Earth Equity News

Cape Wind Construction Could Start by Year's End.By James Kinsella, Cape Cod Today, January 17, 2009. "Construction of Cape Wind, the first offshore wind farm in the United States, could start by the end of the year, with the project producing power by the end of 2011, developer Jim Gordon said Friday. Gordon, the president and driving force of Cape Wind Associates LLC, which initially proposed a wind farm in Nantucket Sound more than seven years ago, hailed what he said was an 'extremely favorable' final environmental impact statement from the U.S. Minerals Management Service on the project... Cape Wind would consist of 130 turbines in a 25-square-mile area on Horseshoe Shoal in Nantucket Sound, a little under five miles from the southern shore of Cape Cod. Cape Wind Associates said the wind farm could generate up to 468 megawatts, meeting the equivalent of 75 percent of the power demand on the Cape and Islands. Gordon originally thought Cape Wind, a project that he saw as so logical and compelling, might get its permits in two years. He declined to specify the cost of building Cape Wind, but said the figure was higher than $1 billion. He said Cape Wind has spent $40 million so far to develop the project. He estimates the project will generate between 600 and 1,000 jobs. He said he's confident the company will be able to obtain the turbines that it needs, and the company will be able to secure financing for the project, which he termed 'low risk.'"