal officials in the development of federal policies that have tribal implications. ... History has shown that failure to include the voices of tribal officials in formulating policy affecting their communities has all too often led to undesirable and, at times, devastating and tragic results."

The timing of the memo is interesting, though it clearly has a broad purpose and was not written with the Wampanoag specifically in mind. So you're up to decide on your own whether the strongly-worded memo will be applicable to the Cape Wind-Wampanoag debate.

Read the full memo here.

A CONGRESSMAN TAKES A POSITION

We've finally heard from Rep. Edward Markey, chair of the congressional climate change committee and a supporter of clean energy legislation. After about eight years of debate, Markey now has a position on Cape Wind: Build it. Now.

Markey sent a letter to U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar last week urging the secretary to approve the project.

I've never understood why elected officials have had such trouble giving their opinion about Cape Wind. So again I ask why, after all this time, has Markey come out with a position? You'll remember that in March 2008, a rally was held in Medford urging Markey and Sen. John Kerry to support the project. But, the two elected representatives largely stayed mum regarding one of the most divisive topics in the state. (Kerry is still mum, by the way.)

What's changed since last March then? Well, the Interior Department released a largely supportive final environmental impact statement about 10 months ago. And, of course, the most prominent opponent of the project, Sen. Ted Kennedy, died three months ago.

Read Beth Daly's story about Markey's support of the project here.

UPDATE

I heard from Cape Wind spokesperson Mark Rodgers who wanted to clarify the company's position on how the federal government (the Interior Department and the Minerals Management Service) should proceed with the Traditional Cultural Properties (TCP) issue and the Section 106 process. Rather than paraphrase, I probably should just quote Rodgers directly from his email to me:

"We do not advocate dismissing the Tribes' concerns or putting aside the 106 process. Rather, we urge the National Park Service to agree with MMS and find that Nantucket Sound is not eligible as a TCP as this status has never before been granted to a large body of open ocean, nor has it ever been granted based on a claim over a distant visual view shed.

"As for the Section 106 process, which has been underway all year, we strongly feel that the MMS is now in a position to decide it a Memorandum of Agreement is achievable, and if it is to execute the MOA, or if not to commence the Section 106 termination process as issues concerning historic properties and cultural resources have been thoroughly vetted and should be delivered to Secretary Salazar that he may finally look at the totality of the record on Cape Wind and make the up or down decision in the form of a Record of Decision."

November 5, 2009

Several large daily newspapers have launched full court presses on the federal government during the past few weeks, using their editorial pages to urge the government to make a decision on the Cape Wind project. And that's all well and good; pressuring the government to take action is one of the media's purposes in society. And after eight or so years, it's probably about time to give a ruling on this thing. But in their zeal to push the feds, some journalists appear to be acting a bit recklessly.

Take a look at this editorial in Monday's "Providence Journal". And remember, this is not an op-ed (an opinion essay that appears on the editorial page but is written by someone outside the paper); rather, this is a full-fledged editorial, presumably written by a member of the editorial page staff in consultation with the full editorial board.

Read the editorial here.

Done reading? I've shown this to a few folks -- including other journalists -- and everyone had the same take as myself: Wow! This is big news. Some unnamed, rich and entitled folks that hang out in Osterville are bribing, literally paying cash to unnamed Mashpee Wampanoag Indians to get them to oppose the Cape Wind project. How underhanded! How improper! What a great story!

Hold on. Don't contact the Pulitzer committee quite yet. As I read the editorial, I kept waiting for the attribution. Who are the sources who revealed this scheme to the Journal? What top-notch, soon-to- be-working-at-the-New-York-Times reporter broke this story? Are the feds investigating?

I've put a call into the editorial page editor of the Journal seeking more information. Maybe there was a news story that thoroughly reported this bribery scheme and I just missed it. Or, perhaps there is a forthcoming expose. But if not, then this piece is nothing short of a reckless embarrassment for a paper with one of the best reputations in the business.

And I write this not because I am either opposed to or supportive of the project; as a journalist I play this issue right down the middle. No, I write this because some people will believe what the editorial says: The Wampanoag are stepping up now in opposition not because of cultural concerns, but because they've been paid off by rich opponents of the project.

The Providence Journal needs to clarify what is going on here. Was this some strange hyperbolic satire that I just didn't pick up on? Is there a renegade writer at the ProJo who slipped this in after everyone went home Sunday night?

Articles like this one in the Journal help no one -- not supporters of the project, not the federal government, and certainly not the credibility of what I consider a very credible newspaper. But hey, like I said, maybe there's a legitimate explanation. Maybe this wasn't just a baseless hit job on members of the Wampanoag Tribes and other opponents of Cape Wind.

What I can say from covering this issue for the past few years is that representatives of the Wampanoag have consistently opposed the Cape Wind project, and that opposition has been duly noted in government reports. It's only at this point in the process that the tribe has the opportunity to impede the project's progress. Whether that tactic is defensible and proper is a fair enough topic for any editorial page. No one should fault the editorial board for having an opinion on the project or the opposition's methods. But to denigrate and question the integrity of a group of people because they oppose something you support is beneath a legitimate news organization like the Journal, and it certainly doesn't help move the debate forward.

UPDATE: I still haven't heard from the editorial page editor of the Providence Journal, but I did speak with Audra Parker, the executive director of the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound, which is accused of being complicit in this bribery scheme. Parker denied any payoffs and also said that the Wampanoag (and local towns for that matter) have been "on record independently for years about the adverse impacts of the Cape Wind proposal."

"The editorials have been outrageous," Parker said, "have no basis in fact, and would not be tolerated if they were talking about other religious, cultural groups."

November 3, 2009

The man in charge of deciding if the federal government will lease land in Nantucket Sound for a 130- turbine wind farm told reporters yesterday that a decision will come by the end of the year.

U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar told the White House press corps on Monday that his office is consulting with Massachusetts officials, including the state historic preservation office, and he expects to announce a decision on the Cape Wind proposal by the end of the year.

The project has received a lot of national press in recent days, including an editorial in the New York Times, which encouraged the Obama Administration to approve the project and not get hung up on concerns by the Cape and Islands-based Wampanoag Tribes.

Read the editorial here.

The tribes have complained that they largely have been locked out of the permitting process until now. And, they say, the wind farm would be located in a section of water with historic and cultural meaning to the Wampanoag.

As part of what's called the Section 106 process, Cape Wind, the tribes and other historic properties stake-holders are supposed to work together to determine what impacts the project would have on historic and cultural properties, and then find a way to mitigate those impacts. So far, no agreement has been reached and supporters of Cape Wind are eager for a decision. (You can read plenty more about the Section 106 process below, as readers of this blog have known about it since March.)

The Cape Wind project first was proposed in 2001.

October 26, 2009

If you missed it, WCAI launched a series about Special Education this week and I'm the lead reporter. So, I've been spending most all of my time putting the finishing touches on that and not updating here as regularly as I would like. But not too worry; I've been keeping up on developments in the Cape Wind debate, of which there have been practically none.

As the Boston Globe reports today, the Section 106 process continues regarding the tribes and historic properties. And until that's settled, we won't hear a decision from the federal government on the proposal to install 130 wind turbines in Nantucket Sound. (You can read plenty more on this below, since I've been writing about it for months.) But I wanted to make sure you saw the Globe article because Beth Daily always does a good job.

You can read the story here.

October 8, 2009

I've been wondering what newly-appointed Sen. Paul Kirk thinks of Cape Wind, since it was an issue Sen. Ted Kennedy fought tooth and nail from behind Washington's political curtain.

At a press conference with Gov. Deval Patrick, Kirk was asked if he shared Patrick's support for Cape Wind, and Kirk replied, "We haven't had a chance to really talk about it."

That's not very illuminating, I know. But you can read a story about the press conference here.

In other news...

Now to the news round-up, starting with the New York Times.

The Times and its partner Climatewire posted a story this week that updates folks on the Cape Wind project, explaining the Section 106 process, which my readers already know plenty about. But it's a nice summary of where the process stands. You can read the story here.

The Times also covered a clean energy summit in New Jersey this week that is worth a read. You can read that story You can find the article here.

Representatives from Bluewater Wind, which is working on projects off the coast of both New Jersey and Delaware, is set to study the ocean floor off Delaware in preparation for the construction of a meteorological tower. You can read the story You can find the article here.

It's a short blog this week, but the review process for Cape Wind is nearly complete, so there's little new to report. My sources still say they expect a decision from the feds sometime within the next few weeks.

October 1, 2009

First, an update on the project.

Everyone's waiting for the completion of this Section 106 process, which has to do with the project's potential impact on tribal lands and historic properties. The Minerals Management Service cannot ask Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to decide whether to approve a lease for Cape Wind or not until this Sec. 106 process is complete.

All sides of the issues have been meeting together to come up with some type of letter of understanding. They were supposed to meet again this week, but a spokesperson for the MMS, Nick Pardi, told me the meeting was "postponed."

"It was just a conflict in timing," Pardi said. "It hasn't been rescheduled yet."

It's true that the Federal Aviation Administration is still trying to mitigate the potential impact of the project on flights to and from Cape Cod and the islands, but that could be hammered out even after the Interior Secretary makes a decision, Pardi said, if necessary.

Just when all sides will come together again to complete the Sec. 106 process is not clear. But one thing is: Cape Wind officials are not too happy about the length of time it's taking.

Consider these comments from Mark Rodgers at a Sept. 23 wind conference in Washington, DC, as reported by the newsletter Infocast:

"MMS has one thing left to do, basically, before they can send a completed record to the secretary to make this decision, and that last piece of work is called Section 106 ... And it's just taking a long time, a whole lot longer than I think it should by any reasonable standard. So, we're hopeful that, by the end of next month, perhaps, they will be able to complete that process and have a completed record before Secretary Salazar so that he can make this permitting decision."

I wonder if I should call Las Vegas and ask them to put odds on whether the feds will make a decision by the end of October...

In other news...

The big news this week was the change in leadership at the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound, the primary opposition group to Cape Wind.

Glenn Wattley stepped down as president and CEO last week, but he still will serve as an energy consultant to the group.

Wattley said he was supposed to stay on with the Alliance for only a year, beginning in September 2007, but his contract was extended. Now, in addition to the consulting work, Wattley said he recently traveled to China as a member of the board of directors of WT Green, a subsidiary of the World Trade Association, promoting trade in environmentally friendly technologies and lecturing at universities.

Wayne Kurker, the Alliance founder and vice president, will now serve as acting president.

"Glenn is still with us as a consultant," Kurker said, "and I am going to do the same thing I always did - - filling in wherever needed."

What was a little odd was how word came out about the leadership change. Rather than put out a press release (something both sides of the Cape Wind debate do pretty often), the Alliance's website simply no longer included Wattley in the "Our Team" section of the Website.

If there was something that led to Wattley losing his position at this particular time, no one is saying so. But overall, I don't expect the change to mean very much. Audra Parker, the executive director and chief operating officer, has been running the show at the Alliance for years, and she's staying. Parker is well qualified, with an undergraduate degree from Brown University and an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management. She's been the go-to person whenever I've had a question about the project, and she's also the person who most interacts with the media, so she knows the group's message and arguments inside and out.

In other news...

If you missed it, Cape Wind LLC recently launched a blog site, where people can talk about their love for the project and offshore wind initiatives. The most recent entry is from Bill Kovacs, senior vice president for environment, technology and regulatory affairs for the US Chamber of Commerce. You can read it here.

In his essay, Kovacs gives little credence to the opponents of Cape Wind, labeling it as "NIMBY opposition" that ultimately stops similar clean energy projects.

"To shed a bright light on this problem," Kovacs writes, "the US Chamber of Commerce launched 'Project No Project', an interactive website highlighting the numerous projects, like Cape Wind, that have been delayed or cancelled due to unreasonable opposition."

In fairness, it's worth noting that the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce is part of that opposition, taking the stance that Cape Wind could irreparably harm the region's tourism industry, the only real industry the area has.

Last year, for example, the Cape Cod Chamber's John O'Brien wrote in a newspaper editorial that "the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce has consistently opposed the construction of 130 wind turbines in Nantucket Sound, viewing this mammoth project as the industrialization of a fundamental part of our economy and way of life."

September 28, 2009

The president of the primary opposition group to the Cape Wind project has stepped down from his post and will instead serve as an consultant as he pursues other opportunities.

Glenn Wattley, who has served as president and CEO of the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound since September 2007, said in an interview today that he left the position last week. Wattley said he originally intended to stay with the Alliance for a year, but that was extended to two.

Wattley will continue to serve as an energy consultant for the Alliance. And he says he also is working on the Board of Directors of WT Green, a subsidiary of the World Trade Association, promoting green technologies around the world.

Wayne Kurker, the founder of the Alliance and the head of the Hyannis Marina, will take over as acting president, Kurker said. The rest of the Alliance leadership will stay the same, with Audra Parker continuing as Chief Operating Officer and Executive director.

More to come...

September 23, 2009

This blog is being posted a day early because on Thursday I will be in Providence attending a meeting of President Obama's Ocean Policy Task Force, which is conducting a public listening session at the Rhode Island Convention Center. You can watch and listen to the session live on the Web here.

(Note: The link will not go live until the start of the session, scheduled from 4 p.m. to 7p.m.)

Also, you can find a copy of the task force's interim report here.

The plan urges the Obama administration to set up a National Ocean Council to guide policy changes designed to protect, restore and maintain the oceans.

For environmentalists and people who rely on the ocean and the Great Lakes for their livelihood and recreation, this is a big deal. Obama has charged this task force with proposing a comprehensive policy to manage the nation's oceans, coasts and great lakes.

There are lots of decisions to be made. The group is expected to decide (or recommend a process to determine) where things like wind farms and LNG facilities should be located.

Right now there are nearly 150 different laws affecting US oceans and coasts, and as many as 20 federal agencies working on oversight. Sources say the whole business, is a confusing mess. So the goal is to find a consistent way to maintain the environment while also promoting and providing for fishing, recreation, ocean tourism and other ocean-based industries.

And how does all this relate to Cape Wind? Well, it doesn't really. Cape Wind is so far along in the review process it almost certainly will not be affected by this effort. But opponents of the project have stressed that a process like this is necessary to ensure that proper thought and planning goes into the siting of future offshore wind projects, rather than having developers choose random sites.

In other news...

For years, people watching the offshore wind debate have looked forward to the day when floating wind turbines might be possible, thereby eliminating the need to drill into the sea floor. Several companies are moving forward with floating technology, and now it appears the first floating wind turbine has been installed. Where? Europe, of course. That continent is the only one with any offshore wind turbines installed.

Read more about the floating wind turbine here.

In other news...

Two officials at Cape Wind LLC have been recognized by the American Society of Civic Engineers with a writing award.

Cape Wind communications director Mark Rodgers (a regular source of information for this blog) and Cape Wind vice president of project development Craig Olmsted were given the society's 2009 Award for Best Feature Article.

The article, "The Cape Wind Project in Context" was coauthored by Olmsted and Rodgers, and it appeared in a 2008 issue of the society's journal.

You can find the article here.

September 16, 2009

The big topic over the next few weeks will be ocean zoning. Both the state and the federal government are working on plans to designate specific areas of the ocean for different uses, and both are conducting public hearings about their efforts.

It's often called "marine spatial planning" or "ocean management," but really it's easiest to understand when it's thought of as an effort to zone the ocean, just as communities "zone" different areas for specific uses. For example, a community may decide one area of town would be good for industrial uses, perhaps because there are few residential homes in the area. While in the ocean, the government may decide an area is good for, say, wind farms, because it is away from shipping lanes.

Because the state and federal government are responsible for different areas of the ocean, the zoning efforts are being done separately, though the feds have pointed to Massachusetts and California as states making good headway on the issue. As for Cape Wind, it is not expected to be affected by either plan because it is so far along in the federal review process.

At 7 p.m. tonight at Cape Cod Community College's Tilden Arts Center, state officials are accepting comments on a draft Ocean Management Plan. The plan creates, among other things, Renewable Energy Areas in state waters, which would be open to large, commercial offshore wind projects. As I've reported previously, both of these proposed REAs are near Martha's Vineyard. One is just south of Nomans Land Island, and the other would be west of Gayhead at the southern end of the Elizabeth Islands, just off Cuttyhunk Island.

The plan in its current form also allows smaller wind farms of 10 or fewer turbines that would be under local control. While the wind farms in the REAs would need to be at least a mile from shore, these smaller farms could be as close as 1,500 feet from land.

I expect opponents of Cape Wind will take to the microphone quite often tonight. Officials at The Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound say the state and federal governments should create an integrated plan, treating Nantucket Sound as one ecosystem. They also say the state plan in its current form ignores radar interference issues, it does not adequately address historic preservation issues, and it ignores tribal properties and cultural and religious practices. (These are some of the same arguments the Alliance has made against Cape Wind's location.)

It's not known whether comments offered tonight will prompt the state to change its plan. The state's Ocean Management Plan does not need any more legislative approval. According to state Environmental Secretary Ian Bowles, once the public hearings are held, the plan will go right into effect on Jan. 1, 2010. It will be reviewed and updated every five years.

Regarding the federal effort, there really is no plan to criticize or critique. The feds are far behind Massachusetts on the issue. On Thursday, Sept. 24, Obama Administration officials will hold a Ocean Policy Task Force public meeting at the Rhode Island Convention Center in Providence, RI. I plan to be there, and I'll report back on the happenings.

The task force is attempting to develop recommendations for a national ocean policy and recommend a framework for ocean zoning. It's also expected to present its initial recommendations. According to the Pew Environmental Trust, this policy would not need legislative approval, and instead President Obama could issue an Executive Order to revamp the protections already in place for the ocean and Great Lakes.

The issues are complicated and important. Not only do they affect the future locations off offshore wind farms, they also involve fishing areas, protecting habitats, preserving or perhaps relocating shipping lanes, siting liquified natural gas facilities and oil platforms and a variety of other offshore uses.

In other news...

Speaking of ocean zoning, the Minerals Management Service announced this week it will award an $825,000 contract to the Cambridge-based company Industrial Economics. According to the announcement, MMS needs assistance in balancing different offshore uses as it makes decisions on managing renewable energy development on the Outer Continental Shelf. Messages left for officials at Industrial Economics seeking more information about the work were not returned this week.

In other news...

You remember Blue H USA, the company that plans to use floating turbine technology for various projects? Last year it announced its intention to install a wind farm in the Gulf of Maine. And now the company has officially filed an application with the federal government to install a demonstration turbine about 23 miles south of Martha's Vineyard.

I've written about the company's intention to install a wind farm in that area before, perhaps placing as many as 120 turbines there. But now things are official, as the Army Corps of Engineers received an application for the demonstration unit on Tuesday, Sept. 15. You can read the full application here.

In other news...

The unions are getting excited about the idea of possibly working on the Cape Wind project. And I know this because I came across a new blog called, Cape Wind Voices. The blog is set up by Cape Wind officials, and there's a great picture of Cape Wind spokesperson Mark Rodgers on its front page, greeting everyone with a big smile and a wind turbine over his shoulder. Check it out here.

The purpose of the blog is to "serve as a platform for those of us at Cape Wind to share out impressions of the project," reads Rodgers' greeting. There also will be a space for guest bloggers from other organizations interested in Cape Wind. Apparently, IBEW Local 103 is one of those organizations. Under the headline "Jobs! Jobs! Jobs!" Michael Monathan, the Local 103's business manager, writes that "after the initial construction is complete, the project will require upwards of 150 permanent jobs." Monathan does not say if all 150 jobs will be filled by union folk, though I assume he wouldn't be talking about them if they weren't. I've put a call into Cape Wind looking for clarification.

You can read the first blog entry here.

September 10, 2009

Today's New York Times includes a story about offshore wind power and the direction it's heading, reporting that "plans are brewing" to create a U.S. Offshore Wind Collaborative that would help network and advocate for wind farms along the East Coast.

The theme is cooperation -- having different wind farm projects work together to keep costs down, increase productivity and stand up for the industry overall.

For example, as part of this collaboration, wind farm developments would share shipping ports, where the wind turbines would embark for their ultimate destinations in the Atlantic. The wind farms also could be interconnected via undersea power transmission lines, thereby helping with the difficult issue of getting the power created by turbines to actual homes and businesses.

The collaborative likely would be a nonprofit, and it would not endorse specifics projects, the Times reports, but advocate for policies "that strengthen the offshore landscape in the United States" and push for research dollars.

As for Cape Wind, the Times reports that "states are coming to grips with the likelihood that Cape Wind will be the first farm in the water. The Interior Department is poised to release its final decision on the Nantucket Sound project soon."

You can the full New York Times story here.

In other news...

The Chicago Tribune also wrote about offshore wind this week, reporting that the Obama Administration "is at least a year away from seeing wind turbines take root anywhere off the U.S. coast."

And later in the story, the Tribune reports that "the first offshore wind farm is also likely a year or two away."

There are some specific mentions of Cape Wind, but no new information.

You can read that story here.

In other news...

Robert Kennedy Jr., the son of the former attorney general and an outspoken opponent of Cape Wind because of its proposed location in Nantucket Sound, is once again at odds with fellow environmentalists.

A few years ago, RFK Jr. was recorded publicly arguing about Cape Wind with a group of project supporters from Greenpeace, and things got a bit loud and ugly. Now, Time magazine's "Hero of the Planet" is fighting over whether a swath of the Mojave Desert should be used for solar energy development. Kennedy says, yes, while other environmentalists say, no, because of its proposed location.

I don't know who's right in this whole thing. There are accusations that Kennedy has ties to a solar energy company that wants to install the large-scale solar power plants in the desert, though Kennedy denies that the relationship has influenced him, saying he would never allow the link to "compromise his integrity or the national interest." And also involved in this debate is Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who is no lightweight when it comes to politics and the environment.

But I have to admit, it's interesting Kennedy is adamantly opposed to Cape Wind because of its location in a fragile marine environment, while he supports solar power plants in another area of the country where fellow environmentalists are making a similar argument.

You can read the story and make up your own mind here.

September 3, 2009

Cape Wind officials have identified two finalists in the bid to provide the 130 wind turbines it would need if the wind farm ultimately is approved for Nantucket Sound.

Cape Wind spokesperson Mark Rodgers confirmed in an email that Cape Wind officials are speaking with two companies, Vestas of Denmark, and Siemens, whose international headquarters is in Germany. Both companies are leaders in Europe's offshore wind turbine market.

