Cape Wind always plays by the rules

December 14, 2007 6:00 AM

Your Dec. 2 editorial faults Cape Wind's motivation and conduct.

Our company has responded to a state mandate for clean energy designed to encourage the investment of private capital. And all public utilities in Massachusetts, not just wind projects, hope to be profitable.

It is not commercial interests, but the aspirations for a cleaner and more hopeful energy future that explain the widespread support of Cape Wind among the citizens of Massachusetts and the most credible environmental organizations in the nation.

Cape Wind has always played by the rules.

The Massachusetts Energy Facilities Siting Board approved Cape Wind's cables in 2005 in a decision upheld by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. And it was the Massachusetts Legislature that granted final authority to the siting board in order to ensure that Massachusetts has a reliable energy supply at the least environmental and economic cost.

If Cape Wind were approved today, it would still have undergone more regulatory scrutiny and public input than any power plant currently operating in Massachusetts.

Cape Wind looks forward to the imminent release of a major report from the Minerals Management Service and to its final public-interest determination next year.

Mark Rodgers

Communications director

Cape Wind

Unfair hurdles set for Cape Wind

December 14, 2007 6:00 AM

When the Cape Cod Commission opted to review the Cape Wind cable connection (unlike a nearly identical connection for Nantucket), was it for the good of the community, or to delay the project even further?

Studying public documents, I have found that the commissioners asked for a $30,000 payment to monitor wetlands, even after Yarmouth found the impact was negligible and no funds were required. The commission would require Cape Wind to purchase seven acres of land for open space, though the connection is under lands that would quickly return to original state. The cable was planned to avoid major eelgrass beds (unlike the Nantucket connection), yet the commission wants an exact walk-through plan (not required for the Nantucket connection), even though the beds will shift significantly before construction begins.

The commission is defying precedent in setting significantly higher hurdles for details of this project than equivalent details of any other project.

The Times has a civic responsibility to track the facts of this complex issue, yet when years of research show "enormous public benefits with negligible impacts," editors side with the Alliance about how "unfair" the process is.

Carl B. Freeman

Orleans

Logic dictates embracing wind farm

December 10, 2007 6:00 AM

Gov. Patrick recently led a state trade delegation to China; Cape Wind Vice President Dennis Duffy was one of 16 renewable-energy and life science leaders who went to support this effort to create Massachusetts jobs in technologies where we have expertise.

Contrast this to the American auto industry's failure to innovate, losing hundreds of thousands of jobs and allowing foreign hybrids to cut into our home market.

Australia recently announced it will sign the Kyoto global warming protocol. We import two-thirds of our oil, yet our government is heavily subsidizing oil, coal and gas, while doing little to assist wind and other clean energy.

Energy is the fastest-growing market in the world — per the International Energy Agency, global demand will grow 53 percent by 2030. Econometric analyses concluded $200 billion of private capital will be attracted to good wind, solar, biofuels, carbon sequestration, mass transit, hydrogen and other renewable projects, creating 3 million new jobs.

When the federal Minerals Management Service's evaluation of Cape Wind is released this month, logic should lead even more to support this project. Wind power will break electricity generation's link to carbon dioxide emissions, and create new and better Cape jobs.

Jim Liedell

Yarmouthport

Barnstable Patriot:

Wind power turns Prince Edward Island toward the future

This summer, my family and I visited Prince Edward Island (PEI), Canada. As we traveled around the island I couldn’t help but notice the similarities – and differences – to the Cape. Both are tourist destinations with scenic beaches and small village charm. Cape Cod has close to 250,000 year round residents and PEI has nearly 140,000 year round residents. Both have an inexhaustible, indigenous renewable energy source: wind. And unfortunately, both are heavily dependent on non-indigenous fuel sources for electricity.

However, the difference is PEI is trying to do something about this dependency. They have devised an ambitious renewable energy plan which includes generating 30 percent of the island’s energy needs from renewable energy sources by 2016 and implementing renewable energy tariffs to encourage wind development. PEI now generates 15 percent of its energy needs from three wind farms, reaching their initial goals three years earlier than anticipated. At its inception, this policy was considered the most progressive in North America, including a bio-fuels initiative to offset fossil fuel consumption from transportation. Compare this to the Cape where municipal wind has been stalled in several towns and the largest renewable energy project for the U.S. has been delayed time and time again.

Most PEI residents understand the need to move away from their dependency on foreign fossil fuel sources to generate electricity. Windmills are historic to both locations and have had many uses throughout the centuries. PEI has a long history of experimenting with wind and Cape residents have used windmills throughout the centuries. What’s interesting is that PEI has not encountered resistance over concerns of visual blight, noise or bird issues, unlike Cape Cod where a wealthy few are doing everything in their power to stop the largest renewable energy project in our region.

Despite what wind farm opponents here may say about tourism, PEI’s tourism numbers demonstrate the harmonious relationship between economic development and environmental goals. Construction of the North Cape Wind farm on PEI involved 15 local companies bringing in more than $3.6 million to the local economy. With the Cape Cod Community College’s Environmental Technology Program, we already have a pool of qualified technicians who can help with such projects here on Cape Cod, insuring the money stays on this side of the bridge. Giving these highly qualified individuals a reason to stay on the Cape is good for our economy.

Additionally, some 60,000 tourists visit the North Cape wind farm on PEI each year. Traditionally, no one visited the North Cape area of PEI. Neither my husband nor my mother-in-law, who have been visiting PEI for decades, had ever been to the North Cape area before this summer. To accommodate the tourist’s growing needs, the government has built an on-site restaurant, gift shop and museum, generating $260,000 in revenue annually and employing 20 local residents seasonally.

It is time to end the senseless delay and begin making energy independence a reality for ourselves. Not only does our reliance on fossil fuels make us vulnerable to market instability, but as a coastal community we will also see the most devastating effects of continued fossil fuel use if we do nothing. Climate change is a real threat and everyone must do what they can to curb its impacts. To learn more about how we will be directly impacted from sea level rise caused by global warming, I urge you to visit www.capecodflooding.org. The most effective action we can take right now is to support the permitting of Cape Wind.

Chelsea Harnish

East Falmouth

Membership Coordinator

Clean Power Now

Published Date: 12/14/07