The National Park Service dealt the Cape Wind offshore wind farm a severe blow yesterday when it announced the potential site is eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places.
Prompted by the decision, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced that he was gathering key parties in the dispute over the proposed 130-turbine wind farm for a meeting next week. He warned that those parties would have until the end of February to reach an agreement on the site. After that, Salazar said he would step in to resolve the situation himself.
“After several years of review, it is now time to move the Cape Wind proposal to a final decision point,” Salazar said.
The Cape Wind project appeared to be moving forward in recent weeks. The company recently launched purchase price negotiations with National Grid and was hoping to begin construction before the end of 2010.
The National Park Service ruling found the potential site, Nantucket Sound, was eligible “as a traditional cultural property and as an historic and archeological property” and has the “potential to yield important information about the Native American exploration and settlement of Cape Cod.”
The eligibility ruling was prompted by the Wampanoag Tribe of Massachusetts — a branch of the tribe lives on Martha’s Vineyard adjacent to Nantucket Sound. They had appealed to the Massachusetts State Historical Preservation Officer, who agreed that Nantucket Sound should be preserved on historical grounds. The Minerals Management Service, which oversees offshore wind leasing in federal waters, disagreed with the state ruling and the issue was referred to the National Park Service. The register is traditionally used for structures or small areas — not large, open bodies of water — so the ruling was unexpected by many observers.
“I am hopeful that an agreement among the parties can be reached by March 1,” Salazar said. “If an agreement among the parties can’t be reached, I will be prepared to take the steps necessary to bring the permit process to conclusion. The public, the parties, and the permit applicants deserve certainty and resolution.”
5. January 2010 at 7:14 pm
I don’t read these things but this article has answered many of my questions. Will there be any more updates to this?
5. January 2010 at 7:54 pm
Glad to hear that the article answered your questions.
We will be following this issue very closely as it develops. It seems as if Secretary Salazar is determined to end this impasse.
Also, we will soon be adding a weekly email newsletter with the top Offshore Wind Wire articles from the past seven days. An easy way to keep up with the news.
6. January 2010 at 8:37 pm
Another setback for Cape Wind project, which would utilize only 24 square miles of Nantucket to provide more than 420MW of clean, green power. The NPS ruling will slow a potentially revolutionary project for alternative energy production.
If you’re interested in wind energy, check out http://www.greencollareconomy.com. It has hundreds of case studies on emerging green technology and wind farms. It’s also the largest b2b green directory on the web.
11. January 2010 at 9:32 pm
I’m thinking the potential benefit of the wind farm far outweighs the archeological rewards waiting at the site. Hopefully the NPS will come to this realization.