At a Falmouth Board of Selectmen meeting this week, Rodgers said four representatives from a European wind turbine company had visited Falmouth a week-and-a-half ago. In an email, Rodgers said those representatives were from Siemens.

Initially, General Electric was identified as the company that would provide the 130 wind turbines for the Cape Wind project. But GE has since gotten out of the offshore turbine business.

Cape Wind is seeking approval from the federal government to lease space in Nantucket Sound for the wind farm. A decision is expected sometime this fall.

In other news...

It's been awhile since any of the Cape and Islands' communities have taken a vote on anything related to Cape Wind. But this week the Falmouth Board of Selectmen voted 4 to 0 to support the concept of having Cape Wind locate the company's base of operations and maintenance facility near Falmouth Harbor.

Cape Wind spokesperson Mark Rodgers told selectmen that Cape Wind would like to use the old Lighthouse Ford location on Dillingham Avenue, and that the town would benefit from 35 permanent, full-time employees over the expected 20 or 30 year life of the project. And the number of people working out of the offices would be much higher during the two years of construction. There also is the potential for tourists to come to Falmouth to see the project.

Another benefit to the community, Rodgers said, is that that Falmouth Harbor would be used to keep the boats needed to transport construction and maintenance workers back and forth.

"We are really focussed on trying to make Falmouth work," Rodgers said in an interview. "We have been approached by other (communities), but our focus is to make Falmouth work."

As for the Lighthouse Ford location, Rodgers said it would "be really perfect," but first the company needs federal approval and then financial backing before it can make any real estate deals.

Selectman Carey Murphy abstained from the vote, complaining throughout the meeting that there should be some discussion about the project's potential negative impacts on the price of electricity in the region.

"I am concerned," Murphy said, "that the (economic) benefits you tout could be offset by the high cost of the electricity bills and the subsidies the taxpayers are going to have to absorb from the project."

But Chairwoman Mary Pat Flynn kept a tight grip on the discussion, limiting the debate to what the town would like to happen if the project is approved, disallowing any talk about the project overall. If Cape Wind is approved, she said, the base of operations would have to be somewhere -- Barnstable, Harwich, Yarmouth -- "so it might as well be here."

In other news...

Like many others, I've been wondering what the passing of Sen. Edward Kennedy might mean to the Cape Wind debate. The senator was Cape Wind's most prominent opponent, saying Nantucket Sound was a poor location for the private energy project.

Cape Wind's spokesperson, Mark Rodgers, wouldn't really talk about it, saying only, "Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Kennedy family at this time."

Rodgers also said that no other journalist has asked him to comment about what impact the senator's death may have on the debate or approval process.

Over at the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound, spokesperson Audra Parker said members and workers there are saddened, and that Kennedy was deeply engaged on the issue. But as to the impact on the debate, she wasn't sure.

"At this point it's really a question mark," Parker said. "Sen. Kennedy requested that Nantucket Sound be included in President Obama's ocean zoning policy [which is ongoing, and a report is due this winter], and had made repeated requests for protective status. And what better way to honor Senator Kennedy and the Kennedy family than protection the sound from industrialization, from development? "

Asked if the Alliance has a more difficult fight now that the senator is no longer here to serve as an ally, Parker said, "There is enough support for our position, plus science is on our side. Obama has made science-based decisions a priority, and the science of all the negative impacts from this project on Nantucket Sound are clear."

"Cape Wind is not a done deal," she added. "They don't have a single federal permit, and all their state permits are under some sort of appeal."

August 19, 2009

I spoke with Cape Wind spokesperson Mark Rodgers this week, and unfortunately for everyone watching the Cape Wind debate, the timeline as to when the federal government may make a decision about the project has been pushed back -- again.

Rodgers said parties involved in the Section 106 process have been unable to come to an agreement. In a nutshell, the Section 106 process is designed to determine the impacts of a project on historic properties and then come up with mitigation techniques to lesson any impacts. (I've written extensively about the process in earlier blog entries.)

Rodgers says that if an agreement cannot been reached, the 106 process would be terminated and an advisory letter would be sent to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar explaining that the process could not be completed. Salazar would then be left to make a decision about the project knowing that the Section 106 process fell apart.

"So, the Section 106 issues would be laid out for Secretary Salazar and we can finally get an up or down decision," Rodgers said.

But the Section 106 process has not been scrapped yet, and the Federal Aviation Administration is still working on mitigating potential impacts to aviation radar and flight paths. That all means that a final federal decision may still be several weeks away.

"We are not looking at August," Rodgers said. "I would say September at the earliest."

September 2009, that is.

In other news...

Get ready for another round of national stories about Cape Wind.

If you didn't hear, the Obama family is coming to Martha's Vineyard next week, where they'll have the opportunity to look out onto the waters of Nantucket Sound and imagine what it would be like with 130 wind turbines going round and round in the distance. Perhaps the president will decide how he feels about the proposed Cape Wind project while standing on an island beach somewhere, as many people have before him.

When the national press comes to the Vineyard for a presidential vacation, they desperately search for stories to report as POTUS sunbathes and watches his daughters on the Oak Bluffs merry-go-round. One theme my sunscreen-toting colleagues are bound to pick up on is the Cape Wind debate. And there will be plenty of people to interview, even if the president is too busy buying Black Dog t-shirts to talk. Both the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound, the primary opposition group, and Clean Power Now, which is in favor of the project, plan to have members seek opportunities to lobby the president about the issue.

The National Journal kicked off the latest round of Cape Wind stories with a short piece about the First Family spending a week here at the most prominent offshore renewable energy battle ground and what they can expect.

You can find that story here.

By the way, as far as I know, Obama has never offered a public opinion about the project, although he has been forthright in his advocacy for offshore wind in general. So, if you see him, ask him what he thinks and then drop me an email at: sean.corcoran@wgbh.org.

It would be best to get him on tape, however, because otherwise I may not believe you.

In other news...

It's been hot. Really hot. And people seeking relief are pushing the buttons on their air conditioners. As a result, energy usage in New England was way up this week.

I'm always interested in how much electricity the Cape Wind project would be contributing to the grid during a time like this, if it was built and all 130 turbines were working.

This week, Tuesday saw the highest temperatures, when the mercury hit 95 red hot degrees in Boston, making it the hottest day of the year so far.

According to Rodgers (and I'm going to boil this down a bit to avoid some of the explanatory math about half-hours and a little bit of averaging), when the peak demand on the New England grid hit 25,059 megawatt hours at 3 p.m. Tuesday, if the Cape Wind project was online, it would have contributed about 300 megawatts to help meet the demand.

To put that number into some perspective, the project would typically average about 182 megawatts of power, Rodgers said. But it's times like these when Mother Nature provides a bit of natural relief with a sea breeze in the late afternoons, he said, which also happens to be when the temperatures are the highest and the electricity grid is most taxed.

The news round-up...

Deidre Fulton of the Boston Phoenix writes about some of the potential drawbacks to and concerns about wind power in her article, "Why Wind Power Blows," which is a pretty catchy headline.

You can read the story here.

And here's another article about The Great Race to install offshore wind farms. (This is a common theme among journalists and bloggers: Who Will Be First?!) This one comes from Planetsave.org. You can read it here.

August 13, 2009

An environmental consulting company that studied the potential impacts of the proposed Cape Wind project on birds and bats will soon begin doing similar work for the state of Maine.

The group Stantex announced plans this week to begin a pilot study focused on bat and bird movements off the coast of Maine, according to a company press release. The study "is designed to help provide baseline data for the planning of offshore wind project in the region."

Earlier this year, Maine Gov. John Baldacci created a task force to move the state forward in wind power development, including offshore. This Maine-based study, which is expected to assist in the siting of wind farms in the state, was prompted in part by Stantec's work on Cape Wind, according to the company. While conducting bird studies in Nantucket sound, Stantec's wildlife biologists "noted a scarcity of data on regional offshore migration patterns for birds and nearly no information regarding bats in the offshore environment."

Biologists will use radar and arrays of digital acoustic bat detector systems at selected sites 6 to 20 miles off the coast of Maine to monitor bat and bird movements.

Read the company's full press release about the project here.

In other news...

Wind turbines across the Northeast continue to meet stiff resistance from neighbors and sometimes local government boards.

In Chatham on Cape Cod, neighbors last week voiced objections to a 60-foot tall commercial turbine proposed by Outermost Harbor Marine for the company's Sea Gull Lane facility, according to the Cape Cod Times. Neighbors said they were concerned about potential noise, interference with their views, flashing from the blades and the impact on birds, the Times reported.

The owners of Outermost Harbor Marine opted to withdraw their proposal from town boards this week rather than upset their neighbors.

You can read a story about the scuttled project here.

In other news...

An underground cable that would connect two Rhode Island-based offshore wind farms to the electricity grid is causing some controversy in that state.

While questions about Cape Wind's proposed underground cable connection caused controversy on Cape Cod, primarily because of its potential environmental impacts, in Rhode Island, the concern is centered around who is paying for the cables.

Read a story about the disagreement here.

In other news...

California could one day see offshore wind farms, but the turbines would likely be very different than the ones being considered in Nantucket Sound. The San Francisco Chronicle reports that California is paying close attention to a company working on floating wind turbine technology.

"Someday decades from now, California's sprawling coastal cities could draw their power from floating windmills that bob on the sea like buoys, far from shore," wrote Chronicle staff writer David Baker.

Read that story here.

In other news...

Cape Wind developer Jim Gordon spoke with the Website RedOrbit.com, and acknowled that financing the more than $1 billion Cape Wind project has become more difficult, but Gordon says he's confident it will get the money it needs.

You can read that story here.

July 30, 2009

Cape Wind's fate remains in the hands of government officials. The most recent news I've heard is that Cape Wind officials expect a federal decision about whether they will be allowed to construct the wind farm in Nantucket Sound sometime around the end of August. Opponents of the project say they don't expect to hear word from the Interior Department until sometime after September.

One bit of news in the wind world this week is that the Germany-based company Nordex AG, one of the world's leading suppliers of wind turbines, has opened a turbine manufacturing facility here in the United States.

You can find a story about that opening in Jonesboro, Ark. here.

I was curious if Nordex would be producing offshore wind turbines at their new Arkansas plant, perhaps looking to fill a void in the U.S. now that General Electric is no longer producing its 3.6 MW offshore turbine -- the turbine Cape Wind officials had expected to use before GE discontinued it. In Europe, Nordex produces an N90 offshore turbine, which has a capacity of 2.5 MW.

But according to Nordex AG spokesperson Felix Losada, the offshore turbine business is still a bit too risky for the company. To date, Nordex has installed two N90 turbines in European waters, one in 2003 and the other in 2006.

"With these two turbines," Losada wrote in an email, "we are able to gain crucial experience to prepare for offshore business. What is more important to us is to maintain our strategies of deploying proven series technology when going offshore. We do not want to take any unnecessary risks in offshore projects like other manufacturers did in the past and even still do today. That's why we at this stage will not offer offshore turbines in the US."

Losada wrote that "once the offshore market starts growing in importance in a few years' time, it could be possible that Nordex also offers offshore turbines in the US. But this is a long term perspective and has not the priority of our current activities."

Losada's comments potentially raise some deeper questions that will take some further research. Stay tuned.

In other news...

Small and large media outlets across the country (and in some cases internationally) continue to write about Cape Wind and the conflict surrounding its approval. Here are a few of this week's selection of news stories:

You can find a Reuters story about the project, basically Cape Wind 101, here.

And the Providence Journal reports that Rhode Island is "way ahead" of Massachusetts when if comes to finding areas to place offshore wind turbines. I wasn't aware the two states were involved in a "rivalry", but according to the ProJo, they are. Read the story here.

Meanwhile, another writer has a different take. A website called "24/7 Wall Street: Insightful Analysis and Commentary for US and Global Equity Investors" seems to have a different view, publishing a story about how Massachusetts has "taken the lead on wind power." You can read that story here.

You can find a Financial Times blog that talks about some of the hurdles offshore wind faces here.

And finally, you can find an audio interview with Cape Wind developer Jim Gordon here.



July 23, 2009

There's not a whole lot of Cape Wind-specific news this week, as we continue to wait for a federal decision on the project, which probably will come sometime within the next two months. But throughout the world, wind energy news is blowing fast and furious.

Here in Massachusetts, state leaders continued their push for wind turbines this week by awarding grants to nine new turbine projects, with locations on Cape Cod receiving much of the financial support.

More than $2.2 million in grant funding was approved, and it includes money to study the feasibility of installing wind turbines at several Cape and Islands locations. Here's the list:

Allen Farm on Martha's Vineyard: The 100-acre farm received $41,000 to determine the feasibility of erecting multiple 900-kW wind turbines to support the farm's agricultural program.

Cape Cod Academy, Osterville: The private, independent college prep school received $20,000 in grant money to determine the viability of a 225-kW single wind turbine on the school's property.

The Centerville-Osterville-Marstons Mills Fire District: The district received $66,190 to investigate the possibility of erecting a 900 kW, single turbine at the Hayden Wellfield site in Marstons Mills.

Falmouth Academy, Falmouth: The grades 7-12 school received $20,000 to study the feasibility of installing a second wind turbine at the school. The Academy already has a 10-kW turbine installed on campus, and this funding will look at possibly adding a 100-kW turbine.

The Up-Island Regional School District on Martha's Vineyard: The district, which serves Chilmark, Aquinnah and West Tisbury, received $30,000 to investigate the installation of a 250 kW wind turbine to help offset electricity demand and rising energy costs.

In other news...

A movie about Cape Wind called "Cape Wind: The Fight for the Future of Power in America" is currently in post production with a goal of completing the documentary by the end of the year. It's being produced by a group called Rebirth Productions, and according to its website, the film will air on the Sundance Channel.

You can find a trailer for the movie and you can read more about the people behind the film here.

In other news...

Wind turbines on mountains and ridge lines have been controversial throughout the Northeast, with planned projects often meeting stiff opposition as concerns are raised about impacts on animal life and view sheds. Now lawmakers in North Carolina are considering banning some larger wind turbines from mountaintops in an attempt to "protect the natural beauty of the mountains."

Read that story in the Winston-Salem Journal here.

In other news...

The man who helped prompt Rhode Island to develop offshore wind farms is leaving state government for the private sector, telling the Providence Journal, "I've got some opportunities that I really don't want to pass up."

Read about Andrew Dzykeqicz's resignation and why he decided to only give the state a week's notice of his departure here.

In other news...

The largest wind turbine factory in the UK is currently being occupied by its own workers as they protest the plant's impending closure. And people are getting detained by police for trying to get food to the workers.

Wind turbine maker Vestas -- one of the companies Cape Wind has said it may use for the Nantucket Sound wind farm, if it is approved -- announced in March plans to close the factory as the company moves to reduce its turbine production capacity across northern Europe, the UK's Department of Energy and Climate Change told the Financial Times.

To read more about the occupation, click here.

And also note that there are conflicting reasons given as to why Vestas wants to cut back on its turbine production.

In other news...

A few weeks ago I reported on the federal government's effort to create a zoning plan for U.S waters in an attempt to decide what areas of the ocean are appropriate for what uses. The effort, called "marine spatial planning," is starting to get some attention. You can find an Associated Press story here.

I've reported in the past about how all the controversy surrounding Cape Wind has prompted interest in deeper water wind turbine technology to avoid similar conflicts in other areas. You can find another story about that same idea in Boston Globe reporter Beth Daley's blog here.

The Mashpee and Aquinnah Wampanoag tribes' opposition to the Cape Wind project has gone international. You can read the United Press International story about why the tribes want Cape Wind relocated here.

July 16, 2009

If you're storing a bottle of champagne in anticipation of victory (and that victory would be either a "yea" or "nay" on the Cape Wind project by the federal Minerals Management Service) there's a chance the bubbly will taste as flat as distilled water by the time the feds finally give the word.

Cape Wind officials now say they don't expect a decision by the MMS on Cape Wind until late August, while the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound, which opposes the project, is not even sure a Record of Decision could come by September.

And just so you know, cheap champagne can lose its sparkle in just a few months, while the expensive stuff can last years. So I guess it depends when during this nearly 8-year battle that you bought your bottle.

Cape Wind spokesperson Mark Rodgers says there is "a little more work to do" with what's called the Section 106 process, which deals with the National Historic Preservation Act and potential impacts on historic sites. Meanwhile Glenn Wattley of the Alliance said in an interview that the Section 106 process could continue for some time, saying, "I think September is rather optimistic for a decision."

The Section 106 process is a bit confusing. Parts of it deal with potential impacts on properties that are on the National Register of Historic Places, which in this case includes the Kennedy Compound in Hyannisport and various lighthouses and historic homes in the region that could see the wind farm from their locations. Another portion of Section 106 requires consultation with Native American tribes (in this case the Aquinnah and Mashpee Wampanoag), who have complained in the press recently that they have not been properly consulted.

So, neither of these two portions of the Section 106 process have been completed, and meetings between stake holders and government agencies continue.

If you're interested in the intricacies of the Section 106 process, you probably want to start with with the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, a federal agency charged with promoting the preservation and enhancement of the nation's historic resources. You can find all the information you ever wanted about Section 106 here.

In other news...

While interviewing Glenn Wattley of the Alliance, he mentioned a lawsuit that was settled last week between the federal government and a utility company in Western states such as Wyoming and Colorado, indicating the case may offer another avenue for opponents to challenge the Cape Wind project.

According to press accounts, PacifiCorp was ordered to pay more than $10 million after pleading guilty to 34 violations of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. PacifiCorp was found to have killed 232 golden eagles, 46 hawks, 59 owls and other migratory birds from January 2007 to present, as the birds flew into power lines in rural areas of Wyoming. According to prosecutors, the utility company did not take sufficient steps to install technologies that would protect the birds.

The potential for bird kill has been a common discussion point during Cape Wind's application process, with much of the talk centered around the Endangered Species Act. Wattley says the Bush administration was not very interested in enforcing the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, but with the PacifiCorp case, it appears to him that that is changing with the Obama administration.

"We're going to be saying the administration has to be consistent," Wattley said, adding that if the federal government can fine utility companies whose transmission lines kill migrating birds, it also should fine companies that operate wind turbines that kill birds.

You can find a story about the PacifiCorp case here.

In other news...

I've written quite a bit about T. Boone Pickens, the billionaire Texas oilman who has vowed to help move America away from its oil dependance and toward wind power. Last year, Pickens used $58 million of his own money on radio and TV ads announcing his plan to build a $10 billion wind farm in the Texas Panhandle.

Pickens told one interviewer: "I have the same feeling about wind that I had about the best oil field I ever found."

But feelings can change, and now, a year later, it seems the "Pickens Plan" is in trouble.

Last week, Pickens announced that he's calling off the wind farm because of funding and transmission problems. He's also trying to get rid of the 687 turbines he ordered, saying he will either sell them or find other projects where they can be used.

The ongoing recession and the drop in fuel prices has also raised concerns that Cape Wind could have trouble garnering financing for its $1 billion wind farm, though company officials have repeatedly said they do not anticipate any such financing problems.

As for transmission issues, Jim Gordon, president of Cape Wind, told Reuters that getting the energy to the electrical grid is not a problem here in the Northeast.

"If you have 28 coastal states, they consumer over 73 percent of electricity in the United States. ... We have this vast offshore wind resource right next to these coastal states. If you're building a wind farm in Texas and then investing in the billions of dollars of transmission line to bring it to the East Coast ... It just seems to me to make more sense to harness the offshore wind right next to these big demand centers."

You can find an AP video about the demise of the Pickens Plan here.

You can find the Reuters story about Pickens as well as Gordon's response here.

In other news...

Here's an interesting story from the Washington Post with the catchy headline, "Can Wind Farms Change Weather?" You can find out here.

A House panel was told this week that wind energy in the US could get a big boost if only there was more investment in research and development. That story is here.

While the United States is pushing to get 20 percent of its electricity from wind by 2030, it seems the British are installing turbines to meet a goal of 30 percent ten years earlier. A story about that initiative here.

China is going big with renewable energy, and according to the New York Times, it's trying to do it all on its own. A story about "China's Green Protectionism" can be found here.

And Germany is installing its first offshore wind farm. Read that story here.

The German story also indicates that you can watch the actual installation of the first turbine live via webcam, but I couldn't find the link because it was listed in German, of which I know two words: Auf Wiedersehen!

July 1, 2009

The Patrick Administration proved it is serious about developing offshore wind farms this week when it released its Massachusetts Ocean Management Plan -- the first ocean zoning plan of its kind in the United States.

You can read the full plan here.

The plan is an attempt to balance the various ways state waters are used, while also planning for future uses. It creates Renewable Energy Areas, which would be open to large, commercial offshore wind projects. Both of the areas set aside for these wind farms are near Martha's Vineyard. One is just south of Nomans Land Island, and the other would be west of Gayhead at the southern end of the Elizabeth Islands, just off Cuttyhunk Island.

(Click here to see the Renewable Energy Areas map. The map identifies the Renewable Energy Areas with black stripes, near the left-hand bottom corner of the page. The areas in blue are under federal jurisdiction, but the state also deems them appropriate for commercial-sized wind farms. You may also be interested in the accompanying wind energy resource map.)

In total, the state expects it can fit about 166 wind turbines rated at 3.6 megawatts each in these areas. That's about 600 megawatts total, enough to power about 200,000 homes, according to the report.

That's a lot of power, but it's not nearly enough to meet Gov. Patrick's goal of 2,000 megawatts of wind development by the year 2020. (To provide a little context, Europe already has about 2,000 megawatts operating offshore and between 6,000 and 7,000 megawatts in development.) Even when land- based turbines are added to the mix here in Massachusetts -- and the state thinks it can get perhaps 500 megawatts from those -- the Bay State would still be about two-thirds of the way short of Patrick's goal.

Ian Bowles, a native of Woods Hole and Patrick's secretary of energy and environmental affairs, said the shortfall would have to be made up from wind farms in federal waters. And the state already is talking to the feds about it.

"I think many of the best sites for the future, beyond the site that Cape Wind already has and the ones we are designating here, will be found out in federal waters," Bowles said. "So we have had some discussion with the federal government as they launch a similar type of planning process to say where would be the best places in our federal waters to develop additional clean energy."

