New England Wind Update

1. According to Kevin Dennehy of the Cape Cod Times, the Federal legislation championed by Massachusetts Senator Edward Kennedy and Massachusetts Congressman William Delahunt intended to kill the Cape Wind project has been mellowed. Cape Wind proposes constructing a set of wind turbines in Nantucket Sound capable of generating three-quarters of the electricity used by Cape Cod. Opponents of the Cape Wind project had been trying to insert an amendment into the Coast Guard appropriations bill that would allow the governor of Massachusetts to veto Cape Wind even if all other regulatory hurdles had been passed.

In the face of widespread popular support for Cape Wind, the amendment has been modified to give an additional veto over the project to the Commandant of the Coast Guard, instead of to the Governor of Massachusetts. Why any additional veto is necessary at all still remains unclear

2. The Cape Cod Times also has the details on a second wind farm project proposed for Buzzards Bay. This project would produce a little less than three-quarters of the electricity that the Cape Wind project would (300 Megawatts versus 420). The regulatory path will also likely be different, as the Cape Wind project is to be situated in Federal waters, while the Buzzards Bay wind project will be in state waters.