Cape Cod Wind Farm Controversy Still Roiling Nantucket Sound

EDGARTOWN, Massachusetts -- When Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced in April that the federal government had approved the Cape Wind proposal, a controversial plan to build a 24-square-mile wind farm in the waters off Cape Cod, a long and heated chapter in New England politics appeared to reach a resolution. But the final decision has done little to stop an ongoing debate among residents of Cape Cod and the islands of Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard over the merits of the proposal -- and how much, if at all, Cape Wind would alter the economy and wildlife of the region.

The decision allows Cape Wind, a private developer, to build 130 wind turbines, each with a height of 440 feet, in the middle of Nantucket Sound -- 4.8 miles from Mashpee, on the south coast of Cape Cod. The project still must clear several regulatory hurdles, but construction could begin as early as the end of this year.

Supporters and opponents of the project have each taken up the mantle of conservationism. Those in favor of the proposal say it marks an essential step in the search for alternative energy. But Cape Wind's detractors, many of whom vow to fight the project despite its federal approval, argue that the project would upset the fragile ecology of the sound, which they claim is an irreplaceable and pristine natural resource. The debate, which has played out in one of the wealthiest summer resort areas in the country, has also been marked by the issues of class, money and political power.

Mark Rodgers, the communications director for Cape Wind, explained that his company's project is an environmental necessity, especially in light of the ongoing oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. "I think a lot of people learned about Cape Wind's approval in the context of this oil spill," he said. "And I think people make a connection and realize that we have choices about how we get our energy."

The approval of Cape Wind, Rodgers explained, was a hopeful sign for the future of renewable energy in the United States. "It's an important signal in the industry," he said, "and it's a sign of the direction that a whole new sector is taking in this country."

The Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound, which was formed almost immediately after Cape Wind was announced in 2001, has fought the project relentlessly and with an unprecedented amount of money -- more than $20 million in private donations, according to the Vineyard Gazette. The group has received backing from several high-profile residents of the Cape and islands, including former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy and the late Walter Cronkite. Audra Parker, the president and chief executive of the group, explained that her organization would continue to pursue lawsuits against the project, citing violations of the Endangered Species Act, the National Historic Preservation Act and the National Environmental Policy Act. Finding alternative energy sources is an important goal, she explained, but she maintained that Nantucket Sound is the wrong place to build a wind farm.

"There are locations that should be developed and there are locations that should not, and this is clearly one that should not," she said. "Basically, this decision, at this point, has been based on politics. And we want to see it based on facts and moved out of the political arena. Secretary Salazar violated his own commitment to tribal rights, to historic preservation, and went against the Federal Advisory Council on Historic Preservation's recommendation to deny it."

Parker's mention of tribal rights was a reference to the objections of the Aquinnah and Mashpee Wampanoag tribes, of Cape Cod and Martha's Vineyard, which claim that building a wind farm on Nantucket Sound would interfere with many of their spiritual rituals and disturb their ancestral burial grounds.

So far, public opinion has generally favored Cape Wind, with 86 percent of Massachusetts residents and 74 percent of Cape and islands residents supporting the project, according to a 2008 poll conducted by the Opinion Research Corp. But in some groups, the sentiment appeared to be more one-sided, especially among charter and commercial fishermen here, who rely on Nantucket Sound as a source of revenue.

"People who are mostly involved in fishing, generally speaking, are not for Cape Wind, although that's not to say that they're not for wind turbine power or alternative sources of power," said Mary Boyd, who owns a charter fishing company in Martha's Vineyard with her husband. "I think that your fishermen are some of your staunchest naturalists, because they understand it, and they live it every day. They know what they need. They're not the ones who are out there saying, 'Let's go mess up our natural resources.' At the same time, they're also looking at this and saying, 'We know the importance of the sound as it pertains to our fishing industry.' "

Some local fishing groups, along with Parker's organization, are concerned that the construction of the turbines could disturb the delicate marine ecosystem that serves as a habitat for bluefish, tuna, and striped bass, among other species popular among recreational fisherman. Commercial fishermen, in particular, are worried that the construction along the ocean floor could pose a threat to the species that feed along the seabed, such as cod, haddock and flounder. Concern for the revenue of local fishermen has been a central rallying cry of opposition groups, many of which point to a study released by the Massachusetts Fisherman's Partnership, which estimates that Cape Wind's cost to commercial fishing in the region could reach anywhere from $8 million to $13 million over the next 25 years.

Opponents also point out that the project could disrupt shipping lanes and pose a hazard for recreational boaters, who use the sound extensively during the summer months. In addition, opposition groups have raised concerns over potential aviation hazards the project could present, although the Federal Aviation Administration ruled last month that the turbines would pose no threat to planes.

Many residents, especially homeowners, maintain that although they understand the merits of wind power, they cannot get past their uneasiness with the project. A few homeowners are demanding additional testing to ensure that the environmental impact would be minimal, while others simply don't like the way the turbines are going to look.

Carole Horgan, who lives year-round in Osterville, on Cape Cod, cited the project's visual drawbacks. "I think the aesthetic argument is one they've overdone," she said, "but at the same time . . . it isn't pretty. I can see Martha's Vineyard from my deck here. And so the idea that we're not going to be able to see it is ridiculous."

For supporters of Cape Wind, like Barbara Hill, executive director of the environmental non-profit group Clean Power Now, the most important part of the project is its long-term precedent.

"Look, you don't want that thing out there?" Hill said. "You have a right to that opinion. You absolutely do. But base your opinion on the truth. Don't base your opinion on the fear-mongering and the PR stuff that doesn't hold water. Every single thing that the Alliance has thrown up against the wall has not stuck. The only thing it comes down to is visual, and our motto is, 'It's the vision, not the view.' "