Earth Equity News

Cape Wind Project Gets a Green Light. By Mike Seccome, Martha's Vineyard Gazette, January 23, 2009. "After more than seven years of investigation and controversy, Cape Wind's proposal to build 130 massive turbines across 25 square miles of Horseshoe Shoal in Nantucket Sound now seems all but sure to go ahead, following a favorable environmental assessment. The final Environmental Impact Statement from the federal Minerals Management Service (MMS) found the project posed no serious environmental threat. The 2,800 page final report differed little from a draft report, released almost exactly a year ago, which identified no lasting major adverse impacts on wildlife, navigation, fishing, tourism or recreation. Some minor regulatory hurdles remain to be cleared, and the prospect remains of delaying legal action from the project's opponents, but the MMS report was the most significant hurdle the project, which would be sited in federal waters, had to clear. Certainly the proponents believe the wind is now blowing strongly their way. In a press release issued after the MMS report was released Friday, Cape Wind Associates said it hoped all remaining necessary permits would be in place by March."