Controversy Isn't Over for Cape Cod Offshore Wind Project

The US government on Tuesday approved a plan to build the country's first offshore wind farm off the coast of Cape Cod, a popular Massachusetts holiday destination.Installation of 130, 3.6-megawatt wind turbine generators with blades of up to 440 feet (134 meters), built by German company Siemens, could begin in Nantucket Sound by the autumn, the Department of the Interior said in a statement announcing that the Cape Wind Project was finally going ahead.

U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar will make the announcement Wednesday about the nation's first offshore wind farm, off Cape Cod, in Boston with Gov. Deval Patrick, a supporter of the project. A green light for the project would clear the way for a 130-turbine wind farm in Nantucket Sound.» E-Mail This     » Add to Del.icio.us

The first US offshore wind farm project planned near the coast of Massachusetts won government approval Wednesday after nearly a decade of battles involving environmentalists, Indian tribes and others.Interior Secretary Ken Salazar gave the green light for the giant Cape Wind project in the scenic channel between Cape Cod and the resort islands of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket off the coast of the northeast US state.

Environmental groups plan to file suit in federal court, accusing the Obama administration of violating the Endangered Species Act with its approval of the Cape Wind project in Nantucket Sound. Environmental groups plan to file suit in federal district court Friday arguing that the nation's first offshore wind energy project, approved recently by Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, violates the Endangered Species Act.

Federal Aviation Administration employees felt political pressure to approve a wind farm planned off Cape Cod, and did so amid internal disagreement over the best way to stop the turbines from interfering with radar and compromising airplane safety, according to FAA documents obtained by the project's opponents.