The Ocean Management Plan released this week also makes provisions for small-scale wind farms throughout state waters that would be under local control. And while the wind farms in the Renewable Energy Areas would need to be at least a mile from shore, these smaller wind farms could be as close as 1,500 feet from land, according to the report.

In addition to identifying potential locations for wind farms, the plan also prohibits most development and commercial uses from Provincetown to Chatham off the Lower Cape and adjacent to the National Seashore, in keeping with the area's designation as the Cape Cod National Sanctuary.

The plan, which is now open to public comment, will be finalized in the fall after public hearings are held. It does not need legislative approval, instead it will go right into effect Jan. 1, 2010. Bowles said the plan will be reviewed and updated every five years, taking into account the most recent science and mapping.

Plan scuttles Buzzards Bay wind farm...

While seeking to get more energy from offshore wind farms, the plan also kills a plan by Boston developer Jay Cashman to build a wind farm in Buzzards Bay because the bay is too busy and too narrow.

But Cashman apparently is taking the setback in stride. He told the New Bedford Standard Times that he was excited about the prospect of developing smaller, local wind farms closer to shore. He also expressed interest in the Renewable Energy Area south of Cuttyhunk.

You can read that story here.

In other news...

Solveclimate.com posted a general story about wind farm development, discussing efforts to harness the winds both in the Midwest and off the coasts. You can find that story here.

And if you're following the Rhode Island wind farm, you can find a Reuters story about that project here.

Last week I directed you to a Yvonne Abraham column in the Boston Globe, where she advocates for building Cape Wind "now." In the interest of fairness, you can find a Globe letter to the editor that rebuts some of Abraham's assertions here.

By the way...

I'm on vacation next week, so I won't be posting a blog. But if the Interior Department makes a decision about the wind farm, I'll come off R and R and be right on the story.

June 25, 2009

If this was a horse race, Cape Wind was the first steed out of the gate nearly eight years ago, but the challenging ponies are nipping at its heels.

Delaware, New Jersey, Texas and Rhode Island all are hoping to win the race and hoist a banner declaring, "America's First Offshore Wind Farm" -- a slogan long used by the Cape Wind project. And both New Jersey and Delaware got a big boost this week when the federal government issued the nation's first exploratory leases for offshore wind energy projects.

The Interior Department announced Tuesday that it has issued five exploratory leases for wind projects on the Outer Continental Shelf offshore of New Jersey and Delaware. The leases allow three companies to construct meteorological towers at five locations to collect data on wind speed, intensity and direction.

(Cape Wind began erecting its data tower in October 2002, but the project has been tied up in the regulatory approval process and legal challenges since then.)

In New Jersey, three companies were granted exploratory leases. Bluewater Wind New Jersey, LLC received a lease for a project 15 to 18 miles offshore; Fishermen's Energy of New Jersey, LLC received a lease for a project 6 to 9 miles offshore; and Deepwater Wind, LLC, received two leases, one for a project 15 to 18 miles offshore and another for a project 12 to 15 miles offshore.

Bluewater Wind Delaware, LLC received an exploratory lease for a project 14 miles offshore of Delaware.

To go back to the horse race analogy, while these other projects are making great strides, Cape Wind is still in the lead. A federal decision on whether to grant a lease to erect Cape Wind's 130 turbines in Nantucket Sound is expected in the next several weeks. If the feds give the go-ahead, Cape Wind will bust out the champagne and the red roses. But if the feds say no to a lease on Horseshoe Shoals, it would be like when Barbaro collapsed at Preakness Stakes and lost the Triple Crown.

You can find a press release about the exploratory leases here.

And here's an interesting link to Deepwater Wind's website, which explains how its technology works.

In other news...

A draft of the long-awaited Massachusetts Ocean Management Plan is expected to be released by the state next Tuesday, June 30, but a few hints about just what it will include are floating around. (This is all part of the state's marine spatial planning effort, an attempt to decide what areas of state waters -- which extend three miles offshore -- are appropriate for particular uses, i.e. renewable energy projects, aquaculture, LNG facilities, etc.)

At a May 2, workshop in Woods Hole, a powerpoint presentation about the plan by the state's Ocean Advisory Commission included a map of potential offshore wind development sites. The map indicated there are four areas the state deems "wind development appropriate," and they're all offshore of Cape Cod.

But Lisa Capone, spokesperson for the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, told me the maps that the state will release next week "will not be the same."

While the draft plan is due next week, the final plan is expected by the end of this year.

In other news...

Last week's blog included an entry about the Obama Administration taking the first steps toward "marine spatial planning" of the oceans. Or, in other words, deciding which areas of federal waters may be appropriate for uses such as wind farms and other renewable energy projects, LNG facilities, fishing, etc.

If you're interested in the federal government's effort to zone the ocean, a Congressional source tells me that when the House of Representatives takes up the Energy Bill this week, it may include a marine spatial planning component in the final version. The bill's current language says there is a need for spatial planning and it requires a study. I'm told the language is very similar to what Obama released last week. (see the June 18 entry.)

In other news...

Jim Gordon, the developer behind the Cape Wind project, was featured in an online article on the Green Legals website this week. You can read that story here.

A story out of Florida reports on the role lobbyists have played in the Rhode Island wind farm process, including lobbyists from Cape Wind.

You can find that story here.

And the Boston Globe continued to advocate for building Cape Wind this week when columnist Yvonne Abraham kicked off her Sunday column with this sentence: "Build the wind farm, already."

You can find that column here.

June 18, 2009

(UPDATES TO THIS BLOG HAVE BEEN ADDED BELOW)

Lots of stuff happening in the wind world this week.

The Cape Cod Commission has submitted an appeal to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, claiming the state Energy Facilities Siting Board overstepped its authority when it gave Cape Wind all the local and regional permits it needs to move forward; Gov. Deval Patrick sent some folks to the Massachusetts Maritime Academy to hear people's thoughts on placing wind turbines on public lands; the first floating wind turbine has been installed; and a new survey finds that a goodly portion of Massachusetts residents are concerned that NIMBYism has impeded the Cape Wind project.

We'll get to all that. But first I want to mention a White House memorandum released last Friday to the heads of federal departments and agencies because it appears the Obama Administration wants to zone the oceans.

The memo indicates that Obama is creating a task force that within 180 days will recommend "a framework for effective coastal and marine spatial planning."

What's called The Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force will make recommendations to the president on protecting ocean and Great Lake resources as they experience "growing demands" from "renewable energy, shipping and aquaculture."

"This framework," the memo reads, "should be a comprehensive, integrated, ecosystem-based approach that addresses conservation, economic activity, user conflict, and sustainable use of ocean, coastal, and Great Lake resources consistent with international law..."

I've put out calls to the White House, the region's lawmakers and wind groups looking for some clarity, but it sounds like the federal government is looking to zone the oceans for activities and uses.

"Marine spatial planning" would mean specific areas of water would be chosen for things like wind farms, just as towns go through a planning process to decide what types of developments are appropriate for what locations.

The Nature Conservancy seems to have the same interpretation of this memo as I do: It's a step toward creating designated spaces in the ocean for specific activities.

"This is a critical step," wrote Sally Yozell of the Nature Conservancy in a statement on Saturday, "in ensuring that as demands on our oceans continue to grow, all stake holders in the ocean -- from industry and energy to conservation and recreation -- have a seat at the table."

"We have figured out how to balance residential, industrial and recreational uses on land, but today's announcement supports a vision that we can figure out a way to accomplish this in the ocean as well," Yozell wrote.

You can find the memo on the White House website here.

And you can find the Nature Conservancy's statement here.

UPDATE

I spoke with Obama Administration sources who said the task force is an attempt to coordinate various agencies, get them talking to each other, as the administration works on a national ocean policy that includes coastal and marine "spatial planning."

(Spatial planning is similar to community zoning, in that areas of the ocean are set aside or identified for specific activities and uses. In recent years, scientists and politicians have moved away from using the word "zoning" when talking about the ocean, largely because zoning is thought to carry negative connotations. The whole concept of spatial planning has met with some resistance among representatives of various uses.)

Federal waters have numerous different uses and activities -- everything from fishing to transportation, as well as emerging uses such as renewable energy project, and there presently are several government agencies that oversee these different uses. The Obama administration wants a plan to coordinate the different agencies as the administration makes spatial planning policy decisions, the sources said.

Administration sources also compared the federal effort to the different ocean initiatives some states have undertaken, including Massachusetts and California, both of which are currently working on spatial planning initiatives for their state waters.

The end goal is to coordinate the various different agencies, administration sources said, and develop a "framework" to balance the different uses that exist in the oceans. Wind power and renewable energy projects in general will be among the ocean uses the task force will discuss, they said.

UPDATE

I got a call from Mark Forest, chief of staff for Rep. Bill Delahunt. Forest confirmed that the White House is heading down the road toward zoning the oceans, something Delahunt and others have been pushing for several years.

"I think what is going on here," Forest said, "is this is an attempt by the administration to make ocean conservation, planning and management of uses, to make that a priority."

Forest also said that this move by the White House does not appear to be directly related to Cape Wind. The Cape Wind review process is operating on one track, while this task force is operating on another.

But Delahunt has taken the position, Forest said, that this type of process should have been done before a federal decision is made on Cape Wind because the project would conflict with several existing uses, including boating and fishing. Forest also said that federal law requires the Minerals Management Service to identify and mitigate any conflicts with existing uses, and if that is not done, any approval of the project may not be legally binding.

In any case, Forest said Delahunt's office will be involved in the president's effort as the task force works with different government agencies. Delahunt also is working on legislation which would have similar goals.

"There needs to be a thoughtful and rational scientific approach to make a decision about where and how to do these projects," Forest said, adding, "Two big thumbs up for Barack Obama."

I also heard from a spokesperson for Sen. Ted Kennedy, who wrote in an email, "Senator Kennedy has long maintained that a national ocean policy should be in place before any large scale development project is placed anywhere. No part of our coastline should be developed under any special exemptions." In other news...

The Patrick Administration hosted a listening session at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy Wednesday night, soliciting input on the state's plan to install as many wind turbines as it can on the windiest of state lands.

The governor has set a goal to develop 2,000 MW of wind power in the state by 2020 (the state presently has about 7 MW, with about 800 MW in the pipeline). To help achieve the 2,000 MW goal, a study recently identified 44 sites on state lands throughout the Commonwealth with enough combined wind resources to provide about 947 MW of wind power. In this region, three sites were identified, one in Bourne, another along the Bourne/Sandwich line and a third in Fairhaven.

A lot of the discussion Wednesday was about the Wind Energy Siting Reform Act, which I wrote about in last week's blog. The act, currently making its way through the legislature, would make it easier for wind developers to go over the heads of local municipalities and instead have even small wind projects approved by the state's Energy Facilities Siting Board.

Dwayne Breger, division director of Renewable Energy Development at the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resource, said the Siting Board will play a key role in increasing the state's wind resources. And the goal, he said, is to create a process that will take between 9 and 18 months to review a project.

"The experience in Massachusetts has been that wind projects have been taking up to a decade to develop," Breger said, referring to the Cape Wind project which is going on eight years of review. "People here on the Cape and Fairhaven and so forth can attest to the difficulties associated with the siting of wind projects in Massachusetts."

Breger said the Wind Energy Siting Reform Act will change the way wind energy is sited in the Commonwealth.

"It provides," Breger said, "a more expeditious and predictable means for which wind developers can proceed through the wind siting process. It provides more of a one-stop permitting for state permits through the Facilities Siting Board."

Several environmental advocacy groups spoke in support of the act, including Sue Reid of the Conservation Law Foundation.

"We need to think not just about the impacts of these renewable energy projects, but the impacts of not doing these projects," Reid said, while also stressing that each proposal must be looked at individually because not all the lands are the same.

It looks like the Wind Energy Siting Reform Act will be a major legislative initiative this year, and I'll keep you posted on it.

In other news...

No big surprise...The Cape Cod Commission has filed an appeal with the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.

The Commission, the town of Barnstable and the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound all have filed appeals to the SJC claiming the state Energy Facilities Siting Board overstepped its authority when it issued a composite certificate last month that essentially gave the project all the local and regional permits it needs to move forward.

I've covered this issue quite a bit in previous entries. You can find an article about the appeal here.

In other news...

Opponents of Cape Wind consistently have called for relocating the proposed project farther from shore, with the idea being to put the turbines where they would not impact the view from Cape beaches, cause potential radar issues or displace fishermen.

But the main problem with that suggestion is a lack of technology. According to Walt Musial of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Colorado, developers have watched the Cape Wind debate, and they'd rather avoid similar fights by placing the turbines in deeper waters. But up until now, the big offshore turbines needed a firm foundation in the seabed.

In a big boost to the offshore industry, the first large-scale floating wind turbine (and not just a demonstration model, either) is being installed by StatoilHydro of Norway and Siemens of Germany. It's expected to start generating electricity in mid-July.

You can read more about the floating turbine here.

In other news...

A group called New England Energy Alliance, which bills itself as a "coalition of energy providers, business and trade organizations and others concerned about future energy supplies," has released its annual survey about the region's attitudes on energy and electricity issues. And of course, Cape Wind came up.

Some 66 percent of respondents indicated they were concerned that Cape Wind's project "has been blocked for several years by opposition groups made up of local residents and some politicians who have taken a 'not in my backyard' attitude."

The telephone survey was conducted over five days in mid-January, interviewing a total of 600 New Englanders and some 264 Massachusetts residents. You'll notice some of the questions seem a bit loaded (and wordy), but just remember it's an energy group conducting the survey.

Read the full survey here.

June 11, 2009

An off-Cape environmental organization is warning that state lawmakers could soon make it easy for wind developers to ignore local zoning rules and bylaws, and instead go right to the Energy Facilities Siting Board for approval of even small wind projects.

Green Berkshires Inc., an environmental advocacy group based in western Massachusetts, is fighting a piece of legislation called the Wind Energy Siting Reform Act, which would give the state's Siting Board the ability to overrule local zoning for wind power plants of 2 megawatts or more.

That means, according to the group, that anyone who wants to construct a single 2 MW wind turbine (or even untold more turbines of higher capacities) could be permitted to do so no matter what the local bylaws or town leaders had to say.

"In the case of this new act," said Eleanor Tillinghast, president of Green Berkshire, "it's talking about and referring to projects that are as small as a single turbine. So, for example, it may be somewhat more difficult to put large scale wind power plants along the coast, simply because it is such a populated area and land is so expensive, but it nonetheless will enable single turbines to be built. Or, (pairs of) turbines could crop up all over the coast of Massachusetts, and local communities would have no control over the siting of those.

"Even if we want turbines," she said, "we may say we want them in one place but a cowboy developer comes along and says, 'No, you know, I like that mountain over there or I like that hill over there or I like that windy spot over there.' And a local community has no control over that decision making because a developer simply goes to the state."

It was the Siting Board that overruled the Cape Cod Commission last month, issuing Cape Wind all the remaining state and local permits it needs to move forward.

The act also does not allow the Siting Board to write regulations that require it to consider the need for wind power or cost, Tillinghast said.

"So, this is like 40B," she said, "which is affordable housing that overrides local zoning, but even worse because you can't even looking at necessity or cost. So, who is to say that this would be an appropriate use of public funds, because we are not going to be able to talk about it? But yet, these projects go forward solely because of subsidies."

More to come on this issue...

You can find a draft of the legislation here.

In other news...

The Massachusetts National Guard is expected to submit plans to federal agencies today that request permission to install 17 wind turbines on the Massachusetts Military Reservation.

You can read that story here.

In other news...

Apparently, the rest of the country isn't willing to sit back and watch as the Northeast increases its wind power generation capacity. According to The New York Times, the Southeast wants in on the action, too.

You can read that story here.

June 4, 2009

If you're keeping track of when the Department of the Interior will release its long-awaited decision on whether to issue a permit for the Cape Wind project, Cape Wind officials now expect to hear from the feds sometime in late July, according to Cape Wind spokesperson Mark Rodgers.

Where would the electricity go...

I had the opportunity to ask Rodgers just where the energy would flow if Cape Wind is built. Here's his answer:

"Because Cape Wind would be connecting into the Barnstable substation, which is in the mid-part of the Cape, so about half-way down Cape Cod, it's easier to model than it would be if we were talking about an energy project somewhere in the middle of Massachusetts, where you have (power) lines coming in and going out in all directions. Here on the Cape and Islands, it's somewhat more straightforward. We really are at the end of the line.

"The transmission lines are visible from the Sagamore Bridge, you can see them coming over the Canal. And there is a mainline coming down the spine, sort of the center point of Cape Cod, and that's where we're connecting into.

"Electricity in the grid follows the path of least resistence. So, it's not a business decision, but if the project goes forward, when the winds are blowing, and the wind turbines are generating wind-powered electricity out on Horseshoe Shoal on Nantucket Sound, and that electricity is feeding into the Barnstable substation, the electricity will first be drawn out to the lower and outer Cape, which also services Nantucket from the cables that go across Nantucket Sound now.

"As the wind speed picks up, it will then start providing electricity to the mid-Cape area. As the wind picks up stronger, it will then go toward the Upper Cape area, where it also feeds Martha's Vineyard from lines going across Vineyard Sound. And as the winds gets even stronger, there will be times when Cape Wind will be generating even more electricity than is demanded by the whole Cape and Islands area, at which point the added extra increment would be going off Cape and to other areas of southeast Massachusetts."

Rodgers also noted the Cape Wind can contract to sell its power to utilities anywhere on the New England grid, which means there's the possibility that some or all of the clean power would leave Cape Cod, depending upon who signs an agreement with Cape Wind to buy it.

"We certainly at Cape Wind will be making a point of making it available to those that are servicing the local market here on the Cape and Islands," Rodgers said, "but ultimately it's going to be up to them whether they think it's a good buy for their customers."

So far, it's unclear how much the power would cost, and it won't be clear until Cape Wind negotiates with potential buyers who will be asked to sign long-term purchasing contracts. The benefit of the contract for the buyer is the price of the power would be locked-in and not affected by the fluctuating prices of fossil fuels.

Let me also note that officials at the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sounds, the primary opposition group, have questioned whether Cape Wind would even be able to sell its power because it may cost too much. And that would mean Nantucket Sound would have a wind farm with the potential to generate electricity that no one wants to buy.

To the courts...

If the Cape Wind project is approved by the federal government, opponents have promised to take the matter to court -- something they've already done on numerous occasions at the state level. But just how long could court actions tie things up? At least one attorney says it could take years to sort things out just in the Commonwealth alone.

"We certainly hope that they'll move quickly on this," said Shanna Cleveland, staff attorney for the pro- Cape Wind Conservation Law Foundation, "but I think the timeline really varies for appeals to the Supreme Judicial Court, and we're probably looking at at least a year and potentially two years for a decision."

Earlier this year, after the Interior Department issued a favorable environmental report on the project, it was Sen Ted Kennedy who warned of "years of public conflict and contentious litigation."

In other news...

Gov. Deval Patrick regularly uses public appearances to promote wind energy, saying the Commonwealth is in a unique position to lead the country in the emerging offshore wind industry. And now the Patrick administration is hitting the road to find out if the citizenry has any thoughts on where land-based wind farms should be built.

Officials from the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs will host two public listening sessions to solicit feedback on the potential for wind power development on state-owned lands, according to a press release. And the first session will be on Cape Cod.

Rick Sullivan, commissioner at the Department of Conservation and Recreation, and Philip Giudice, commissioner at the Department of Energy Resources, will preside at a 6 p.m. June 17, listening session at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy.

According to the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, a recent study "pointed to the potential for large-scale wind installations in some regions of the state, particularly coastal areas and ridge tops in Western Massachusetts."

MAY 28, 2009

Last week the Cape Wind project received a major boost when the state's Energy Facilities Siting Board voted to issue all the remaining state and local permits the project needs to move forward. (You can read more on that decision in last week's entry.) And, as expected, the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound, the primary opposition group, released a statement vowing to appeal.

In an interview with WCAI after the vote, Cape Wind president Jim Gordon said the ruling "marks the end of an over 7-year state regulatory process, and it paves the way for new, clean energy jobs, action on climate change and a renewable energy future for this region."

Gordon also addressed opponents of the project, saying he hopes they would take a cue from the Siting Board decision and stop delaying the project.

"I would hope," Gordon said, "now that we've gone through this long process, that opponents would look at this decision and recognize that this project really is about creating a better future for the region and for our children. So I hope they recognize they fought a good fight and now it is time to move forward and meet the aspirations of so many Massachusetts citizens that want a renewable energy future, want to see clean energy jobs and the center of this industry gravitate to Massachusetts."

It's nice that Gordon said opponents "fought a good fight," but if the plan is to charm opponents into backing off, it's not working. And I bet Gordon isn't laying off lawyers quite yet. Indeed, with much of the regulatory work complete, the battle is moving deeper into the courts.

The town of Barnstable consistently has challenged the project at every level, and it's expected also to appeal the Siting Board decision. However, Assistant Barnstable town attorney Charles McLaughlin said today that the town indeed is disappointed with the Siting Board vote, but has not yet decided whether to appeal.

"We have not had the formal written decision from the EFSB (Energy Facilities Siting Board) yet," McLaughlin said. "So it's not even (time) to appeal until we have the formal decision in final form."

Once that decision is in hand, and if the town decides to move forward, the appeal would be filed directly to the Supreme Judicial Court, McLaughlin said. Whether or not the town appeals the ruling will be up to Barnstable Town Manager John Klimm.

The town already is involved in several legal challenges to the project at different levels in the judicial system.

"There's a whole variety of matters at full boil -- other administrative agencies and hearings and the like," McLaughlin said.

Already under appeal at the state Appeals Court is a Barnstable Superior Court judge's decision to throw out a lawsuit filed by the town challenging the Siting Board's authority to overrule the Cape Cod Commission. The Commission has refused to issue Cape Wind a permit for a pair of electric transmission cables, and the Siting Board included the permit in its approval last week.

Because the town filed its challenge to the Siting Board before it made its ruling last week, Superior Court Judge Robert Rufo dismissed the town's lawsuit, saying that when the Siting Board did rule, any appeal could be taken directly to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.

The town also has an appeal pending before the Administrative Law Appellate Division of the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection. The town is challenging "a whole host of issues," McLaughlin said, related to the DEP's December 2008 approval of Cape Wind's Chapter 91 Waterways Application. In that approval, the DEP determined that the project "serves a proper public interest which provides greater public benefit than detriment to the public's rights" along the coast.

