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Cape Wind scores victory with state endorsement In issuing the certificate in response to Cape Wind's Final Environmental Impact Report, Ian A. Bowles, the state's Executive Secretary of Environmental Affairs said that there is an urgent need for renewable energy projects in Massachusetts. "This project also provides significant environmental benefits," said Bowles at a press conference held last Thursday in Boston. "The Final EIR projected that, compared with electricity generated by fossil-fuel burning power plants, the project's operation would annually offset 802 tons of sulfur dioxide, 497 tons of nitrous oxide, and 733,876 tons of carbon dioxide within the New England area. In terms of carbon dioxide, the major greenhouse gas, this is equivalent to taking 175,000 cars off the road." Reaction to Bowles' decision on Nantucket came with cheers from pro-wind energy islanders and skepticism from those who are either against wind turbines as a power source, or who like the idea but do not want to sully Nantucket Sound with a wind farm. "Of course I'm thrilled with that," said Nantucket Clean Power Member Laura Wasserman. "It seems that [with] every process it goes through it is seen positively." Outspoken local energy expert Nat Lowell reaffirmed his belief in wind energy built elsewhere than Nantucket Sound, as long as its purpose is only for producing electricity. "With the recent [rush] of the global warming issue being on the front page everyday, I certainly hope there isn't a flurry of wind farm applications as a result of Cape Wind's [state] approval dotting the landscapes as a component of changing our weather," said Lowell. As expected, Bowles' decision strengthened Cape Wind's resolve to get the project permitted. "We're very pleased with the secretary's decision and look forward to the next step in the permitting process," said Cape Wind Communications Director Mark Rodgers. "In the secretary's decision was a brief statement of several longstanding Massachusetts public policy goals advancing greater renewable energy development to create cleaner air, jobs, and greater energy diversification. I think the decision also signals a high priority in spawning a new renewable energy economic cluster in Massachusetts by this administration." Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound CEO Charles Vinick questioned the criteria behind Bowles' decision. "…(I)t blindly accepts Cape Wind's claims, which were incomplete, overstated and unsubstantiated," said Vinick during a news teleconference facilitated by the Alliance on Friday. "It kept mitigation standards that are very small and inadequate and, frankly, are a rather dangerous precedent for the state and it ignores the requirement of the previous secretary's draft environmental impact report calling for a full review of alternatives. And I think it is a very limiting decision and one that has far-reaching consequences for projects to come in the future that we should be very careful and concerned about." Bowles' decision sets in motion the reviews of state and local agencies that have jurisdiction over the land over which Cape Wind's power cable will be laid. Additionally, Minerals Management Service, the federal agency inside the Department of the Interior charged with reviewing the project in federal waters, is due to issue its Draft Environmental Impact Report at the end of April. A 60-day public comment period follows the release of that document and then the Minerals Management Service is expected to issue its decision in the form of a Final Environmental Impact Statement in early 2008. Meanwhile, Cape Wind hopes to secure permits from various state and local agencies, including: the Department of Environmental Protection; Massachusetts Coastal Zone Management; the Division of Fisheries & Wildlife; the Massachusetts Highway Department and the Barnstable and Yarmouth Conservation Commissions. I |
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