Interior Secretary Ken Salazar has awarded Boston-based developer Cape Wind a crucial federal permit supporting the development of a landmark, 420 megawatts offshore wind farm off Cape Cod.
The federal permit in effect closes a nine-year approval process for Cape Wind, which first announced the project in 2001 but quickly faced intense opposition from a diverse coalition comprised of local residents, Native American tribes and environmental groups, which did not oppose offshore wind development but the location of the Cape Wind project.
From the start Cape Wind had a staunch ally in Secretary Salazar, who early in his term heading the Interior Department, vowed to develop the country’s largely untapped offshore potential.
Indeed, Europe and in particular Denmark and the UK are years ahead of the U.S. in terms of developing and operating utility-scale offshore wind power plants. Earlier this year, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced an ambitious £75 billion ($119 billion) project to build thousands of offshore wind turbines as part of the country’s Round 3 of bids for leasing of portions of the British sea bed.
Cape Wind says it can generate power by 2012 and aims to eventually supply three-quarters of the power on Cape Cod, reports New England Cable News.
– More to follow
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