The town is waiting to see how it will be required to proceed in the DEP appeal, McLaughlin said, including whether the appeal will be rolled into another pending legal matter.

The town also is challenging in Superior Court the Office of Coastal Zone Management's certification in January that Cape Wind is consistent with the Coastal Zone Management Act. The act allows states to review projects in federal waters to make certain they are consistent with state coastal zone policies.

"That has a long way to go," McLaughlin said. "The state and Cape Wind moved to dismiss, and we will be filing a response brief to that momentarily."

And the other major appeal underway of the state's approval of a certificate for the project under the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act, also known as MEPA.

"That massive record is just about assembled and that is due for a briefing and argument in front of the Superior Court this fall," McLaughlin said.

The project cannot move forward until the MEPA matter is settled, he said.

MAY 21, 2009

Massachusetts officials proved they are fully behind the Cape Wind project Thursday, when the state's Energy Facilities Siting Board voted 7-0 to give final approval to a "composite certificate," that issues the wind farm all the remaining state and local permits it needs to move forward.

The ruling means Cape Wind needs to receive final approvals from only federal agencies -- and primarily the Department of Interior -- before construction can begin. The Interior Department decision is expected sometime in the next several weeks.

In a statement released immediately after the ruling, the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound, the primary opposition group, said it is immediately appealing the decision to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.

Today's state ruling was not unexpected. Since Deval Patrick became governor in January 2007, state officials have consistently ruled in favor of Cape Wind when it comes to permitting and jurisdiction.

Today's move also was forecasted this past March, when the Siting Board instructed staff members to prepare the necessary documents for approving the composite certficate, which commonly has been called a "super permit" because it includes nearly a dozen remaining local and state permits the project requires.

Among the approvals rolled into the certificate is one that previously was denied by the Cape Cod Commission to install two 115kv electric transmission lines that would connect the Cape Wind project with the regional electric grid.

Siting Board spokesman Timothy Shevlin said the board's ruling will become official after staff make some "minor" changes to the approval language, probably either Friday afternoon or Tuesday, after the Memorial Day holiday.

MAY 13, 2009

My apologies if you came looking for my blog last week and couldn't find it. It was our spring pledge drive here at WCAI, and all non-fundraising activities were basically put on hold as we took to the airwaves to ask for listener support.

Of course the one story that would have trumped even the sacrosanct public radio pledge drive would have been a Cape Wind decision by the feds. But I'm beginning to wonder if such a decision will arrive in my lifetime -- I'm 35, after all.

Just kidding; I'm sure a decision will arrive before the Grim Reaper reaches my door. But I did get a kick out of a May 5 blog entry by Beth Daley, the science reporter at The Boston Globe. It seems my colleague in the big city also is getting eager for a ruling. She writes, "As a reporter covering the issue, I feel I've been waiting for a decision for years. And I'm weary."

I feel your pain, Beth.

You can read her entire entry here.

Before catching up on the news, I wanted to mention that I spoke with Glenn Wattley, the head of the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound, the primary Cape Wind opposition group. We spoke after I'd already posted my last blog, so I didn't get to include his comments.

Wattley said he took notice of President Obama's comments a few weeks ago when the president announced the new rules governing offshore wind farms. At the time, Obama said the new rules will "open the door to major investments in offshore clean energy. For example, there is enormous interest in wind projects off the coast of New Jersey and Delaware and today's announcement will enable these projects to move forward."

I reported the quote, noting that the president's general point was that offshore wind should get a boost from the new rules in terms of legitimacy among investors, but I hesitated to read too much into the remark. Wattley, as you might expect, had no such hesitation.

"I think that is extremely telling," Wattley said. "Massachusetts has put the president in a kind of awkward position because of all this conflict. ... Clearly with the amount of attention that Cape Wind has generated for this region and clearly with all the hype of Cape Wind being the leading project, the one shovel ready -- which is not true -- you could have thought that Obama would have said that, but he didn't."

Wattley also noted that the president is in a tough spot because Gov. Deval Patrick, a good friend of his, supports the project, while the Liberal Lion Sen. Ted Kennedy is firmly against it.

When asked how he thought the Obama administration would handle the political conflict, Wattley said, "We are hopeful the Obama administration is going to make good on its promise of science over politics."

I also asked Wattley about the new offshore rules. Overall, he said, he thought the rules largely were similar to previous drafts that appeared to be geared mostly for oil and gas exploration and development. He was most disappointed, he said, that the rules do not require developers to have purchase agreements worked out for the power before a project is approved. The idea is that by having customers for the power and previously negotiated rates, the government would have a better picture of how much the generated power would cost consumers.

"If anything the Minerals Management Service is, I think, kind of turning a blind eye on economics," he said. "They basically say it is not necessarily their responsibility because the free market will take care of that."

In other news...

Massachusetts has wind on the brain, and the feds apparently want to help that thought process.

On Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu came to Charlestown to announce that the Bay State will receive $25 million in federal stimulus funding to build a turbine test center. When completed, the Wind Technology Testing Center will be the first commercial blade test facility in the nation, according to the Associated Press, capable of researching blades up to 90 meters long.

You can read the Associated Press story here.

In other news...

Bad news for opponents hoping a Barnstable Superior Court judge would intervene in a dispute between the Cape Cod Commission and the state's Energy Facilities Siting Board.

The board and the commission have been at odds over who has the final say over a pair of power cables that would travel from the wind farm and come ashore in Yarmouth and the town of Barnstable. The commission contended that it had jurisdiction over the cables, while the Siting Board made the same claim.

You can read Patrick Cassidy's story about the ruling here.

In a nutshell, Judge Robert Rufo dismissed a lawsuit brought by the town of Barnstable that opposed the Siting Board's push to overrule the Cape Cod Commission's permit denial. Rufo wrote that the Siting Board hasn't even finished its review of the project, and when it does make a decision, Rufo noted that a legal challenge could be brought directly to the state's Supreme Judicial Court.

In my opinion, that's where the whole future of this contentious debate is heading -- to the courts.

APRIL 30, 2009

I didn't post a blog last week because I was on vacation. And believe it or not, the federal government's release of nearly 600 pages of rules and regulations governing offshore wind farms did not get a lot of news play in the White Mountains of New Hampshire.

When I returned to Cape Cod and began reading the stories about the rules, I was a bit surprised that some of the major news outlets around the country depicted their release as "paving the way" for Cape Wind's approval and ultimate construction.

It is true that no offshore wind project could advance in the United States before these long-awaited rules were released. So, this is really a win for anyone interested in offshore wind development -- and even for opponents challenging specific projects -- because the rules establish a roadmap for how wind farms should be proposed and what criterions they must meet.

When announcing the rules, President Obama said, "This will open the door to major investment in offshore clean energy. For example, there is enormous interest in wind projects off the coasts of New Jersey and Delaware and today's announcement will enable these projects to move forward."

That's an interesting quote, isn't it? Curious the president mentioned New Jersey and Delaware but not Cape Cod. But I don't want to read into that too much (he didn't mention Rhode Island, either.) His overall point is that offshore wind technology should receive a boost in terms of legitimacy among investors.

Cape Wind officials said they were happy that the rules were released.

"It underscores the Obama administration's commitment to move forward aggressively to have our nation develop offshore wind projects," said Cape Wind spokesman Mark Rodgers. "So I think that is good for every stakeholder who wants to see that happen, and that would include all the companies trying to develop offshore wind projects."

Now, Rodgers said, with the rules in hand, people in the offshore wind development field are eagerly awaiting one other thing: A final decision on Cape Wind.

"That is the center of attention now. And our view is that Cape Wind, eight years later, is fully vetted and shovel ready and is a way the administration can start moving forward because the other projects are only now going to begin having their application accepted."

Opponents of Cape Wind, including The Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound, also praised the release of the new rules, saying in a statement the group has "long advocated that Cape Wind must comply with the regulations for offshore wind energy."

It's still a bit premature to discuss specific requirements the rules mandate and then apply them to Cape Wind. I've called around to different sources for their take, but most everyone still seems to be digesting the document. And that's understandable; 600 pages of bureaucratic legalese can be a bit tough to wade through. Cape Wind officials are still reviewing them, Rodgers said, and so are aides to Congressman Delahunt, as well as academics, such as Cymie Payne's team at the Center for Law, Energy and the Environment at Berkeley School of Law. I'll continue to follow-up with them in the coming weeks about what the rules mean.

In other news...

Much has been made in local meetings about the brand of turbines that would be used if Cape Wind gets the green light. In 2003, Cape Wind and General Electric announced that GE turbines would be used for the project. But recently, a GE official told the New York Times that the company is getting out of the offshore wind market, and instead concentrating on land-based technology.

So, if GE turbines wouldn't be used, what manufacturer would? Rodgers said Cape Wind presently is meeting with and negotiating with other companies for turbines.

"What has happened in recent years is Siemens and Vestas have really dominated the offshore wind market in Europe, and they are the ones we are actively meeting with and negotiating with," he said.

Rodgers also offered assurances that no matter what brand turbines are selected, they would not be any bigger than the proposed GE turbines. In fact, they would likely be a bit smaller, he said.

I asked Rodgers if Cape Wind would have to resubmit much of its application to the government because of the change? And he said, no.

"It is common in projects that go through major reviews over long periods of time to have changes occur," he said. "We certainly have a responsibility to notify (the Department of Interior's Minerals Management Service about a change), and they are aware of this. But we are talking about turbines that are very similar to what was originally planned."

The currently proposed GE turbines are rated to produce 3.6 megawatts of wind power. Rodgers said Siemens makes a comparable turbine of that size, while Vestas makes a 3 megawatt turbine, which he said also could be an option.

Audra Parker, chief operating officer of the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound, said she was not convinced that a change in the turbines' manufacturer and specifications wouldn't trigger further government review. She said if there are changes in the height of the turbines, that could prompt more scrutiny from the Federal Aviation Administration, as well the Department of Defense, which has a major radar installation on the nearby Massachusetts Military Reservation.

Parker also said that the size of the turbines and their energy-generation capacities must be finalized and determined before the federal government rules on the project. Potentially, she said, if smaller turbines are chosen, they could produce less energy than the GE models and therefore affect the project's footprint.

"This is not a minor detail," she said. "This is a driver of what type of power would be generated, it's a driver of what type of visual impacts and what affect (the wind farm) would have on radar issues."

UPDATE... In response to Parker's comments in this blog, I received a follow-up call from Rodgers who said, "No, we are not going to change the footprint or the number of turbines."

In other news...

A major environmental organization has come out in favor of Cape Wind. The Association to Preserve Cape Cod notified its membership this month that it had reviewed the project's Environmental Impact Statement and found it "comprehensive and fair, and that its conclusions are essentially sound and scientifically justified."

The support is a clear win for Cape Wind, particularly because the APCC is a local organization that has made a name for itself by championing environmental issues on the Cape for several decades.

However, like many of the national environmental organizations that have come out in favor of Cape Wind, the APCC did not "conclude that there will be no environmental impacts from this project. But it is our judgement that the benefits of increasing the local production of renewable energy will outweigh any environmental harm and the perceived threat to our region's character."

The Washington-based National Resources Defense Council has offered similar support for the project, balancing its potential environmental benefits against its impacts.

APRIL 16, 2009

Lots of eye-catching headlines in the media about Cape Wind this week. While there is still no actual decision from the federal government, the press accounts say groups on both sides of the issue are busy "urging" this, and "calling on" that. According to the headlines, advocates and opponents are either "standing behind," "waiting," or even "joining a chorus," as the case may be.

So, to boil down this week's news stories into one paragraph: A group of Massachusetts legislators is "urging" the federal government to approve the project. While the United South and Eastern Tribes coalition are joining a "chorus of opponents" by supporting local Cape Cod Native American tribes and "calling on" the federal government to stop its review of the project altogether. Meanwhile, the Association to Preserve Cape Cod has voted to "stand behind" the Cape Wind project, while Cape Wind officials themselves are "waiting" for a decision.

You can find a story about Massachusetts legislators who sent a letter to the federal government urging approval of Cape Wind here.

A story about the United South and Eastern Tribes coalition is here.

And, the story about the Association to Preserve Cape Cod's decision to support the Cape Wind project can be foundhere.

Lots of groups, lots of opinions and everybody waiting for a decision by the federal Minerals Management Service. I've never been a columnist, so I've never used a catch-phrase at the end of my pieces. But if I were to begin using one for this blog, it probably should be: "And so we wait."

APRIL 9, 2009

There was no big news but a lot of letter writing this week, and it helped keep Cape Wind in the spotlight.

The Cape Cod Commission met and decided to send a letter to the state about its issues with the project. And a group of state legislators signed onto a letter urging the federal government to hurry and make a decision about the project -- a letter the spokesperson for Cape Wind personally presented to Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar's staff at a hearing in Atlantic City.

Let's start with the commission.

I attended the Cape Cod Commission meeting last week at the Barnstable District Courthouse, and if you missed it, don't feel bad. The room was filled primarily with opponents of the project, and the familiar faces said very little that was new. For the most part, the arguments presented were the same ones that have been aired at various other public meetings and hearings.

But what was new is that the Cape Cod Commission unanimously voted to include some of these familiar opposing arguments in a letter it sent to the state Office of Coastal Zone Management. The CZM is charged with managing the state's coastline making certain state and federal projects do not adversely impact the coast.

Looking back in history a bit... In 2007 the Cape Cod Commission issued what was called a "procedural denial" of Cape Wind, largely because the commission was at loggerheads with Cape Wind officials about receiving more information about certain aspects of the project.

For example, the commission sought more information about wellhead protection plans along the route that project power cables would traverse land in Yarmouth. But Cape Wind allegedly opted not to provide more any more information. There also was a request for a list of any hazardous materials that would be used during the laying of the power cables that never came forward.

The reason for last week's meeting was to reply to a request from the state Office of Coastal Zone Management that the commission comment on CZM's finding that the project is consistent with state and local coastal standards. To that end, the commission voted to send a letter to CZM stating that the project was inconsistent with the county's Regional Policy Plan for activities in the coastal zone, as well as with several local plans. The letter also mentioned other concerns about the project that were raised by local towns, and noted that several studies, including a radar study by the Federal Aviation Administration and historic impacts.

It's not known what, if any affect the commission's letter will have on state officials at CZM. But it's worth noting that the Patrick Administration has voiced strong support for the project, and it would be highly unusual for the commission's letter to change CZM's consistency finding.

Letter #2

Secretary Salazar was in Atlantic City last week at a public meeting about the nation's offshore energy efforts. Cape Wind spokesperson Mark Rodgers was there, too, and he brought with him a letter signed by 78 Massachusetts legislators. The letter urged Salazar to approve Cape Wind as quickly as possible.

You can find a copy of the letter here.

MARCH 26, 2009

The federal government expects to issue a decision about the controversial Cape Wind project by the end of May or the early part of June. And the project will have to meet a set of soon-to-be-released federal rules and regulations for offshore renewable energy development. That's according to Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar.

Salazar made the remarks during interviews last week with Reuters News Service and The New York Times.

Asked by the Times just where Cape Wind fits within the forthcoming rules, Salazar said the feds will "process the Cape Wind project in accordance with the way we look at all the rest."

The issuance of the new rules will "happen relatively soon" after the Interior Department holds a series of hearings around the country during the month of April, Salazar said. Those hearings are slated for four locations: Atlantic City, New Orleans, Anchorage and San Francisco.

While speaking with Reuters, Salazar said a decision is expected from his department by the end of May or early June. The secretary declined to say whether the push to install the wind farm in Nantucket Sound would receive a final okay by the Obama administration.

Earlier this year, before Obama took office, the Interior Department's Minerals Management Service released a report that found the project would have little negative impacts on the environment. An extended comment period on that report just ended this past weekend.

Salazar also addressed some of the controversy surround the wind farm. Responding to critics who say Cape Wind could hurt the region's tourism industry, Salazar said, "You can place wind farms that generate significant energy just off the horizon so you don't even have to see them."

In response to questions about Hyannisport resident Sen. Ted Kennedy's staunch opposition to the project, Salazar made it clear that politics would not influence the government's decision.

"From my point of view," Salazar said, "I am not going to let political issues stand in the way of us moving forward with an energy program in the offshore."

During the Reuters interview, Salazar also talked about the administration's efforts to create renewable energy zones off the Atlantic Coast, where deep-water wind farms could be placed and not be seen from shore. He did not say if Cape Wind could be relocated to one of those zones.

You can read the Reuters story here.

And, you can read the New York Times story here.

MARCH 19, 2009

Department of the Interior Secretary Ken Salazar told a Senate Energy Committee on Tuesday that he hopes his department will make a final decision about the Cape Wind project "in the next several months."

Salazar gave the time estimate while discussing the Interior Department's push to develop offshore wind energy projects, according to several published reports. (Read the Reuters story here.)

"We would hope that we would be able to move forward with a decision on (Cape Wind) ... sometime in the next several months," he said.

The Cape Wind project was proposed seven years ago, and in January it received a highly favorable environmental review from the Interior Department, just before the Obama Administration came into power. An extended public comment period for that environmental review is set to end on March 21.

Some project watchers had assumed that the federal government would issue a final Record of Decision (ROD) soon after the comment period ended. But Salazar's remarks Tuesday seemed to indicate that the federal government's decision on the project is not imminent.

Salazar previously has said he believes the Cape Wind project "makes sense."

Glenn Wattley, the executive director of the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound, the lead opposition group, told me today that he was unaware of Salazar's comments.



"That's huge," Wattley said.



"The important thing about that is 'several months,'" he said. "And the 'move forward,' I would read that as he could still reject it. His decision does not have to go with this. The ROD can be negative, if there is not sufficient information."

In an interview this morning, Cape Wind spokesman Mark Rodgers said he watched Salazar's comments live, and he was not surprised by the secretary's time estimate.



"That could mean tomorrow or that could mean a few months from now or sometime in between," Rodgers said. "We weren't surprised to hear the comments."



Rodgers said the Minerals Management Service, a division of the Interior Department, still must complete what's called the Section 106 process, which is related to the protection of historic properties and the National Historic Preservation Act.



In December, the director of the Office of Federal Agency Programs, Don Klima, wrote in a letter to the MMS that the "Section 106 process must be completed previous to or concurrent with the signing" of a final Record of Decision on Cape Wind.

For its part, the Alliance has been pushing the Minerals Management Service to first approve a set of rules and regulations for offshore wind farm development before issuing a final decision on Cape Wind.

However, in recent days Wattley said his organization had been hearing rumors that the MMS may be preparing to issue a ROD in favor of Cape Wind but with conditions attached.



"This is very good news, actually, because everybody has been running scared that somebody may have their finger on the ROD button," Wattley said.



Meanwhile here in Massachusetts, last Thursday saw an apparent victory for proponents of the project.

The Massachusetts Energy Facilities Siting Board instructed staff to prepare the necessary documents to approve a "composite certificate" for Cape Wind. The state approval would roll several remaining local and state permits into one "super permit", including a permit needed from the Cape Cod Commission, which the commission denied in 2007. (There's plenty more on this issue below.)



The Siting Board also instructed Cape Wind to work with the towns of Barnstable and Yarmouth to agree on conditions for required permits related to the wind farm's buried electrical cables that come ashore. If the sides cannot come to agreement, the Siting Board said it would decide on what conditions are reasonable to include.



On Friday, the Cape Cod Commission filed a lawsuit challenging the Siting Board's jurisdiction to overturn the commission's permit denial.



The Siting Board expects to take a final vote on the composite certificate within 60 days.

MARCH 12, 2009

Since the Minerals Management Service released its Final Environmental Impact Statement regarding Cape Wind this past January, supporters of the project have received a steady trickle of good news. Sure, there's been some lawsuits filed in opposition, and the Federal Aviation Administration says there's still some work to do before it gives its opinion on the project. But for the most part, Cape Wind seems to be on a roll.

More good news apparently arrived this week, when Interior Secretary Ken Salazar told the Associated Press in an interview that the Cape Wind project "makes sense."

"From what I know of the Cape Cod wind project -- it is a good project," he said.

When asked about opposition to Cape Wind, Salazar reportedly said it was imperative that "we get this thing done and not get stuck in a not-in-my-backyard syndrome."

Salazar's comments come in advance of a final decision by the feds on whether to lease a swath of Nantucket Sound to Cape Wind. A public comment period about the project ends March 21, and a decision could be announced anytime thereafter. But for Cape Wind officials like spokesperson Mark Rodgers, it appears things are looking pretty good.

"We're pleased, obviously" with Salazar's comments, Rodgers said. "I can't say that I am surprised. Anyone who has followed (Salazar's) career knows he's a really enthusiastic supporter of renewable energy.

"To me it was kind of a natural extension that as he became more informed about Cape Wind -- and I don't know how deeply he's gotten into the briefing of Cape Wind in terms of the record at MMS -- I can't say I was surprised to hear him say the project made sense."

Meanwhile opponents of the project were a little taken aback by Salazar's comments, saying that it was clear the secretary was not well versed in the issue, particularly because he boiled it down into a NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) debate. Opponents have consistently said the Cape Wind issue is much more complicated, involving concerns with marine and aviation safety, as well as issues with potentially negative impacts on historic sites and wildlife.

"We are a little surprised that it's escalated to kind of a NIMBY debate because there are so many serious issues," said Glenn Wattley, the head of the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound. "For example, the FAA has just issued a letter of presumed hazard. ... There's several critical issues that are still pending, and it would appear those particular issues have not been considered."

For my part, I don't know quite know how to interpret Salazar's comments. But I do think it's important to look at the context in which he was speaking before anyone on either side of the debate gets too high or too low about his remarks.

Salazar made a point to talk about the importance of having rules to govern where offshore wind farms should be located, noting that those rules currently are not in place. He also floated the idea of creating specific areas off the Atlantic seaboard to put the wind farms. Salazar said designated "renewable energy zones" need to be created to ease the development of offshore wind projects, so they do not get bogged down in controversy, as we've seen with Cape Wind.

With one of the most powerful legislators in the country, Sen. Ted Kennedy, firmly in opposition to the Cape Wind project, I've always wondered how the Obama Administration would approve it, particularly after all the accolades the president has rained on Kennedy in recent months. It's just hard to imagine Obama saying, "Sorry, Teddy. We know this issue is as important to you as any other, but we're going to give it a green light." Washington doesn't usually work that way. When things need to get done and powerful people are in the way, often the only way forward is through compromise.

