Offshore Wind Wire

By Peter Brennan

The federal Advisory Council on Historic Preservation recommended yesterday that Interior Secretary Ken Salazar reject the proposed Cape Wind offshore wind project near Cape Cod because the impacts “are significant, adverse, and cannot be adequately mitigated.”

The Council was required to make a recommendation and Salazar has said that he will consider the Council’s input.  Salazar also made clear, however, that he will make the final decision on the 130-turbine wind farm planned for Horseshoe Shoal in Nantucket Sound.  He is not bound by the Council’s decision and is generally viewed as a strong proponent of offshore wind development.

In part, the Council considered complaints from the local Wampanoag tribes that the development would impact their historic sites and their religious ceremonies.

“There is also a fundamental incompatibility between the use of Nantucket Sound for this industrial facility and the traditional use of the area for cultural practices and the marine-focused subsistence, commercial fishing, shipping, and recreational purposes that have contributed to the core identity of the unique setting in historic times,” the Council reported.

Cape Wind Communications Director Mark Rodgers said that the company disagreed with the Council’s report and believes it to be fundamentally opposed to findings from the Minerals Management Service, the federal agency tasked with offshore wind permitting.

A Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) issued by MMS last year “looked at every benefit and impact of the project,” Rodgers said.  “The FEIS found Horseshoe Shoal to be the optimal site for this project.”

In a sign of confidence earlier this week, Cape Wind announced an agreement with Siemens to supply 130 of its 3.6 megawatt turbines for the project.

“We’re very hopeful that when Secretary Salazar reviews the complete record he will conclude that the verified public benefits of cleaner air, greater energy independence, hundreds of new American jobs and mitigating climate change will far outweigh any impacts and that he will approve Cape Wind,” Rodgers said.