Draft EIS favoring Nantucket Sound wind farm opposed by governor

Nov. 15, 2004
The US Army Corps of Engineers' New England District has issued a draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) saying the first offshore wind farm proposed in the US would do little long-term environmental damage.

By OGJ editors

HOUSTON, Nov. 15 -- The US Army Corps of Engineers' New England District has issued a draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) saying the first offshore wind farm proposed in the US would do little long-term environmental damage.

Cape Wind Associates LLC of Boston, an independent power producer, wants to build a 420-Mw, 130-turbine wind farm in Nantucket Sound. The project cost is estimated at more than $700 million. The wind farm tentatively is slated for completion in 2005 to supply electricity to Cape Cod, Mass.

Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney opposes the proposal, saying he wants to preserve the visual landscape of Nantucket Sound. In a visit with White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card earlier this month, Romney called for a moratorium on wind farms off the US until a process can be drafted to regulate them.

Christopher Namovicz, a wind specialist with the US Energy Information Administration, said there is no authoritative, comprehensive US law or regulation covering offshore wind development (OGJ Online, Aug. 31, 2004).

The Corps has federal permitting authority. Following a 60-day public comment period, the Corps will prepare a final environmental impact statement. Released on Nov. 8, the 3,800-page DEIS took 3 years to complete and involved 17 federal and state agencies.