So, what options does the new administration have? In this case I have no inside source on what Obama, Salazar or Kennedy are thinking. But it seems to me that Salazar left the window open to several options when he talked about those specific renewable energy zones.

Is it likely now that the Obama administration would approve Cape Wind before those zones and rules to govern them are established? Or, could we soon hear that Cape Wind is a great project, and its turbines should be installed, but only in a specific zone that does not include Nantucket Sound? I asked both Wattley and Rodgers.

Wattley said he expects Salazar will release an energy plan and the rules and regulations before taking another look at Cape Wind. As for Kennedy's role in all this, Wattley said, "We are sensitive to the fact that (Salazar's comments) came out the day after the big celebration of the senator's birthday" at the Kennedy Center in Washington.

For his part, Rodgers said he expects the rules and regulations will be released soon, and Cape Wind will fit within them.

"They've always said they are looking at Cape Wind in the context of these rules," he said. "And Salazar has said they are on the verge of completing these rules and making them public. I don't think we are talking about any disconnect in terms of the timing anyway."

And as for the Kennedy question, Rodgers said he doesn't see the senator as a stumbling block to final approval in the Sound.

"I think that one can be completely respectful of anybody's public service," Rodgers said, "and make a decision on a project that is at the end of the permitting project based on the factual record, even if that record indicates a decision contrary to an opinion of a particular member of Congress."

So, just as it's been for the past seven years, we wait and see.

MARCH 9, 2009

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar told the Associated Press today that the Cape Wind project "makes sense."

As interior secretary, Salazar oversees the federal Minerals Management Service, which recently released a favorable environmental review of the project. The decision is now in Salazar's hands whether or not to approve the leasing of federal waters in Nantucket Sound for the installation of Cape Wind's proposed 130 wind turbines.

A final decision could come anytime after an extended public comment period ends March 21.

In his first public comments about the project, Salazar told the Associated Press that offshore wind holds some of the country's greatest renewable energy potential, and energy projects cannot be allowed to become bogged down in controversy. Salazar said designated "renewable energy zones" need to be created to ease the development of offshore wind projects.

"From what I know of the Cape Cod wind project -- it is a good project," he said.

When asked about opposition to the Cape Wind project, Salazar reportedly said it was imperative that "we get this thing done and not get stuck in a not-in-my-backyard syndrome."

MARCH 5, 2009

It's been a quiet week on the Cape Wind front, so I found myself perusing the MMS site, checking out some of the reports that have been submitted to the Minerals Management Service over the past several years.

These "oldies" still make pretty interesting reading, particularly for those of us who have not followed every twist and turn of the debate during the entire past seven years.

Are you interested in what's growing on the Nantucket Sound sea floor where the turbines, if approved, would be installed? Then you may want to read a 2003 report in which divers surveyed the submerged aquatic vegetation. Two oceanographers put on their diving suits and air tanks and used a 100-foot search line on the sea floor to guide them as they swept designated areas 360 degrees looking for underwater sea grasses. It's interesting stuff, and you can find the report here.

There's also a more recent underwater vegetation report here.

If you've always wondered how many fish are being caught in the Sound, as well as what species, check out the 2006 draft fisheries report here.

Or, perhaps you've always wanted to know how marine species such as whales and sea turtles react to noise underwater. Cape Wind submitted an underwater noise analysis to the MMS in 2006, and you can read that report here.

In other news...

Proponents of various renewable energy projects are lining up for federal stimulus dollars, and among them is the Cape Light Compact, which reportedly has conducted preliminary discussions with Cape Wind officials regarding purchasing energy from the company if the wind farm is installed.

According to the Associated Press, the Compact wants to "generate 14 megawatts of energy by installing solar panels on public buildings up and down the Cape, from fire stations and town halls to schools and DPW buildings."

To this end, the Compact has requested $10 million in stimulus funds. The idea is that this would be enough money to install 3 megawatts worth of solar panes at more than a dozen sites. To put this in some context, that would be enough electricity to cover about 20 percent of the Cape's municipal load, according to the Compact.

The solar panels also would be installed and purchased by a local company.

In other news...

Sen. Ted Kennedy, who is clearly the most recognizable opponent of the Cape Wind project, will return to Washington, DC this week after spending the past few months in Florida. Kennedy, who turned 77 on Feb. 22, has been diagnosed with brain cancer.

Kennedy has vowed to fight the Cape Wind project, and over the past several years he has been involved in several legislative efforts to scuttle the project.

So, for proponents of Cape Wind, Kennedy's return to the storied halls of Congress is probably not the greatest news. But for the opponents who see Kennedy as one of the insiders with the greatest chance of stopping the project, his return may be a comfort after several weeks of largely pro-Cape Wind news.

FEBRUARY 26, 2009

Yet another approval and another trip to the courthouse.

Both the Town of Barnstable and the primary Cape Wind opposition group, the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound, filed lawsuits against the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management last week, challenging the CZM's ruling last month that the project would be consistent with state environmental policies.

Although both Barnstable and the Alliance filed separate suits, the issues they raised were primarily the same, and in most cases so were their words.

While the suits argue that the project "will alter the environment of Nantucket Sound in many ways," pointing specifically to impacts on fishing, marine navigation, the threat of oil spills, bird kills and the impact on historic sites, the legal documents also argue that the state erred in its review of the project.

Specifically, the Alliance argues that CZM officials did not refer the issue to the Cape Cod Commission, as is required by the Cape Cod Commission Act. The suit also claims that the CZM issued its approval before the Massachusetts Historical Commission completed its review of the project's potential impacts on 29 tribal and historic sites.

In addition, the lawsuit also alleges that the CZM violated federal regulations by issuing a consistency certification before all the necessary state permits and licenses were complete. And to back up this assertion, Alliance attorneys quote the CZM's own Federal Consistency Review Procedures, which reads, "If ...There are outstanding state licenses or permits at the end of the defined review period, CZM must, by federal regulations, object to the consistency certification."

In a statement, Alliance President and CEO Glenn Wattley said, "In its decision on Cape Wind's impacts, CZM has clearly violated the law and abandoned its own mission to protect our coastal environment."

Meanwhile, Cape Wind spokesperson Mark Rodgers reacted to the lawsuit by saying it was just another attempt by opponents to delay the project.

"It is sad and ironic that less than 24 hours after President Obama rallied the country in a historic speech to accelerate developing wind power, the opposition group to Cape Wind decided to try yet another delay tactic," Rodgers wrote in an email to WCAI.

"Cape Wind is confident that the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management decision will stand."

In other news...

The National Journal reported this week that the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound has spent $2 million on lobbyists to fight the Cape Wind project. You can read that story here.

That $2 million is a hard number to put into context. Is $2 million over six or seven years a lot of money down in Washington?

It's not when one considers that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac spent $170 million on lobbying over the past 10 years, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Or, that in the year 2008 alone, the Mortgage Bankers Association spent nearly $2.5 million on lobbying; Exxon Mobil spent $29 million that year; and the American Hospital Association spent nearly $20 million, according to Opensecrets.org. It's also interesting to note that in the year 2008, an estimated total of $3.24 billion was spent on lobbying in Washington.

So, it's hard to answer whether $2 million in lobbying is a lot of money down in Washington, DC, because you're never really comparing apples to apples. Though it may help to know that according to spokesperson Mark Rodgers, Cape Wind spent about $1 million in lobbying efforts during that same period of time.

FEBRUARY 19, 2009

Late yesterday, the federal Minerals Management Service, which last month released a largely positive environmental report about the Cape Wind project, announced it is extending by 30 days its public comment period for that report. Comments are now due by March 21.

The MMS already received about 41,000 comments for its draft environmental report. But now interested parties have another opportunity to give thoughts about the controversial project.

The MMS gave no explanation why it is extending the comment period. But it is worth noting that a final record of decision about the project will not be released until sometime after the extended comment period is over. Also, a portion of the MMS study that looks at the project's potential impact on the region's historic and Indian tribal sites is still incomplete and would need to be finished before a record of decision is issued.

Another agency looking at Cape Wind is the Federal Aviation Administration, which issued a "Presumed Hazard" notice last week about the project. The notice read that the proposed wind farm would hinder the three FAA radar sites that provide detection of aircraft within the Nantucket Sound area.

Read the FAA notice here.

Cape Wind officials say they are confident they will be able to come to an agreement with the FAA and allay the agency's concern that the 130 proposed wind turbines in Nantucket Sound would "adversely effect air radar navigation."

"We are going to have to hammer that out with the FAA and go over all of that with them," said Cape Wind spokesperson Mark Rodgers, who added that it was premature to give specifics on how the radar issues might be mitigated.

"Broadly," Rodgers said, "we definitely agree with the FAA that there are approaches and solutions to address any concerns they have, which they wrote about in their notice last week."

FAA officials wrote that they will further study the issue, and they offered some potential technical steps Cape Wind could take that may solve the problem.

Over the next 60 days, Rodgers said Cape Wind officials will work with the FAA to determine which technologies could mitigate the wind farm's potential effects on air radar. Those mitigation technologies could cost Cape Wind anywhere from $1.5 million to $15 million, according to the FAA notice, depending upon what upgrades are needed to the area's radar systems.

Opponents of the Cape Wind project, including the primary opposition group The Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound, have for several years raised concerns about the potential effect the wind farm would have on local air traffic radar. In a statement, the Alliance questioned the idea that the installation of any technologies would make the wind farm safe for aviators.

"Cape Wind is clearly within the line of site of the three critical ATC radar systems, and world experience has shown that there is no effective mitigation for this level of interference," the Alliance said in a statement.

Until Cape Wind and the FAA agree on what mitigation steps to take, the Cape Wind project cannot move forward, according to the notice.

FEBRUARY 16, 2009

The Federal Aviation Administration has determined that Cape Wind's 130 proposed wind turbines would adversely effect air radar navigation. As a result, the FAA issued a "Presumed Hazard" notice on Feb. 13, in which FAA officials wrote that they will further study the issue.

Read the FAA notice here.

Over the next 60 days, Cape Wind officials will work with the FAA to implement new technologies to mitigate the wind farm's potential effects on air radar. Those mitigation technologies could cost Cape Wind anywhere from $1.5 million to $15 million, depending upon what upgrades may need to be made to the area's radar systems.

Read more about this issue in Thursday's blog.

FEBRUARY 11, 2009

The Obama administration apparently has no qualms putting aside some of the decisions made by the Department of Interior (and its Minerals Management Service) in the final days and hours of the Bush administration. And that leaves me wondering what it plans to do about the thorny political issue of Cape Wind.

Last week I told you that Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar had tossed aside a final-hour decision by the Bush administration to lease some 100,000 acres of land in Utah for oil and gas drilling.

And yesterday, Salazar announced that he was extending the comment period for 180 days on a proposed 5-year plan for oil and gas development on the US Outer Continental Shelf.

He explained that on Jan. 16, which was the Bush Administration's last business day in office (and the same day it issued its tentative approval of Cape Wind), the MMS approved the new five-year lease plan for offshore oil and gas leasing. Salazar said he was "setting aside the Bush Administration's midnight timetable for its Outer Continental Shelf drilling plan and creating our own timetable."

The Department of Interior, along with other areas of the federal government, is now accepting recommendations on how to move ahead with a "comprehensive offshore energy plan," Salazar said.

"I intend to issue a final rulemaking for offshore renewables in the coming months, so that potential developers know the rules of the road," Salazar said. "This rulemaking will allow us to move from the 'oil and gas only' approach of the previous Administration to the comprehensive energy plan that we need."

In a phone message, a spokesperson for the Department of the Interior, Frank Quinby, said yesterday's announcement was not directly related to Cape Wind, which the secretary is still considering.

"The secratary did say he was carefully reviewing the Cape Wind project," Quinby said, "but that he did not expect to have any announcement of that today. But that will run on a separate track, so to speak, that would not be affected by the announcement he made today. But we have no idea when any announcement on Cape Wind will be coming down."

One of the complaints listed by opponents of Cape Wind is that the the project has been permitted without any overall federal rules and regulations to guide offshore wind projects.

Now, Salazar is calling for "a new, comprehensive energy plan that takes us to the new energy frontier and secures our energy independence."

So, we're left with the question, how would that "comprehensive energy plan" affect Cape Wind? So far, the Department of the Interior is holding its cards pretty close to its chest.

"His proposal to expedite the final regulations for offshore renewable energy would not necessarily directly impact the Cape Wind project," Quinby said.

FEBRUARY 5, 2009

Even if a wind turbine is never installed in Nantucket Sound, renewable energy leaders say the project is having a significant impact on the development of offshore wind technology.

For seven years now, supporters and opponents of the Cape Wind project have been locked in battle. And that battle has not been lost on scientists and engineers developing new offshore technology.

Rather than seeing similar fights repeated in other areas of the country, industry insiders say efforts are being made to locate wind farms farther from shore in deeper waters.

"I think we'll see expansion of offshore wind technology further offshore to get beyond the point where wind turbines are visible," said Chuck McGowin, a senior project manager of the nonprofit, nonpartisan Electric Power Research Institute.

"Certainly the opposition they've encountered at Cape Wind is not something that was anticipated, and I believe the reason (wind turbine developers) are looking further offshore is to avoid a situation where that kind of opposition will occur."

Walt Musial, a principle engineer at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Col., agreed with that assessment.

"I think some of the interest that we are currently seeing for deeper water technologies -- which also implies turbines that are farther from shore -- has been driven by the Cape Wind project," Musial said.

The turbines presently installed off the coast of Europe originally were designed for onshore uses. And the same goes for the GE 3.6 megawatt turbine that Cape Wind proposes to use for its wind farm; onshore turbines were adapted to make them capable of withstanding storms and the sea and salt conditions.

"Initially, the wind turbines installed in offshore sites was land-based turbine technology that was upgraded to withstand the erosive atmosphere of the salt water and the high wind speeds that occur during major storms," McGowin said.

The move now is to design turbines specifically for deep water.

"As you go farther offshore you get into deeper waters, and that in turn requires new technology to be developed," Musial said. "The interest in that technology is growing, and the reason it's growing is because the further you go out the more opportunities. There is more windy water area and more resource, therefore, to extract. ... So we look now toward the deeper waters, but that requires more technology to be developed."

Last year, General Electric said it expects to premier a deep water, 7 megawatt wind turbine within the next five years. Meanwhile, companies such as Blue H, Grays Harbor Ocean Energy Company and Deepwater Wind are touting their offshore technologies, but even those are largely untested.

"I think the potential is there," Musial said, "and the technology has been demonstrated by oil and gas companies who have floated their technology in much, much deeper waters. But for a wind turbine, it hasn't been done yet.

"We haven't seen wind turbines on floating platforms; we've only seen one demonstration project where wind turbines have been placed on platforms -- even anchored to the sea floor -- that is in waters greater than 30 meters in depth. Some of that technology doesn't seem like a very large technological leap, but it still needs to be demonstrated."

Musial and McGowin both expect major advancements in deep water wind turbine technology over the next 10 years. But that doesn't necessarily mean wind developers should wait for those advancements, they said.

"I won't speculate as to what (Cape Wind) should do; I think it is a matter of risk," Musial said. "Technologically, the proven technology is the shallow water wind turbines that have been deployed on a utility scale in Europe and have been operating for several years with some problems, but a manageable amount of problems, and problems we think we understand right now. That is a lot lower risk than developing a new technology for deeper water that hasn't been deployed in any numbers yet."

In the news...

If you missed it, check out this article in the New York Times titled "Dark Days for Green Energy". If the Interior Department gives final approval to Cape Wind, the New York Times article makes it seem like financing the project may be a tall order.

Cape Wind spokesperson Mark Rodgers acknowledged that "it's a tough financial market right now for anybody trying to build anything that involves project finance, and it has been true in the energy industries," he said.

Rodgers went on to say, "We are optimistic that at some point the market is going to stabilize and when it does we hope to have a project that will be the first permitted offshore wind farm in federal waters in the US."

Rodgers said the marketing and selling of the power (done through power purchase agreements) is linked to the financing. "Those two stages of a project are connected," he said.

An effort won't be made to either market the power or garner financing until the federal government gives a final okay to the project, Rodgers said.

And in other news...

Yesterday, the new Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salazar, tossed aside a final-hour decision by the Bush administration's Interior Department to lease some 100,000 acres of land in Utah for oil and gas drilling.

Here are a few quotes from Salazar, which are particularly interesting to Cape Wind watchers who are wondering what the Obama folks will do with Bush's Interior Department's approval of Cape Wind, which was handed down just a few days before the Bush administration left town:

* "In the last weeks in office, the Bush administration rushed ahead to sell oil and gas leases near some of our nation's most precious landscapes in Utah," Salazar told reporters.

* "We will take time and a fresh look at the 77 parcels to see if they are appropriate for oil and gas development," he said.

If you're a supporter of Cape Wind, you may interpret this move as having little to do with the wind farm debate on Cape Cod and the Islands. After all, these are wind turbines being proposed in Nantucket Sound, not oil and gas rigs.

And if you're an opponent of Cape Wind, the Salazar decision may give you hope that the new Interior Department officials are committed to closely scrutinizing the Bush Administration's decisions in its final days, and that the Obama folks are not afraid to start from scratch.

Either way, we all just have to wait and see.

JANUARY 29, 2009

The approvals are coming fast and furious now for Cape Wind.

The most recent go-ahead came on Jan. 23 from the the state's Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs Office of Coastal Zone Management. The wind farm is located in federal waters, and The CZM is the one state agency charged with reviewing the federal waters portion of the project, making certain it is consistent with state laws and regulations. And apparently it is.

"We concur with your certification that the activity as proposed is consistent with the CZM enforceable program policies," the agency wrote in its approval letter.

Cape Wind officials are optimistic that all the permitting will be completed by this spring. They particularly are eager to hear from the state Energy Facilities Siting Board, which is considering bundling several remaining state and local permits into one super permit, commonly called a composite certificate.

"If that was granted, that would take care of the remaining state and local permitting," said Cape Wind spokesperson Mark Rodgers.

And what if that composite certificate is not granted?

"It's unclear," Rodgers said. "We would still have a judicial challenge available to us on the Cape Cod Commission denial, but we hope that the Siting Board will act upon its authority granted to it by the state legislature (and grant the composite certificate)."

Rodgers is referring to the Cape Cod Commission's October 2007 denial of Cape Wind's application for two electric transmission cables, which would carry the power from the wind farm and ashore in Yarmouth. Cape Wind officials have asked the Facilities Siting Board for permission to install the cables as part of the composite certificate.

If in the coming weeks or months the Siting Board decides not to issue the composite permit, then the Cape Cod Commission denial would stand -- at least until the courts get involved.

The Cape Wind project has a few other tasks ahead, including receiving another approval from the US Coast Guard and one from the Federal Aviation Administration.

Let's talk about the FAA first...

The FAA has been looking at the Cape Wind project since its inception, and since then it's determined the project to be both "no hazard to navigation," and it's also issued a "presumed hazard" determination. But those rulings have either lapsed or were never finalized.

Let's deal with the here and now.

According to a Jan. 15, 2009 letter from the FAA to Cape Wind, the FAA has terminated an ongoing aeronautical study of the affects of the turbines on aviation radar and is starting again.

The FAA identified potential electromagnetic and physical interference between the wind turbines and the FAA radar, according to Rodgers and published reports.

"We were going through the process," Rodgers said, "and they started looking more closely at possible radar effects. So, they needed to start over again, looking first at possible radar effects on facilities and identifying what mitigation (would be needed) to determine that their standards are met."

No word from the FAA on how long it will take to complete the new study, but Rodgers said Cape Wind officials are optimistic that "by the spring we should be through that process."

Members of the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound, however, think the FAA study is a significant issue that could take longer than a few months to sort out.

If Cape Wind is built, Audra Parker of the Alliance said FAA regulations will require planes (and there are has some 400,000 flights over the proposed wind farm area each year) to fly some 500 feet above the 440-foot tall turbines -- a significant change for pilots traveling above the oft-foggy Nantucket Sound.

Parker criticized the Minerals Management Service for releasing its Final Environmental Impact Statement earlier this month before the FAA concluded its study. Parker noted that the FEIS "assumes the FAA will find the (radar) impacts as minor to negligible.

"This is a gross misrepresentation of the FAA situation," she said.

Audra said she is hopeful that the MMS will not issue a final decision on the project (called a record of decision, or ROD) until after the FAA makes a determination.

Now for the Coast Guard...

We've mostly heard about the Coast Guard's role working in consultation with the MMS on Cape Wind's potential impacts on radar navigation. Now, the Coast Guard is working on a Private Aid to Navigation certification for the project.

This is a very common permit process. It's something the Coast Guard does to evaluate the navigational safety of most any objects placed in the water, deciding if it should be lit up or placed on charts.

Cape Wind officials expect the Coast Guard to ask for things such as amber lighting and fog horns in key locations.

Rodgers said he anticipates these mitigation requirements to be settled soon after the MMS issues a final federal approval. But when that will come is anyone's guess. The law requires the Department of Interior to wait 30 days after the FEIS before issuing a ROD. But there is no maximum amount of time that the ROD has to be issued under. So, it would seem the Obama administration can take as much time as it likes to made a decision.

JANUARY 22, 2009

I've been waiting to see this heralded Final Environmental Impact Statement for many months. When my kid went to visit Santa, I whispered that he should ask Santa to get it released before Dec. 25. But even the guy in the big red suit couldn't make it happen.

It was the arrival of a new sheriff and his deputies in Washington, DC that prompted the MMS to finally give its opinion about the project. And on the last Friday before Obama's swearing-in ceremony, there was an impressive effort in Website management at the MMS.

On Friday morning I hit the refresh button on my browser and suddenly a large photo appeared on the MMS site depicting a line of eight enormous windmills in front of a gorgeous, cloud- brushed sky. In addition to the Cape Wind decision, the webpage lit up with a barrage of new fact sheets, proposals and statements related to different projects.

And the top headline was: "MMS Announces Milestones in Energy Development."

After keeping mum about when and how it would happen, the MMS didn't release the Cape Wind report last Friday, it rolled it out in style! Go see the site here. There are photos, headlines and multi-colored page borders. The Minerals Management Service is apparently all about Alternative Energy, and it's also all about Cape Wind.

Now read the first quote from the MMS press release, from MMS director Randall Luthi: "Today, we are presenting options to the next administration. The final decisions regarding the next steps are theirs."

