Green Light for Cape Cod

They will be in court but at least now they can start putting up towers. Then all the detractors will start back pedaling as the property values soar and the project is a huge success. The towers have been very well tested across the pond in the north Atlantic. It hard to believe that our storms are worse that what they get North of England. Also, at 5 miles, the closest distance to land, the turbines are very small on the horizon. The coal industry funded opposition to wind power is understandable. It is ironic that the coal industry was funding so called environmentalists who objected to the turbines based on some imagined ecological problem. ( oh no it's a wind spill.) Mean while in the gulf of Mexico there is a very large and real example of the pollution dangers of oil production.

Not to mention the much smaller but just as damaging oil spill now impacting Australia's Great Barrier Reef. And that from a ship transporting coal.

Despite having the technology at hand and the willingness to deploy it, I fear there will be years and millions of dollars wasted before this project comes to fruition.

"as the property values soar" Perhaps you could explain how being 5 miles from an offshore wind farm will increase property values.

I'm curious because I have property 7 miles from a wind farm in Minnesota and never thought about that particular benefit.

I admit that when I'm there, I usually drive by and look at them.

It is simple really. As we move past peak oil, a stable supply of cheap energy and low air pollution will be a factor in choosing a community to live in. There is also something called eco-tourism. Also, the base of the wind towers will provide habitat for sea life like the oil rigs have (when they are not leaking) and act like a mini reef. In fact I think the sea life will like having an area that boats can't go. Sooner or later, the public at large will grasp the concept of sustainability in design. People will value communities that have invested in the long term. I really hope they don't have a wind spill.

There is already plenty of sea life on Horseshoe Shoals. In fact, out there in the middle of Nantucket Sound there are spots where you can stand on the bottom. We have dragged our keel across them sailing to Nantucket. If you look at the charts, it is shallow out there. The bluefish love to feed around the shoals, it's great fishing. But whether this is a smart move or not, remains to be seen. I have spent enough summers on the Cape to know that some days you can't even get a whisper of wind during the summer months. Other times, it blows like stink.

I find it hard to believe that eco-tourists will pay money to go look at bunch of wind turbines. You can go out to Altamont Pass, Calif. and see all the idle wind turbines there. There are wind turbines on ridge lines in Pennsylvania, New Hampshire and popping up all over. Hardly seems something worth going out of your way.

that is why they call it horse shoe SHOALS. The place where the turbines are going is where you don't sail anyway because it is too shallow. The opposition to this is based on fear uncertainty and doubt. It is mostly coal industry money astro turfing

I didn't say it was too shallow to sail, I just said you can drag your keel in a few spots. What's your point with SHOALS? I don't think putting them out there is a big deal. I just hope that Cape Wind has to post a bond for the cost of removal in the event they go belly up a few years down the road, otherwise the taxpayer will end up footing the bill to remove and remediate the towers. By the way, coal doesn't stand to gain or lose a penny in the whole deal. The power plant for the Cape is oil and gas powered. This experiment is not big. We're talking about an average of 170MW. That's a pittance. It might more or less support the electrical load of the Cape which has very little industry, let alone heavy industry.

"I really hope they don't have a wind spill" How would you clean it up? Burn it?

" . . . a huge success. " I love your optimism, but I have been around long enough to know it is prudent to be skeptical. Time will tell. Did Cape Wind post a bond for the removal costs if they should go belly-up? If not, guess who gets to pay the removal and remediation costs when these structures get abandoned? As far as property values soaring, it won't be because you have view of these structures, that much I am certain. It will be interesting to watch the long term corrosive effects of the ocean environment on these units. This will be a good experiment. We'll see how it does.

They did in fact put up a bond for removal. They have been through 8 years of environmental review and public comments. The opposition is mostly funded by industries who have profited because of the delay in building this. The wind farm will have a negative effect on the price of coal.

Price of coal? Oh, please. Average power output estimated to be 170MW. The typical output of a coal burning power plant is over a gigawatt. Not to mention that the power that will be displaced is from an oil and gas power plant on the Cape Cod Canal.

I was obviously not talking about this project in isolation. It is clear that over time, as more wind projects approach the break even point after which the power is essentially free, it will put downward pressure on energy prices. Of course the trend in fossil based energy prices is generally up now that we have passed peak oil so it might just be a slowing in the price rise rather than a reduction in price. But ether way it is in the interest of the holders of oil and coal reserves to try and delay projects like cape wind by what ever means.