With only hours left, the Bush administration releases its approval of the first offshore wind project in the nation's history. Around the same time, the president-elect is shaking hands with workers at a wind turbine factory in Ohio. Meanwhile, the Lion of the Senate who lives within sight of the project is releasing a quote that warns of "years of public conflict and contentious litigation."

So, as it stands now, federal rules call for a mandatory 30-day waiting period before the MMS approval becomes an official federal Record of Decision. It that happens, the developer and the feds start talking about leasing the actual property.

The final decision regarding whether Cape Wind goes forward is in the hands of the incoming Interior Secretary, and therefore President Obama, whose good friend Gov. Deval Patrick likes Cape Wind, while his greatest political ally despises it.

The Report

Have I read the entire report yet? No. It's really large, really dense, and really tough to read on a computer screen. But I'm reading it, and it appears to be very favorable of the project.

One section I was interested in was Appendix L, which is the Evaluation of Comments section. There, I was greeted by these instruction: "All comments received have been broken into over 200 different alpha-numeric Comment Codes. Comment Codes associated with each Letter are located in four of the Comment Index. Definitions for each Comment Code are provided on the Comment Codes List located on Appendix L - CD number 1 and 2 and hard copy."

I'm sorry, what?

With no luck with the comments, I read the Coast Guard RADAR study, found here.

I was at the meeting when the Coast Guard presented their commissioned study of what ships would see on their radar screen near Cape Wind. There were a lot of people in the room who said they could not identify certain moving vessels amid the array of turbines.

In its 12-page letter, the Coast Guard writes that the project would interfere with marine radar, and "the radar observer will be presented with a more complicated and, at times, confusing navigational picture." But finally it states, in Section 7 paragraph a., "The Coast Guard finds that vessels would be able to navigate safely within and in the vicinity...and that the impact would be moderate."

In closing, here are a few tidbits from the report (more to come):

"It is anticipated that the main operation center for the proposed offshore farm would be located in the town of Yarmouth. The remote monitoring and command center where all decisions concerning the operation of the marine generating facility would be located here.

"The maintenance operation would be based in New Bedford, Massachusetts (Popes Island) and would also deploy several boats out of Falmouth, Massachusetts. ... a high-speed emergency response boat (20 to 25 ft long boat) would be maintained at (Falmouth Inner Harbor) to respond whenever there is marine activity taking place."

And for the fishers...

"Negligible minor long-term impacts on terrestrial ecology, wildlife and protected species are expected...Environmental monitoring at Danish offshore wind parks to date has been inconclusive as to whether or not wind parks are net attractants for fish. Whether or not monopile foundations would serve as attractants for recreational or commercial fishers is equally inconclusive at this time."

JANUARY 15, 2009

Everyone on the Save Our Sound email list received a solicitation for funds this week that arrived with the headline, "We're Almost There..."

Hmm, I wondered, do they know something the rest of us don't? And when I looked at the newspaper this morning, I thought, well, maybe they do.

The Cape Cod Times printed a story today that says the Inspector Generals Office is investigating the Minerals Management Service's handling of the Cape Wind approval process. It seems several people opposed to the project (including Glenn Wattley, the head of Save Our Sound) told Times reporter Patrick Cassidy that they have been interviewed by IG investigators. You can find that story here.

This certainly is an interesting time in the Cape Wind review process. A report on the project from the federal government was due last month, but it was delayed after a Democratic congressman from the Midwest got involved. So, now we are waiting for the swearing-in of a new president - - a president from the same party as one of the project's biggest opponents: Sen. Ted Kennedy. Meanwhile, one of President-elect Barack Obama's closest friends and political allies, Gov. Deval Patrick, another Democrat, says he strongly supports the project.

Everyone following this fight has to be wondering how much pressure Kennedy is putting on the Obama administration, as well as how much pressure Patrick is applying. Even if the MMS releases its environmental impact statement before Obama places his hand on the Bible next Tuesday, federal law requires a 30-day comment period before the federal approval or denial becomes official. So it seems Obama could step in during that time period, if he is so inclined. Does Obama want to battle the Lion of the Senate during his first month in office? Hard to tell.

And now, with the Times story, we have to wonder what an Inspector General investigation means for Cape Wind. Are the opponents really "almost there" when it comes to stopping the project? With so much behind-the-scenes politics going on, it's really hard to even guess what tomorrow will bring.

In other news...

As we wait for the MMS to issue its environmental report on the Cape Wind project, I am interested in what effect the Cape Wind fight has had on other wind energy projects around the country. So I spoke with two sources this week about just that issue, Chuck McGowin of the Electric Power Research Institute, and Walt Musial of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

Both men made it very clear that Cape Wind has profoundly influenced the direction offshore wind turbine research is going. McGowin and Musial said developers do not want to encounter the same opposition that Cape Wind has experienced over the past seven years, so when it comes to research and development, the industry apparently is looking to create turbines that can be located farther from shore.

I'll have a full story on developments in offshore wind technology next week on The Cape and Islands NPR Station.

JANUARY 8, 2009

Things slowed down a bit over the holidays, but even on Christmas morning we were ready to leap into action if the federal government released its final Environmental Impact Statement. But alas, the EIS is now expected sometime before the end of the month. It may even arrive before Barack Obama's inauguration. Or, it may not.

In any case, I want to make certain you saw this article from the Boston Globe. Apparently a Seattle-based developer called Grays Harbor Ocean Energy Company has applied to place 100 jack-up platforms at seven different offshore locations, including one site about 15 miles southeast of Nantucket. (By way of context, Cape Wind would be located about 5 miles from the closest shore.)

According to the article, Gray's platforms would have wind turbines extending upwards, and mechanisms to gather wave energy down below. I've got an interview request in with Grays Harbor, but I'm not sure when that is going to happen. I'm also working on gathering information on advances in wind energy technology, so please check back next week for a report on that.

There's one other article I want to mention, this time by Earthportal.org. It's a great update on other offshore wind proposals, particularly those in Texas. It also has a fun quote from Jim Gordon, Cape Wind's president. You can find it here.

By the way, if you're a person in-the-know, or even one in-the-want-to-know, please feel free to email me with any news tips, thoughts or suggestions. I can be reached at: sean.corcoran@wgbh.org

DECEMBER 22, 2008

There's lots happening in the way of Cape Wind. So let me just hit a few highlights before I get to my primary point. (Just so you keep reading to the bottom, Coast Guard officials forced me to shut off my recorder and threatened me with ejection from what I still consider a public meeting last Thursday. But first...)

1. Other media outlets are now reporting what my readers already know: The elves almost certainly won't be loading Santa's sleigh with a final environmental report from the Minerals Management Service.

The latest word from the MMS is that the report won't be released until after the new year. That essentially would mean that the feds' Cape Wind decision will fall to the new Obama administration.

Even if the report comes out tomorrow (which it almost certainly won't) the law requires a 30-day comment period before the decision is final. So, with Obama taking the oath of office on January 20, it seems the Cape Wind approval process is going to seep into the next presidential administration.

Now, not everyone agrees with this analysis. I spoke with Mark Forest at Congressman Bill Delahunt's office. (Delahunt has come out in opposition to the project, saying he supports off-shore wind projects but Nantucket Sound is not the proper location.) Forest told me he still expects we'll see that MMS report before President Bush moves back to Texas.

Here's my favorite quote from my conversation with Forest last week: "This will be Dick Cheney's gift to Cape Cod," he said. "This will be done before they leave office. Guaranteed. Probably the same day they pardon Scooter Libby."

(You'll remember that President Bush commuted Libby's prison sentence last June, thereby voiding a 30-month prison sentence.)

2. Now we move from the executive branch of the federal government to the judicial branch of the state government.

In what the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound is calling a "major victory," a Massachusetts Superior Court judge has ruled that a legal challenge to the Cape Wind project's state environmental approval can move forward.

The Alliance and the Town of Barnstable together have challenged the state's Environmental Impact Report on the project, arguing that it violates the Massachusetts Environmental Protection Act, and that the approval was "arbitrary and capricious."

This is a court case to watch, and one that potentially could delay the construction of Cape Wind, assuming the project receives all other necessary approvals.

Both the Alliance and the town are now free to challenge in Superior Court the state's environmental approval, and no one can say exactly how long the case might take to make its way through the system. The town's attorney, Charles McLaughlin, has been quoted as saying that he expects the case ultimately to make it to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.

3. And now to my experience last week at a meeting hosted by the US Coast Guard to discuss a study of the potential effects of wind turbines on marine radar navigation in Nantucket Sound.

The whole way the meeting came about was strange. It was mentioned in newspaper articles on Saturday Dec. 13. But when I called the Coast Guard's public affairs office the following Monday, I was told they did not know when or where the meeting would be held.

On Wednesday morning Dec. 17, I tried again. And again I was told that the place and time was not available. So, red flags were waving in my head: How could the Coast Guard not know when and where they would hold a meeting that was slated to happen the following day?

It was a spokesperson from Cape Wind who finally told me where the meeting would be held. But on Wednesday afternoon, I got a call from Petty Officer Luke Pinneo at the Coast Guard's public affairs office in Boston. He also said the meeting was at 9:30 a.m. at the Sea Crest Oceanfront Resort in Falmouth. We spoke for about 10 or 15 minutes regarding the meeting's agenda, as well as where my story would air and a few things about how NPR works. Pinneo wanted to know if the story would be sent out nationally, and I said, no, it would be a local story.

So, I showed up at the meeting. And about 6 minutes before it was scheduled to begin, the moderator, Mr. Ed. LeBlanc, approached me and told me I could not use my recorder during the meeting. When I put my microphone in front of him and asked him why, LeBlanc walked away and let Public Affairs Officer Erik Halvorson answer my questions.

Standing in the middle of the room, with all heads turned in our direction, I argued that the prohibition was a violation of both the First Amendment and the state's Open Meeting Law. Halvorson said this was not a "public meeting," but instead it was a meeting "the public is invited to attend."

Here's a transcription from a portion of the conversation:

LeBlanc: "We'd ask you not to record today's meeting. So. I'll let you speak with Mr. Halvorson."
Reporter: "I spoke with someone yesterday from the Coast Guard..."
Halvorson: "You spoke with our office, yeah, and we've been all along saying no recording during the meeting."
Reporter: "Well, why didn't he say that to me yesterday when I spoke with him?"
Halvorson: "I didn't hear the conversation, sir. I'm not sure if he did or didn't."
Reporter: "Want to call him? Let's give him a call. I don't understand what's going on. Why ... what's the reason?"
Halvorson: "The reason we're not (allowing audio recording) is because it is proprietary information that could be presented here today. It's not been publicly released. And so until the time that it's released, we're trying to keep it to the committee here because they have a role in the deliberative process that we go through in making a recommendation."
Reporter: "But we have reporters here with notebooks...?"
Halvorson: "You're welcome to stay and take notes."
Reporter: "But what's the difference between having someone write down what is said and having someone record...?"
Halvorson: "There is a difference between that information given by the presenter and what you can take down by note. And that is just a decision that has been made through the admiral."
Reporter: "I didn't understand that explanation. What's the difference between someone writing down what was said and a recording of what was said?"
Halvorson: "Well, one's recorded and one's written."

The rest of the conversation is pretty much me trying to get some clarity on this unusual restraint on the free press and Halvorson repeating his explanation. I asked if there was someone else at the meeting who I could appeal to, and I was told that it was too late; the meeting was about to start. I decided not to have them forcibly eject me, and instead I took notes. It was clear that I would not win the debate.

In twelve years of professional reporting experience, I have never encountered anything like this. I was put in the position where I needed to stand in the middle of a room, with about 100 people watching, and argue freedom of the press issues to a representative of the United States government.

What was most frustrating was not being allowed to record questions and comments from the audience. It was a raucous and rather strange meeting. As I reported in my story on Friday morning, moderator Ed LeBlanc told the audience that he would not accept questions about methodology, about assumptions made during the study or about conclusions that have been reached. When audience members tried to ask questions anyway, LeBlanc said the meeting was over because they were out of time. Several audience members shouted that the process was "an outrage," and they vocally questioned why the meeting was being held at all.

Be sure to check back for updates on this issue.

DECEMBER 15, 2008

The Political Winds Are Kicking Up Again

It's still possible we could see the much-anticipated Minerals Management Service's environmental review of Cape Wind before we don our party hats and the band strikes up Auld Lang Syne, but it's not likely.

For much of this year MMS officials have said they expect to release their final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) by the end of December, and therefore before a new presidential administration takes over. But as I reported last week (see below), it now appears that the final MMS decision will "likely" not come until January, according to Cape Wind spokesperson Mark Rodgers.

A spokesperson from the MMS told me on Friday that the agency wants to include a Coast Guard study regarding the project's impact on radar and navigation, and the MMS is working closely with the Coast Guard to get that done, he said. The same spokesperson said officials at the MMS are still hoping to release the EIS before the end of the year.

So, as I said, it's still possible we'll read the document before we're writing "2009" on our checks. But the reason it's unlikely is because a powerful Congressman from a state far from Nantucket Sound has entered the fray.

Now we're hearing that Representative James L. Oberstar of Minnesota, who chairs the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, which oversees the Coast Guard, has asked the Guard to delay releasing its navigation study. In response, the Coast Guard has agreed to accept comments on its study for 30 days before officially releasing the report. The result will be that MMS will not get the Coast Guard study until January, and therefore the MMS report will not arrive until after the New Year.

And could there be even more delays before the feds make a decision? You bet. It's being reported that Oberstar is considering holding Congressional hearings about the project. Those could take however long the chairman wants.

DECEMBER 11, 2008

Hey, Santa! How About an MMS Report for Christmas?

The much-anticipated Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) on the Cape Wind project could now be headed for a January release.

Cape Wind spokesperson Mark Rodgers is quoted in today's Nantucket Independent as saying the US Department of Interior's Minerals Management Service has agreed to hold-off on releasing the FEIS until the US Coast Guard issues its own report and recommendation.

The Independent quotes Rodgers as saying: "They want to include the Coast Guard marine radar report in the FEIS, and this will mean a January instead of a December release."

We asked Rodgers if the quote is accurate, and Rodgers says he was a bit less definitive during the newspaper interview, saying, "this likely will mean a January instead of a December release."

The Coast Guard is expected to issue its radar report this week, or possibly as late as Monday. It's also expected to be favorable toward the project, especially since Coast Guard commander Raymond Perry said during a conference call last week that Cape Wind is "doable."

The timing of the FEIS is significant.

Once the FEIS is released, the government must wait 30 days before issuing a "record of decision." So, if the report comes anytime after December 19, that would mean the record of decision would fall to the Obama administration. Obama has been an outspoken supporter of renewable energy projects, but the very fact that a new administration and new leadership at the Minerals Management Service would become involved in the project raises uncertainties.

An MMS spokesperson did not immediately return a phone message for comment on the timing of the report.

In other news...

With the MMS report just days or weeks away, it's a good time to take a look at what must happen for Cape Wind to actually put a turbine in the water. The first three are sequential, and the remaining can happen in any order, Rodgers says.

1) The Coast Guard submits its marine radar report to the MMS.

2) The MMS releases its Final Environmental Impact Statement.

3) 30 days after the FEIS, MMS issues a Record of Decision, which, Rodgers says, will include lease terms.

4) The US Coast Guard must certify the project as Private Aid to Navigation.

5) The Army Corps of Engineers issues what's called a Section 10 Permit.

6) The Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management issues a Consistency Determination.

7) The Massachusetts Energy Facilities Siting Board issues a Composite Certificate (bundling several necessary permits into one super permit, if you will.)

8) The Federal Aviation Administration issues a No Hazard to Navigation determination.

Cape Wind expects to have all these steps completed by the end of March 2009, Rodgers says.

NOVEMBER 26, 2008

I put a call into the Department of the Interior's Minerals Management Service this week to try to get a little heads-up on when they may release the final Environmental Impact Statement about the Cape Wind project. Alas, I've heard nothing back, so the waiting continues. The feds promised the report by sometime this year, so it should be released within the next few weeks.

The Minerals Management Service has not received very good press lately -- though none of it related to the Cape Wind project.

Last week, MMS director Randall Luthi announced that two employees were fired and eight others disciplined as a result of a recent investigation by the inspector general's office. The IG found that MMS employees at the Denver office allegedly received gifts from oil companies and engaged in a "culture of substance abuse and promiscuity," according to the report.

The federal agency also came under fire by the judicial branch last week.

On Thursday, a federal appeals court ruled that regulators at the MMS violated environmental laws and improperly granted Shell Oil permission to drill several exploratory wells in Alaska's Beaufort Sea.

In other news...

I'll be on vacation next week and not updating this blog. But if the MMS does release the final Environmental Impact Statement, all recreation will be suspended to get on the story.

NOVEMBER 21, 2008

Cape's Wind's opponents show no signs of slowing down, and apparently fundraising is picking up.

A short item in the Cape Cod Times today says the nonprofit Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound received $1 million more in contributions in 1997 than the previous year. Times reporter Patrick Cassidy writes that the organization's tax forms report raising $3.2 million last year. And since 2001, the Allliance has raised about $16 million to fight the wind farm.

NOVEMBER 20, 2008

An unlikely interloper into the Cape Wind debate a few years ago is a US senator no more.

This morning, Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska took to the Senate floor and said goodbye. And it's fitting that we note his passage from the legislative body because it was Stevens that came within a whisker of sinking the water-based Cape Wind project.

A quick review: In May of 2006, Stevens inserted a provision into a Coast Guard bill that would have given Gov. Mitt Romney (an opponent of the Cape Wind proposal) veto power over the project. At the time, Stevens said he was simply supporting "states' rights," but according to published reports, he also acknowledged discussing the legislative maneuver privately with Sen. Ted Kennedy, one of the project's fiercest critics.

It would seem the proposal to install 130 wind turbines off the coast of Cape Cod is likely the farthest thing from Stevens mind these days. Not only did the 40-year incumbent from Alaska just lose his Senate seat in a close election, he also recently was found guilty of seven counts of lying about home renovations and gifts he received. Each count comes with a potential 5-year prison sentence.

In other news...

When officials from utility companies and transmission organizations talk about keeping electricity prices down, the number one topic is energy efficiency. With very few new sources of power in the works, insiders see efficiency as the best way to make a quick impact on the cost of power.

So while wind, solar and nuclear energy proposals are discussed at various utility conferences, the top question typically asked is: How can we get people to participate in energy audits and make their homes more energy efficient?

Along those lines, I will be attending a Cape Light Compact public hearing Monday night in Eastham. The CLC is required by the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities to submit an energy efficiency plan by the first of December, so CLC officials are hosting public hearings to get residents' input on what they've come up with.

The hearing is Monday, Nov. 24, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Eastham Town Hall.

Even if you cannot attend, the CNC wants your input. They've created a survey, which can be found at . The survey is lengthy, but CLC claims as much as $463 million can be saved on the Cape and Islands in electricity use (individual customers stand to save up to 30 percent on their bills) by implementing a comprehensive efficiency strategy.

And in even other news...

We're now waiting for two bureaucracies to hand down rulings related to the Cape Wind project: The federal Mineral Management Service is due to release its final Environmental Impact Statement within the next few weeks. And, the State Siting Board has heard testimony and will now rule on whether it will bundle nearly a dozen local and state permits that Cape Wind needs into one Super Permit, if you will. That decision probably won't come down until sometime next year.

NOVEMBER 6, 2008

A Decision is Close

I have two bits of news today that should interest wind watchers.

First, the feds appear to be on the verge of making a decision.

Mark Rodgers, Cape Wind's spokesperson, said he expects the US Department of Interior's Mineral Management Service to issue its final environmental impact statement (FEIS) sometime within the next 30 days. The MMS folks have been in weekly contact with Cape Wind officials, Rodgers said, and it appears things are winding down.

A 2,000-page draft report was issued by the MMS this past January, and it clearly indicated that the federal government was leaning toward approving the 130 wind turbine project in Nantucket Sound. The draft was followed by a series of public hearings and a comment period. So the final report will tell us if the feds found anything new that has changed their mind about the project.

Now, the second news tidbit: Last night was most likely the final public hearing on the 7- year-old proposal.

"I don't think there are any other public hearing requirements" for the permitting process, Rodgers said.

Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection officials were at Mattacheese Middle School in Yarmouth last night, taking testimony on Cape Wind's Chapter 91 application to install two, 115 kilovolt cables connecting the wind farm with land. The cables would be sunk 6 feet below the seabed as they extend 7.6 miles through state waters before traveling another 4 miles below-ground in Yarmouth and then nearly 2 miles to the Barnstable substation.

The hearing was rather subdued, and unlike previous public hearings, this one had no shouting pirates, chanting sign holders or free pizza (at least no one offered me any). There also was little new information. About 70 people were in the audience, and just more than 30 people approached the microphone.

Most of the comments have been stated at previous hearings. But several opponents of Cape Wind took issue with the fact that Gov. Deval Patrick's administration recently changed state regulations, making it easier to license the cables as "water dependent." The designation allows regulators to move Cape Wind's Chapter 91 application along more quickly. Nonwater-dependent projects are required to be more heavily scrutinized by regulators.

OCTOBER 30, 2008

Another Chance to Chat

For people who enjoy public speaking, the past seven years have provided plenty of opportunities to stand at microphones and watch journalists and bureaucrats scribble notes.

Even if the wind farm never is constructed, Cape Wind's extended permitting process has served to bring people together for long nights of oration, dissertation and recitation. And if you haven't had the opportunity to give your opinion on the proposal to locate 130 wind turbines in Nantucket Sound, there's another opportunity next Wednesday night when the Department of Environmental Protection will be in town.

Ideally you'll offer your opinion on the project's two submarine electric transmission cables and their associated fiber optic cables. For the project to hook-up to the regional power grid, the cables would need to travel through the Cape and Islands Ocean Sanctuary before coming ashore in Yarmouth and traveling into Barnstable. And the DEP is gathering input on that aspect of the project.

Next Wednesday's hearing starts at 6:30 p.m. at the Mattacheese Middle School in West Yarmouth. If you can't make it, or if you're all talked out, we'll be there to let you know what happened.

OCTOBER 23, 2008

Cape Wind Backers Have Spent $35 million

The online publication Climate Wire posted a story this week that discusses the growing number of offshore wind projects that threaten to challenge Cape Wind's push to be the first offshore wind farm in the U.S. I've tried to keep you in the loop about these projects, and you can find several stories below about the race to be first.

The Climate Wire story was well done, but it largely contains information that folks on the Cape and Islands already are familiar with.

But there was one interesting fact deep in the story that we have not heard before, and Cape Wind's spokesperson just confirmed it: Jim Gordon and the principles of Cape Wind have spent $35 million on the wind farm proposal so far.

In other news...

Ever since Cape Wind's financial advisor Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy, I've been wondering what impact the banking and credit crises could have on the plan to install 130 wind turbines in Nantucket Sound.

Cape Wind's spokesperson, Mark Rodgers, has assured me and other journalists that he and his colleagues are not worried. Cape Wind has waited to get its financing in place until the permitting process is complete, and he's confident there will be plenty of financing dollars available to fund the wind farm -- even with its more than $1 billion price tag.

Journalists love to play swami and predict the future. But the reality is that in this financial climate there is no way of knowing how successful the Cape Wind project will be when it comes to lining up investors.

Still, people are starting to worry that alternative energy projects in general may be facing hard times. I heard industry folks talk about the credit crises at a recent ISO New England conference in Boston, and this week the New York Times ran a story airing many of the same concerns. Read that story here.


And in even other news...

I was hoping that when challenger Jeff Beatty debated Sen. John Kerry on Monday, the Harwich Republican would successfully push the senator to reveal his position on Cape Wind. As I've written in the past, Kerry has consistently said he will not publicly support or oppose the project until the US Minerals Management Service issues its final report, which is due by the end of the year.

Cape Wind did indeed come up during the debate, but Kerry continued to keep his opinion on the controversial wind farm to himself.

"I think it's important to let the process work here," he said. "I am in favor of wind power. If it comes out correctly, I support it."

So, he did say the words "support" and "I," but unfortunately it's hard to discern what the senator means by "comes out correctly."

OCTOBER 16, 2008

Delays Continue in Cape Wind Permitting Process

The Cape Wind project has been vigorously debated for seven years now -- far longer than anyone anticipated. And the delays continue.

One of the permitting battles underway involves the electric transmission cables that would travel from the wind farm and come ashore in Yarmouth, where they would connect to the Cape's regional electrical grid.

The state's Department of Public Utilities' Energy Facilities Siting Board is presently reviewing the plan for those two 115kv cables, and the Siting Board was scheduled to hold a hearing about the issue today. But in what seems to be a theme for the controversial project, the hearing was delayed.

"The evidentiary hearing was supposed to be today," said Timothy Shevlin, the executive director of the Depart of Public Utilities. "Now it has been put off. There were some issues that had to do with the dispositions of various motions. (The hearing) has now been rescheduled to November 12 through the 14."

Shevlin declined to estimate when a final decision may be rendered.

So, mark your calendars for the November dates. But use a pencil.

OCTOBER 15, 2008

Wind Projects Seen as More Cost Effective

Last week I told you that Congress (finally) passed the Production Tax Credits as part of the Wall Street bailout package, just as the last PTCs were about to expire. But I was left wondering (and so were some of my readers) why tax breaks for wind technologies only were renewed for one year, while PTCs for other renewables were extended for up to eight years?

Looking for an answer, I turned to Jeff Swenerton, the spokesperson for the Center for Resource Solutions, who is piped into everything Green.

"I think the answer," Swenerton said, "is that wind is seen as close to cost effective anyway, and can bear the risk of last-minute annual renewals -- which is a long-standing Congressional practice. The other technologies got a longer window since they are seen as less cost effective and it is more certain that they will need the PTC guarantee for longer periods in order to get financing in the first place."

OCTOBER 6, 2008

Congress OKs Tax Credits as Part of Bailout

Is the United States government committed to developing renewable energies? It's hard to tell.

Last Friday, Congress renewed a slew of production tax credits for renewable energy projects such as wind. Industry folks say these incentives are necessary to encourage new projects and development, but for the past several years Congress has opted to renew them on a year-to-year basis, and always at the eleventh hour.

With the incentives once again about to lapse, members approved another extension of the PTCs last week, and they did it as part of the Wall Street rescue package.

In other words: the only way Congress could support the development of green technologies this year was as pork.

The leadership attached the Green tax incentives to the $700 billion bailout bill, thereby making the legislation a bit sweeter to hold-out legislators. Sweet pork, if you will.

Supporters of wind power will be interested in knowing that Congress once again opted to extend the PTCs for only one year. Other cutting-edge energies such as geothermal and biomass received two- year extensions. While some solar projects and other technologies received an 8-year extension.

OCTOBER 1, 2008

Will It Be Harder to Lasso Money for Wind Farming?

A few weeks back, after Lehman Brothers fell and television commentators started to talk about 1929 and their favorite Steinbeck novels, we asked what effect the banking/credit/Wall Street crises might have on the financing of the Cape Wind project.

Cape Wind spokesman Mark Rodgers offered assurances that the project would have no problem garnering financial backing. True, Lehman Brothers was retained three years ago to structure financing for the project, but Rodgers said that so far Cape Wind administrators have concentrated on the permitting process, not the financing. He said numerous financial institutions have made finance pitches to Cape Wind, and he didn't expect it to be an issue. (You can read more about Rogers' response below in the September 18 entry.)

Still, with all the media telling us that lending is drying up world-wide, we are still wondering if it's a certainty that Cape Wind can raise more than $1 billion to get the turbines moving, assuming it completes the permitting process.

On September 18 we attended ISO New England's 2008 Regional Energy Conference, and we asked some of the industry insiders there whether Cape Wind could have a difficult time raising investment capital. And the answer we got was, yes.

In fact, participants in a session called "Shades of Green: The Currency of Renewables" all chuckled when I asked the question over the microphone, as if everyone in the room but me knew that such a large renewable project could face significant barriers now that the banking system is in a hissy.

Stephane Landry, senior vice president of strategy and market development at Brookfield Renewable Power, said the answer was simple: "It's going to make it more difficult."

Seth Kaplan, senior attorney and director of the Clean Energy & Climate Change program at the Conservation Law Foundation noted that "there are a lot of unknowable unknowables" in the finance market right now, but said it was clear that capital-intense projects like Cape Wind will be much harder to accomplish in the current financial environment.

In fairness, no one at the conference said straight-out that financing just won't be available. And if Jim Gordon -- the man behind the Cape Wind project -- knows one thing, it's how to make money in the energy sector. So we have to assume he wouldn't be risking millions of his own dollars -- and giving up years of his professional life and clout -- if he wasn't assured of a payback.

Also, it should be noted that another highly respected financial firm, the UK's Barclays Capital, has taken over Lehman Brothers' investment banking business and will handle Cape Wind's financial advising.

SEPTEMBER 24, 2008

Letter from Scotland

a guest blog entry by WCAI reporter Elizabeth Saito

I've recently returned from southwest Scotland, where I spent three weeks at a seasonal caravan park in the hills overlooking the Solway Firth. The Solway is the body of water nestled in the crook between Scotland and England.

Robin Rigg wind farm footprint

To the north are the rolling pasturelands of Galloway, and to the southeast the English lake district of Cumbria. A 60-turbine wind farm is currently under construction in the middle of the Solway Firth. I was informed of this by a neighbor at the caravan park who called it "a blot on the landscape." "But," he said, "when you consider the alternatives..." and then shrugged his shoulders as if to say 'what can you do'.

I decided to find out more about this so-called Robin Rigg wind farm. My first stop was the harbormaster's office in the nearby fishing and tourist town of Kirkcudbright, situated inland on the river Dee.

Harbormaster Rob Thompson more photos

Over a cup of tea, harbormaster Rob Thompson, 67, told me the wind farm was "not really a local concern". It was ten miles to the west, and not visible from Kirkcudbright proper. The fishermen headed south, so that wasn't a problem. Did he think it was a navigational hazard? Not really, "more of a nuisance than anything else." He'd "rather it wasn't there," adding "but the politicians seem to like them for some odd reason". Thompson favored hydropower.

Thompson also noted that the wind farm is in Scottish waters, but the power cable makes landfall in England and all the construction is being staged from the English coast. This was a disappointment to those hoping the project might create local jobs, he said.

Next I visited the office of the regional paper The Galloway News. Deputy editor Lee Kerr, a youngish woman who didn't want her picture taken, took me on a one-hour whirlwind tour of their digital archives. This basic narrative emerged: the project is proposed in 2002; it is opposed by a consortium of local community councils under the title "Keep Galloway Beautiful"; the Scottish parliament approves the project the next year; the original developer sells the project; the community councils demand the approval be revisited; construction begins in 2007.

Kerr told me "so many people seem to be against wind farms in our area." But then we came to an article reporting that a small poll had showed residents equally split on the issue. "I guess you always hear more about the people who don't want it," she reasoned. Did the paper take an editorial stance? She paused as if trying to recall if they had or not -- a hesitation I found amazing -- and then answered, "not really, I don't think so."

Kerr said there had been a big stir when the project was first proposed. People were worried it would get "steamrolled through" -- an impression not hindered by the fact that the Scottish parliament levied a 20 pound (40 dollar) fee on anyone wishing to file an objection. Once the approval came through, Kerr said that most people stopped paying attention. The only recent drama occurred when the drilling platform began to tip over and 37 workers had to be rescued. (The underwater pilings have been installed, but not the turbines themselves.)

Both Kerr and the harbormaster suggested I go to Auchencairn, the little town closest to the project. I arrived on a rainy day and was lucky enough to track down councilman David Beresford at his repair shop. Beresford, dressed in a red mechanics suit, continued inspecting several different car parts as we talked. "It's going to ruin the view across the bay," he said with more resignation than outrage. The Auchencairn council had unanimously opposed the project, he said, but was "overruled" by the Scottish parliament. "We're going to have it. Doesn'st matter how much we jump up and down and stamp out feet." Beresford prefers nuclear power. (From reading the national papers I learned the Scottish government opposes the building of new nuclear plants while the English government is strongly behind them).

I told Beresford a bit about our situation on the Cape and wondered if there was any group analogous to Clean Power Now: was no one proud or excited about this clean energy project? He looked at me quizzically, "no, can't say as there'd be any pride in it."

Back at the caravan park, which is situated on a 2,000-acre estate, I continued asking around. The lady in the shop hadn't hear of the project but didn't "particularly like wind farms". The estate manager thought it was a good thing. And the owner of the estate, an enthusiastic birder, said he didn't give it much thought: "out of sight, out of mind, you know."

How Robin Rigg compares to Cape Wind

Photos from this story


SEPTEMBER 18, 2008

Cape Wind Financial Advising Firm Goes Under

Lehman Brothers announced on Monday that it was filing for bankruptcy -- not good news for the more than 1,000 people the banking giant employs in Massachusetts. But the firm also has been leading the effort to gather financing for Cape Wind. So we're wondering what affect the turmoil at Lehman Brothers could have on the Cape Wind project.

On May 16, 2005, Cape Wind released a press release saying that the project had engaged Lehman Brothers to provide financial advisory services. The release read, "Lehman Brothers will work with Cape Wind to structure the optimal financing for the 468 megawatt renewable energy project through a mix of equity, commercial and bank debt or capital markets debt."

At the time, Cape Wind's president, Jim Gordon, said, "Several investment banks competed for our business. We chose Lehman Brothers because they are one of the world's premier energy project financiers and because Lehman's managing director on this assignment, is a committed environmentalist and long time Martha's Vineyard resident..."

Gordon was speaking about Theodore Roosevelt IV, who in addition to his position as managing director for Lehman Brothers, he also is the chairman of the board of directors at the Pew Center on Global Climate Change. We put in a call to Roosevelt there, but we have not heard back.

On Tuesday, Mark Rodgers, the Cape Wind spokesperson, downplayed the significance of Lehman Brothers' financial woes and said Cape Wind has so far not been concentrating on its financing.

"Our approach has been to really focus first on the permitting. And we still have a bit more to do before the permitting stage is complete, so really the work on the finance side to date has been fairly exploratory and tentative by design. So the affect of Lehman Brothers, right now it is unfortunate for them, but I think the affects on Cape Wind are going to be very minor."

Rodgers says Lehman's bankruptcy was not a surprise, and actually could be seen on the horizon for about a year. But he says Cape Wind has not moved to link-up with a different financial firm.

"There has been no significant effort on our part. That said, since the beginning of the project, and quite a bit over the past year, we've been approached by a number of the finest leading financial institutions who have expressed great interest in working with Cape Wind on our project finance. So we are certainly not going to have difficult in obtaining some excellent financial advice."

But opponents of the Cape Wind project have long questioned its economic viability and its ability to attract investors. Audra Parker, the assistant director for the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound, says the cost of capital investment in wind projects is so high that she is concerned the generated electricity could raise electricity rates rather than lower them.

"I think Cape Wind is going to have difficulty getting financing regardless of Lehman Brothers situation. We've seen in the federal report on the impact of the project that the cost of generation from the project is extremely high. Cape Wind really has two problems, one, they have high cost of generation with an extremely expensive project, and they don't have power purchase agreement, which is something they would need before they get financing."

Rodgers says that so far, all of the money invested in the Cape Wind project has come from internal sources, such as Cape Wind's president Jim Gordon and other principles in the firm.

Will Finance Dry Up for Renewable Energy?

It's not an easy question to answer. In fact, it seems that experts around the world have mixed opinions on the matter.

On Monday, Reuters in Europe put a story on the wire quoting a senior banker who said that Europe's renewable energy sector will see a significant shortfall in debt finance by 2020 because of the credit crisis and a brake on lending.

Reuters quoted Tanja Cuppen, a renewable investing executive at Rabobank, who spoke at a renewable energy finance conference in London on Monday. Cuppen said the pace of growth of the renewable energy sector "coupled with less appetite for long-tern lending, would contribute to a 21 billion euros ($29.43) debt finance shortfall."

"The credit crunch will have a major impact on the renewable energy sector," Cuppen said. "I think we haven't had the worst yet."

The Reuters story is the most dire we came across, though we expect more stories in the coming days as reporters begin to recognize the wide-ranging significance of the banking crises.

In January, Platts.com, a publication that concentrates on energy news, quoted energy analyst Rutherford Poats of the group Pace as saying the sub-prime credit crunch has "already been felt in energy project finance markets and will continue to be a factor during 2008."

Poats said that, despite concerns, "the credit squeeze can be dealt with via prudent project and capital structuring and careful selection of capital sources."

This could be a significant issue for large renewable energy projects, and we're going to keep an eye on it.

On Thursday we are going to the ISO New England Energy Forum, and slated to be there are several important policy makers, industry representatives and energy experts. Among the group is Joseph Kelliher, chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, as well as Charles Shivery, chairman and president of Northeast Utilities Systems. We'll ask some of these folks what the banking crises may mean for renewable energy projects and report back.

Next week: windmills in Scotland?

September 11, 2008

State OKs Transmission Lines -- But Still Waiting on Feds

The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection has issued to Cape Wind what's called a "Water Quality Certification," which permits the installation of about 7.5 miles of the project's transmission lines in the state waters of Lewis Bay in Nantucket Sound.

We're not sure why we're just hearing about this decision right now, but how significant is it? Well, it's one of about 20 permits the project still needs to obtain -- so it's another step in the process.

Also, the fact that Cape Wind was issued the permit certainly is not a surprise. The governor supports Cape Wind, and so does Ian Bowles, the secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection. Also consider that Cape Wind already passed the state's primary environmental review when the project received its final certificate under the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act last March.

The big test for Cape Wind is due any time now, when the United States Minerals Management Service (MMS) issues its final report sometime this fall.

Waiting for Congress to Produce

It seems almost every year Congress waits until the eleventh hour to extend the government's tax credits for alternative energy, commonly called PTCs (production tax credits), and this year is no exception.

Some of the credits already expired, and the remainder are set to end December 31. So, Congress only has until the end of the month to get this work done before it goes on vacation, and so far members are at an impasse.

"Both houses of Congress have considered this issue a total of 13 times in the last year," said lobbyist Marchant Wentworth of the Union of Concerned Scientists. "It's sad, but they have not been able to come up with a compromise to get this done."

Lawmakers seem to be in agreement that the PTCs need to be extended, Wentworth says, but the issue seems to be how (or whether) they should be paid for.

"On the Senate side," Wentworth says, "the Republicans maintain that extension of existing tax credits need not be paid for from the federal budget, which is an interesting turnaround. On the House side, House conservative Democrats maintain that all extensions of tax credits must be paid for. And so they have yet to get a compromise on this issue."

If the tax credits are not paid for, Wentworth says estimates indicate the loss in tax revenue would between $12 and $15 billion. But Wentworth is optimistic that a compromise ultimately will be reached, though it likely would happen behind closed doors in a conference committee.

"There is just too much at stake not to act," Wentworth says. "Studies indicate to us that there's over 117,000 jobs at risk right now and billions of dollars of investment that is not taking place because investors just don't know if the tax credits will be extended or not. So there is a lot at risk."

The Big Wind industry is particularly hungry for the credits' because the PTC provides a generous 1.9- cent per kilowatt-hour benefit for the first 10 years a wind energy-generating plant is producing power.

We don't want to be alarmist about this issue, but sources from the renewable energy industry are adamant that this delay -- and the possibility that the tax credits may not be renewed at all -- is a big deal. The tax credits, they say, play a critical role in encouraging new wind, solar and other renewable energy projects. Without them, projects simply do not go forward and investment dries up.

"In years when the PTC has not been renewed -- and there's been three in the last decade: 1999, 2001 and 2003 -- (wind and solar) installations dropped by as much as 90 percent the following year," says Jeff Swenerton of the Center for Resource Solutions in San Francisco. "Last year, with the production tax credit in effect, wind installations were up almost 50 percent."

Both Marchant Wentworth and
Jeff Swenerton spoke with us about this issue in detail, raising several interesting points.

September 4, 2008

Waiting for Cape Wind to Pick Up

I spoke with representatives from both sides of the Cape Wind issue this week and there's not too much to report. It's mostly a waiting game with the Minerals Management Service expected to release its final environmental impact report this fall. But while supporters and critics of Cape Wind eagerly anticipate the federal agency's findings, the Cape Wind project continues to make its way into the national media. Mark Rodgers, Cape Wind's spokesperson, told me that Fox News was in town recently to visit the project's metrological data tower. Rodgers went out on a boat to the southern portion of Horseshoe Shoal to visit the tower with producers from Fox, and he expects a story to air within the month.

Here are a few stories we spotted floating around the Internet this week:

- From the Virginia-Pilot, an interesting story about the off-shore wind farm proposal there, about 12 miles off Virginia Beach. Apparently, researchers are half-way through studying the farm's potential and things look good. Also, check out the chart regarding off-shore wind farms around the world.

- Apparently we're not the only ones wondering why Sen. John Kerry can't decide if he is for or against the Cape Wind project (see Aug. 28 entry). The Patriot Ledger is eager to know the junior senator's thoughts on the proposal, too.

- And check out Matthew Wald's story about wind power and the countr'?s antiquated electrical transmission lines in the New York Times.

Next week I'll provide an update on the production tax credits that Congress still has not renewed, as well as discuss why renewable energy insiders consider the tax breaks vital to the wind industry. What's holding the politicians up? Money. Check back for the full scoop.

August 28, 2008

Kerry's Opponent Says Cape Wind Is Not Perfect, But Necessary

For the first time since Sen. John Kerry took office 23 years ago he is facing an opponent in the Democratic primary next month. Ed O'Reilly, an attorney from the Cape Ann area, is challenging the Bay State's junior senator. And unlike Kerry, O'Reilly has decided where he stands on the issue of Cape Wind.

But first, here's the comment (in full) that we received this week from Kerry's spokesperson, Brigid O'Rourke, when asked if the senator has reached a conclusion regarding Cape Wind:

"Senator Kerry has repeatedly stated that he will not make a decision until the final EIS (Environmental Impact Statement) is released. He knows full well the important role that wind power must play in our fight against global climate change. But he also knows that Cape Wind is the first project of its size and scale in the United States and that we absolutely must get this right. It's clear that America needs to find renewable energy sources, and he would love to see wind energy powering homes in Massachusetts but it is critical that any proposal go though a rigorous process to determine its impact on the environment and affected communities."

The EIS report is due this fall, and we've invited the senator to come on The Point to discuss it once it's made public.

But O'Reilly says he doesn't need to wait. He doesn't like the Cape Wind project because it is not community-driven, but said, "I am not going to oppose it."

"I think it is a weighing process," he said. "I was not in favor of it because it doesn't fit my economic model. But with people suffering so much (because of energy prices) and we need immediate relief, why would I oppose it?"

O'Reilly supports removing Wall Street investors from renewable energy proposals and instead have communities organize their own renewable energy companies, similar to the 40 municipal-electric companies in the state. The federal government would provide the needed expertise and low-interest loans to get the renewable projects going, and then any profits would be invested back into the communities.

Under his plan, he said communities would initiate renewable energy project, and then "wouldn't experience problems when outsiders come in."

But O'Reilly's preferred system of developing renewable energy projects does not exist, and he said he recognizes a clear, immediate need for clean power. So, if elected, he said he would not stand in the way of Cape Wind.

"Renewable energy production has to be at an accelerated pace so we are on our way to being energy independent," he said.

O'Reilly also criticized Kerry for not taking a stand on the Cape Wind issue.

"Senator Kerry is saying he is undecided on it," O'Reilly said, "so what do you say about that? Typical John Kerry -- he is on the fence. He says he is undecided, what does that mean? Lean one way or the other, or tell us what are your thoughts on it."

"He's just putting it off until after the election so he can say he's undecided," O'Reilly said. "He wants to wait until the process runs out."

It's worth noting that the project already has gone through several state and federal reviews. Sen. Ted Kennedy has been opposed to the project since the beginning, and Gov. Deval Patrick supports Cape Wind and even highlighted it in his inaugural address.

August 20, 2008

Cape Wind and Light Compact Not Negotiating Yet

The Barnstable Patriot posted a story this week announcing that Cape Wind and the Cape Light Compact have signed a confidentiality agreement "that will cover their negotiations over purchasing electricity, if and when the wind farm is built."

The Cape Light Compact is a regional power-purchasing organization that negotiates electricity costs for local communities, counties and the area?s more than 200,000 electricity customers. If Cape Wind moves forward, it will be the Cape Light Compact that will negotiate contracts and the cost to purchase the green power.

The newspaper story gave the impression that the confidentiality agreement just recently was signed, and that discussions about purchasing the wind-generated energy are either underway or imminent.

The story made us wonder: Has a contract been negotiated? Does someone already know how much the Cape Wind energy will cost? Is something being kept confidential?

The administrator of Cape Light Compact is on vacation this week, but Cape Wind spokesperson Mark Rodgers cleared things up a bit. He said the confidentiality agreement was signed about two years ago.

"This was not recent," he said. Cape Wind and the Compact met around the time the confidentiality agreement was signed about two years ago, Rodgers said, and "the parties have stayed in contact."

Rodgers also said that all talks with the Compact since then have been informal.

"There is no contract, that is for sure," Rodgers said. "There were some informal discussions."

When will ratepayers see a contract with some hard numbers?

"Our approach all along has been to focus primarily on the permitting process first," Rodgers said. "When all of the permits and permissions are in place then we would advance what have been informal discussions on the sale of electricity to more formal discussions. We would expect to be in that stage early next year if we can complete the permitting this year."

You can read the Patriot story here.

August 13, 2008

A Blow-up in Hyannis? No.

For the past week or so, the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound has been encouraging its members and supporters to be on hand Monday when Gov. Deval Patrick came to Hyannis, telling them in an email to show up early, bring a lawn chair and "be prepared to ask Governor Patrick, who is an ardent Cape Wind supporter, serious questions about this flawed project in light of promising new alternatives."

It was hard to know if the governor would encounter pointed questions, protestors and maybe even opponents dressed up as pirates as they did during the US Minerals and Management Service hearings earlier this year.

Well, there were no pirates, and according to my colleague Brian Morris who covered the event, the questioning of the governor over the most contentious project to hit Cape Cod in the past decade was "civil," Morris said. There were "no fireworks," and "nothing earth shattering." It was "casual," he said, with "give and take."

Patrick received only one question about Cape Wind, Morris said, and the governor responded diplomatically.

"There are thoughtful views on both sides of this question," Patrick said. "This is not easy. I know it's contentious. I know people have a lot of passion about it. And I think on balance it's good. I know you differ. But I am very respectful of the fact that there are some serious issues on the other side. And issues about disclosure and actual cost are part of it."

Company Eyes Maine Waters for Wind Farm

Blue H USA was back in the news again this week, when it announced its intention to locate a wind farm in the Gulf of Maine.

You'll remember that Blue H is in the "floating turbine" business. The turbines have no foundation, and the floating platform is anchored to the seafloor using chains. The company has a test turbine off the coast of Italy, and it has asked the MMS for permission to install a demonstration turbine 23 miles off the coast of Martha's Vineyard.

The proposal appears to have some political support. On July 3, Blue H announced that it has received a letter of support from the entire Massachusetts congressional delegation for the installation of the demonstration turbine. Ultimately, the company's goal is to create a 120-turbine wind farm in the same area as the test turbine that could generate more than 400 megawatts of electricity.

Now Blue H is proposing 90 turbines capable of generating 450 megawatts in the Gulf of Maine. But that doesn't mean Blue H is giving up on the Bay State.

"As we move forward in Massachusetts we are similarly moving forward in Maine," Blue H spokesperson Martin Reilly told the Bangor Daily News.

"What we're really trying to do is focus in and find an appropriate location in the state of Maine that will have minimal impact on the fisheries and the environment," Blue H USA's general manager Raymond Dackerman told the Daily News.

Here is the full Bangor Daily News story.

The News Web

You can find a list of both the existing and the proposed U.S. wind farm at this link.

Check out this column from New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman who writes that he just cannot get over how far Denmark has come since the 1973 Arab oil embargo.

August 6, 2008

Howdy, partner! There be wind in these here parts!

I wrote about T. Boone Pickens a few weeks back. He's the billionaire Texas oilman who has come out screaming that oil is passe and the future of energy is in the wind.

Now, let me introduce Carl Pope. Pope is the executive director of the Sierra Club, a widely known environmental group that does everything from battle whalers to advocate for wind turbines. Pope is vacationing on Martha's Vineyard, where he spoke with a reporter from the Vineyard Gazette.

Pope says the American political system is clearly broken. And he knows this because he should not be in agreement with a man like Pickens. But he is.

Pope told the Gazette that the very fact he and Pickens agree that the nation needs a radical overhaul of its energy policy speaks volumes.

"When you find truly unusual bedfellows - and I think we qualify as truly unusual bedfellows - it's usually a sign that the political process has failed," Pope said. "The things that are so obviously in the national interest that Pickens and I agree about them, yet cannot get a hearing in Washington, tells you Washington is broken."

Beyond the Pickens issue, Pope also had something specific to say about Cape Wind.

"Now, I don't know if Cape Wind is in the best place in this region for wind turbines. There might have been a better place. If so, I would be fine with the people of this region saying, 'Here's our wind site, and it's big, and we're going to make it really easy to build there."

It was a striking comment, not only because the folks at Cape Wind have made such hay about the fact the Sierra Club supports the project, but also because I've heard a lot of anti-Cape Wind folks say they like the project, but the location is bad.

Certainly other locations were suggested for study earlier this year when residents turned out at the Minerals Management Service's hearing at the Mattacheese Middle School in Yarmouth. If you were there, you'll remember there was a group of a dozen or so people dressed up as pirates marching around shouting, "Great project, bad location!"

I have no idea why they were dressed as pirates.

Here is the full Martha's Vineyard Gazette article featuring Pope.

According to published reports...

I received an email this week from Mark Rodgers, the spokesperson for the Cape Wind project, which read simply: "Hi Sean, we've landed in an engineering journal!"

Mark attached a link to an article in the journal, Leadership and Management in Engineering, published by the American Society of Civil Engineers. The article was written by Rodgers and Craig Olmstead, the vice president for project development at Energy Management Inc, the firm behind the Cape Wind project.

It's an interesting read. I particularly enjoyed the last paragraph, which makes the pitch that wind farms are a return to quieter times, when humankind relied on nature for energy, not sticky stuff from deep in the ground.

Wind energy, the reader is told, "is a technology that embodies an engineering vision that includes a return to collaboration with and dependence on nature - a symbolic return to more ancient times when harnessing the wind was an essential need for human existence."

That's a nice piece of writing.

Listed below are a few other excerpts that struck me as generally interesting.

On the turbine blades:

"Temporary icing of a rotor blades would activate vibration sensors causing turbine shutdown in order to prevent rotor damage or hazard from flying ice."

"Each blade is protected against potential damage from lightening strikes by copper plates mounted in the blade tips and a grounding wire brought back to the rotor and connected to the tower by carbon brushed."

And, on the energy created compared with other generators:

"Based on the average wind speed of 19.75 mph, as measured over three years at Cape Wind's on-site Scientific Measurement Devices Station (SMDS), the net energy production delivered to the regional transmission grid will be approximately 1,600 Gwh/year. This is an amount of annual electricity production that a heavy oil power plant would produce by consuming 113 million gallons of oil, or a coal power plant would provide by consuming 570,000 tons of coal."

The article also says that the turbines would include features not found on land-based wind turbines, including a dehumidifying system; a heat-exchanger cooling system for gear box and generator; and a permanent crane in the nacelle (the section connected to the blades) capable of lifting smaller components that may be needed for maintenance.

Here's the link to the full article

July 30, 2008

State Board Overrules Local Commission

The folks at Cape Wind say they couldn't be happier. They've received several rounds of good news lately, and with this week's decision by the state's Energy Facilities Siting Board, the wind continues to be at their backs.

"From where we sit, what they decided couldn't have gone better," said Cape Wind spokesperson Mark Rodgers said.

In October 2007, the Cape Cod Commission denied Cape Wind's application for two 115kv electric transmission cables, which would come ashore in Yarmouth and connect the wind farm with the regional electrical grid on Cape Cod.

Rejected but not dejected, Cape Wind attorneys didn't go the advised route and challenge the denial in the court system. Instead, they went around the regional planning commission and asked the state's Energy Facilities Siting Board for permission to install the transmission cables.

Apparently it was the right move.

On Monday the Siting Board ruled that it trumps the Cape Cod Commission when it comes to the construction of the transmission cables. In her 11-page, preliminary ruling, the Siting Board's presiding officer, attorney Kathryn Sedor, rejected the Cape Cod Commission's contention that only the Barnstable Superior Court and the Land Court can overrule it. Sedor wrote that the state Legislature specifically allows the board to overrule other local and state boards "to ensure that local boards do not use their power over licenses and permits to thwart the needs of the broader community for a reliable, affordable and environmentally sound energy supply."

So, the Siting Board will consider granting permission for the transmission lines when it conducts hearings in the fall. The first day of evidentiary hearings is slated for October 15, with additional hearing dates reserved for October 17 and October 21.

In another apparent victory for Cape Wind, Sedor also ruled that the upcoming hearings would be limited in scope to issues related to the transmission lines. Sedor rejected motions by the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound, the Cape Cod Commission and the Town of Barnstable that the Siting Board's review of the project be expanded to include regional impacts of the wind farm itself, which is located in federal waters.

But what may be most interesting is what the Siting Board's hearing officer did not rule on. According to filings with the board, Cape Wind still must obtain eight additional state and local permits for the project to move forward. Cape Wind had asked the Siting Board to bundle those permits together for approval by the board itself, thereby removing local authorities from the decision-making process.

Timothy Shevlin, the Siting Board's spokesperson, said the full Siting Board would decide on the request to bundle the permits.

Reacting to the rulings, Audra Parker, spokesperson for The Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound, pointed out that the hearing officer's decisions come early in the Siting Board's overall hearing process, and they are "significantly more procedural than substantive," she said. Parker also noted that Cape Wind still has approximately 20 more permits and authorizations it needs to acquire from various local, regional, state and federal authorities.

"It is important to put this in context," Parker said. "This is one of many decision points. Cape Wind is not a done deal."

July 23, 2008

A Divided House

There can be little doubt that the Cape Wind project has been divisive. Even the staunchest of environmentalists have found themselves at odds with each other, disagreeing about what is best for the region and the environment.

One of Cape Cod's oldest and most respected environmental organizations is apparently not immune from the controversy. Last week Jack Barnes of West Falmouth resigned his position as president of the board of directors of the Association to Preserve Cape Cod, alleging that the organization's executive director, Maggie Geist, is pushing the board to publicly endorse the wind farm. Barnes said such an endorsement could come as early as this fall.

Geist did not return a phone call for comment or a request for a written statement, so it's unclear what she plans to do. The APCC is referring all questions about the matter to Susan Shephard, the board of director's new president since Barnes' resignation. In an interview Shephard said the APCC has not made a decision to endorse Cape Wind. Instead, the board of directors will review the US Department of the Interior's Minerals Management Services' final report about the project, due this fall, and then make a decision.

"It will depend on what comes out in the final report," Shephard said. "Our core mission is to promote the preservation of the natural resources of Cape Cod. We've been doing that for 40 years - this is our 40th anniversary year - and we will continue to do that."

But in an interview Barnes said it was clear to him that the Association to Preserve Cape Cod is heading down the road toward a full endorsement, and he found it inappropriate.

"I thought it really was not part of our core mission," he said, adding that the organization traditionally has worked on issues such as smart growth, open space and nitrogen in the estuaries. "In my view this is kind of a sideshow in terms of our core issues. And the time we spent on (Cape Wind) was time we weren't spending on something else."

Barnes said he has done a significant amount of research on the wind farm, but he still has concerns and questions about how the generated energy will be integrated into the existing distribution network; how much the electricity will cost rate payers; and exactly what happens when the wind isn't blowing. In addition to those concerns, Barnes also thinks that now, with the APCC about to begin a capital fundraising campaign as it celebrates its 40th year, is a poor time to make an endorsement.

"If they are in fact going to kick off a capital campaign," he said, "you don't start out with a divisive posture and then spend six months of the year explaining why it's ok."

Barnes said the organization has suffered from a failure of leadership, with little attempt at compromise between board members who want to endorse Cape Wind and those who feel that offering an opinion on the project is really not the organization's place. Shephard disputed that characterization. She said no other board members have resigned, and that the APCC has not been pressured by anyone to endorse the project.

"The board is united and very supportive of the executive director, which is not the same as saying that we have a position (on Cape Wind) to announce at this time," she said.

While Geist has not responded to requests for interviews from several different media organizations, on the same day the Cape Cod Times ran a front-page story about Barnes' resignation, the APCC sent out a press release announcing its 40th anniversary and touting its past accomplishments.

When asked about the timing of the announcement, Shephard said it was previously planned and the decision was made not to postpone it.

"The 40th anniversary is really important to us, and we don't want to be and we will not be distracted by this event," she said. "Things will go on."

According to its Website, the APCC has 5,700 members and a long history of fighting for environmental causes on Cape Cod. During the seven years of debate regarding Cape Wind, the group has submitted several letters to regulators raising specific questions about its impact.

You can get more information about the APCC at its website. Also, to view the organization's past correspondence related to Cape Wind, click on "Issues and Projects" on the site's menu bar. To read the Cape Cod Times story about Barnes's resignation, go here.

From Texas Tea to Blowing Breezes

There has to be some irony in the fact that a billionaire oil man is vowing to do everything he can to replace America's reliance on energy from the ground with energy from the air. But Texas oil tycoon T. Boone Pickens is doing just that - offering some straight talk about what he sees as the need for more wind power in the United States. And he's ruffled a few political feathers while doing so.

Pickens, a trained geologist, told The Hill newspaper in Washington, DC, that none of the energy plans being floated on Capitol Hill have any chance of lowering gas prices - and that includes the off-shore drilling initiative being pushed by Republicans.

"The public thinks, 'Well, God. If we got 86 billion barrels of oil sitting out there, why don't we go drill it and produce it and lower the price of gasoline to $2?' That's kind of the way it's been characterized. Which I think is totally misleading," Pickens said.

Pickens (who you might remember was a primary financial backer of the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, which helped defeat John Kerry in 2004) is nonpartisan in his criticism of the politicians' energy plans. He said the Democrats' push to curb oil price speculation with legislation won't work, either.

"It's a waste of time. It doesn't have anything to do with it," Pickens told the The Hill. "Everybody tries to place the blame, and the blame is our own lack of leadership over the past 40 years on energy."

Pickens has a plan of his own: To use natural gas for transportation fuel, rather than as an electricity generator, and then to use wind to replace natural gas on the electricity grid. As for oil, he says, there just isn't enough of it to rely on anymore.

Pickens plans to build a $10 billion wind farm of his own in the Texas Panhandle, and he told one interviewer: "I have the same feeling about wind that I had about the best oil field I ever found."

According to the Texas State Energy Conservation Office, the state has more than 30 wind farms operating or under construction. But there's a snag. The Conservation Office also notes that, "The greatest challenge facing the industry is that wind farms can be built more quickly than transmission lines. It can take a year to build a wind farm, but five to build the transmission lines needed to send power to cities."

All this week, Pickens will be walking the halls of Congress trying to make believers out of the pols there. He's reportedly looking to Congress for tax breaks and research dollars.

Pickens also isn't shy about using his own dollars. He says he is spending $58 million on a national marketing campaign to promote alternative energy sources.

You can read about his energy plan here.

For more information on what Texas is up to, check out the Conservation Office here.

Also, the New York Times wrote an editorial about Pickens, which is worth a read here.

Letting the People Help

While the proposed Cape Wind project would be financed privately, a wind development company in Minnesota is taking a different approach. According to the Austin Post-Bulletin, High Country Energy L.L.C. plans to sell stock to the general public (some $3.1 million worth) in order to finance the early stages of a wind project in southeastern Minnesota.

Ryan Pelstring, an official for High Country Energy's investment banking firm, told the newspaper that this financing model might be the first of its kind for a renewable energy project. He said the offering is designed to broaden the project to the general public in the local community, and it's only available to Minnesota residents.

The newspaper reported that, "eventually High Country Energy could develop as many as 200 turbines with a generating capacity of 300 megawatts."

You can read the full story here.

July 16, 2008

Blowin' in the Wind

Bob Dylan was right: you don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows. But if you want to know how fast it's blowing, you might check with an astronaut.

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory has released a series of satellite images from data gathered during the past nine years, which shows the potential for offshore wind energy around the world. According to NASA, the new maps could make future decisions easier regarding the placement of wind farms. It's a pretty impressive illustration, and it clearly demonstrates that the best places for wind farms would be just south of Australia and north of Antarctica.

But how about Cape Cod? The images seem to indicate that the winds blow steady and strong off the coast of the Bay State during the winter, ranging between 750 and 1,000 watts per square meter. But come summertime it's notably less breezy off the Massachusetts coast, with winds between 70 and 190 watts per square meter.

It's hard to get an exact number by looking at the map. Check it out for yourself here.

Mark Rodgers, spokesperson for Cape Wind, said that the winter is indeed the windiest time of year off the coast of Massachusetts, but because of the area's natural sea breeze, the project still would provide above average capacity during the hottest days.

"History has shown that Cape Wind would be providing very strong power output," he said, "well above average during times when electricity demand is at its highest -- hot summer afternoons -- because of the sea breeze effect, despite the fact that summer is not as windy as a season as the winter is."

A spokesperson for the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound could not be reached for comment.

State Wildlife Officials Bow to Federal Jurisdiction

The Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife announced last week that it would not wade into the Cape Wind controversy on behalf of endangered birds.

Opponents of the wind farm had argued that even though the project would be placed in federal water, its electrical transmission lines come ashore in Yarmouth, and therefore the state could step in under the Massachusetts Endangered Species Act (MESA) to protect birds that potentially could be killed by the turbines. But the director of the Mass. Fish and Wildlife rejected that argument, ruling that the Cape Wind project is not within the state's jurisdiction and therefore does not constitute a "taking" under MESA. Wildlife issues, the director said, will be managed by the federal agencies.

Predictably, Cape Wind officials praised the decision, and opponents denounced it.

"At a time of record high oil prices," said Cape Wind president Jim Gordan in a statement, "this final decision brings us closer to delivering stable electricity prices, greater energy independence and good jobs in the clean energy sector and cleaner air from American?s first offshore wind farm on Horseshoe Shoal."

Sue Nickerson of the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound, which issued the regulatory challenge, said the decision was not a surprise. No one is arguing that the transmission lines would kill birds, she said, but the farm itself clearly will affect birds that nest, breed and migrate through Nantucket Sound. The state, she said, is turning a blind eye to any activity beyond its 3-mile jurisdictional limit.

"It's not just about Cape Wind," she said. "They are basically setting a precedent that if a project is happening in federal waters and affects state resources, by this particular dismissal, they are not going to challenge it."

"From our point of view," Nickerson said, "it is not whether the Alliance won or lost here. It's about the birds. And the birds are losing. The birds are the victims."

State Promotes Green Power Purchases

Gov. Deval Patrick gave renewable energy a boost last week when he signed into law a package of policies designed to promote clean energy.

Among the initiatives is an increase in the state's Renewable Portfolio Standard, which requires utility companies to provide 4 percent of their electricity from renewable sources by 2009, with higher requirements in future years -- as much as 25 percent by 2030.

When deciding for yourself how this might affect the Cape Wind proposal, consider that the state of Rhode Island recently created a similar requirement for utility companies there -- a move legislators said was designed to promote a proposed, government-supported off-shore wind farm along the Rhode Island coast.

July 9, 2008

Counting Comments

It's year seven in the push to install 130 wind turbines in Nantucket Sound, and both supporters of the project and opponents have been fairly quiet since the federal Mineral Management Services (MMS) came to the Cape and Islands for hearings this past March.

It's really wait-and-see time. The MMS is putting together its final environmental impact statement, due to be released sometime later this year. While the state's Energy Facilities Siting Board is reviewing the Cape Cod Commission's denial of a permit to allow the project's transmission lines to come ashore in West Yarmouth. The Siting Board also is trying to decide whether it can bundle all the necessary local and state permits into one big super-duper permit, if you will.

With all the downtime, both sides of the issue have been busy reviewing the estimated 42,000 comments the MMS received regarding the project and it?s Draft Environmental Impact Statement. And not surprisingly, the two sides also disagree about just what those comments mean. "I went through them," said Mark Rodgers, communications director for Cape Wind Associates. "The big headline for us was that approximately 41,000 of the comments submitted were in support of the project. Many were from around the country, but also a large number of people from Massachusetts were in support of the project."

Rodgers said that several environmental organizations wrote in favor of the project, including Greenpeace, Clean Power Now and the Union of Concerned Scientists. About 1.000 comments were transmitted through Cape Wind's website, using a blank document so people could offer their own thoughts and not simply submit an electronic form letter.

Audra Parker, the vice president of strategic planning for the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound, the primary opposition group, said the number of pro and con comments is really insignificant; substance is what really matters.

"It is not a popularity contest," she said. "Even if a majority of the comments were supportive of the project ? which I don't know if they were or not - basically MMS is only going to address the substantive comments on the process and on the draft environmental impact report that they issued. So, basically, it's an issue of quality not quantity."

Parker also listed several government agencies that she said submitted critical comments.

"We found a lot of criticism by key agencies, such as the US Fish and Wildlife and the Bureau of Indian Affairs," she said. "And these are significant because these are basically peer agencies to the MMS."

Other organizations, she said, such as "the Passenger Vessel Authority, which is basically all the ferry operators in the US, they basically called the Craft Environmental Impact Statement - woefully inadequate because it didn?t address a lot of safety concerns."

If you also have some downtime, you can review all 42,000 comments yourself and make up your own mind. They are available here.

The Race Is On

For years, the Cape Wind project has promised to make Massachusetts the first state to boast a large- scale wind farm off its shores. But as the permitting process drags on here, several other states are threatening to win the wind race. Rhode Island is in contention, for one, and so is Texas. New York, it appears, is out of the running since a proposed project off Long Island fell to high construction costs earlier this year.

Now the second-smallest state in the union has joined the contest. According to wwb.matternetwork.com, the state of Delaware "is looking to claim the title of 'America's First Offshore Wind Farm.'"

On Monday, the site says, utility company Delmarva Power and clean power developer Bluewater Wind LLC (which also has expressed interest in doing projects in New York, Rhode Island and New Jersey) announced they would join forces and spend up to $1.6 billion to build a wind park nearly 12 miles off shore there. The project will have the potential to generate 450 megawatts of power, according to the Bluewater website. And the turbines will be practically invisible from shore, reports matternetwork.com.

Delaware has committed to garnering 20 percent of its electricity from renewable energy sources by 2019.