U.S. approves Cape Cod wind farm

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: MSNBC/AP

By JAY LINDSAY
updated 17 minutes ago

BOSTON - U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar has approved what would be the nation's first offshore wind farm, off Cape Cod, a government official briefed on the decision confirmed Wednesday.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press ahead of Salazar's official announcement scheduled for noon Wednesday in Boston.

...

But Cape Wind met with heavy resistance from people who wanted it moved out of the sound, and its opponents are expected to continue to try to derail the project in court.

Critics say the project endangers wildlife and air and sea traffic, while marring historic vistas. The late U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy fought Cape Wind nearly to his death, calling it a special interest giveaway. The wind farm would be visible from the Kennedy family compound in Hyannisport.

Read more: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36825232/ns/us_news-environment/

---

I saw some articles about this with the simulation pictures... Looks like a battle of the environmentalists...

[thereismore]

1. Something has to give. I say, let's give up the vistas. nt

[TwilightGardener]

2. People will get used to seeing them out there. There's a wind farm going up

near my property pretty soon (supposedly--still in the planning stage), which might or might not be visible from my house. I don't find wind turbines all that objectionable, from a visual perspective. Uglier are the giant transmission towers that will probably accompany the project.

[Dappleganger]

3. They think it's their fucking beach and ocean.

There are assholes like that here in NE FL, blocking off public access to all the beaches whenever possible because they paid umpteen-million dollars for their precious little waterfront property.

FU ALL--you're in America, not your own private country club!

[Tesha]

4. This is good news.

And I say that even as someone who rides the ferries
across the Nantuckett Sound from time to time.

Tesha

[frazzled]

5. I think they're kind of beautiful

Maybe it's just me, and I've only driven past them, not lived next to one.

[BrklynLiberal]

9. I agree..

I think they beautify the view ...with the knowledge that they create clean, renewable energy.

[nyy1998]

13. Wow, those do look nice

I have a few friends from the Cape(liberal democrats too) I'm going to ask them what their thoughts were on the topic.

[FailureToCommunicate]

26. They sure look a heck of a lot better than dirty oil rigs off Mississippi...

And when they fail or get removed, no big environmental leftovers like power plants, oil refineries, nuke plants...
The wind farms in eastern Colorado are awe inspiring by their scale.
But there again, there are only relatively small cement foundations on the ground. And even that could be carted away once they're obsolete.

(I'm NOT wild about the warning lights that are probably on them at night, however
But then I also don't have a house by the sea.)

[Uncle Joe]

27. Those are some good pics, BrklynLiberal.

:thumbsup:

[karynnj]

10. Same here

The first time I saw them, I saw them on a hillside on the SW coast of England. The slow, gracefully moving pristine, white blades against the bright green of the hillside and the blue sky was actually oddly peaceful.

[smoogatz]

12. They're a hell of a lot better-looking than a coal-fired power plant.

And a hell of a lot better for the environment. So beauty all around.

[Submariner]

6. The NIMBY syndrome by the monied crowd

The Wall Streeters who escape to the Cape on summer weekends don't want a wind farm spoiling their "vistas."

[geardaddy]

8. Bingo.

[smoogatz]

11. It's not just the rich.

Working people live on the Cape, too. Presumably they enjoy the view. The important thing, though, isn't the aesthetics--these wind farms should be publicly developed and publicly owned.

[activa8tr]

32. seeing 130, 285 foot tall towers from over 4 miles away

is hardly "ruining" the view.

It might even enhance the popularity of the already popular shoreline with curious tourists coming to have a look.

[smoogatz]

33. It ruins the view to the extent that the view currently consists

of ocean and sky without a bunch of huge man-made windmills in the middle of it all. You know, nature. A vista with no man-made structures in it. Some people like that about the seashore, oddly enough.

[FailureToCommunicate]

37. Agreed, BUT: Cape Codders also like electricity. So do we send our kids to die in

oil rich lands over the sea, or put up with some windmills in the sea (and way off in the distance)?

Seems like the Wampanoag tribe have the only legitimate claim of protest to putting them out there...

[smoogatz]

39. Also agreed.

And if we value the environment as a whole, and not just our little corner of it, then replacing a few coal or oil-fired power plants with windmills has to be a good thing, even if the windmills are visible from our favorite beach. I actually agree with the posters above who think they're cool-looking--I've seen a couple of big windmill farms from a distance in the midwest and they're kind of awesome--makes you feel like somebody's finally doing the right thing. Still, one is sympathetic to those who want to preserve the beauty of beautiful places, and I'm a big fan of the outer Cape, in particular.

[conservdem]

38. Ted Kennedy was one of the NIMBY obstructionists on this.

That really bothered me.

[No Elephants]

44. Do you know anything about the ecology, economy and other realities of Cape Cod?

If not, you should not be pissed off at Ted.

[edwinmathews]

7. Can

you see them from the Kennedy compound ?

[karynnj]

14. From the map, it's possible - but they are about 15 to 20 miles out

I have no idea how much could be seen that far out.


http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36826377/displaymode/1176/rstry/36825232/

[harmonicon]

15. read past the first sentence:

" The wind farm would be visible from the Kennedy family compound in Hyannisport."

[No Elephants]

45. So, it was therefore impossible for Senator Ted to have any concern other than his view, right?

Please see Reply ##a 44, 46 and 47.

[harmonicon]

49. I was answering a simple question - nothing to read into it (nt)

[No Elephants]

50. You're right. I apologize. I admit to being defensive about both Sen. Ted and the Cape.

[sabra]

16. Green light for Cape Wind, 1st US offshore wind farm

Source: Reuters

BOSTON, April 28 (Reuters) - The first U.S. offshore wind farm, a giant project off Nantucket Sound in Massachusetts, was approved on Wednesday after nine years of wrangling.

U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar gave the green light for the controversial 130-turbine proposal from Cape Wind Associates LLC, subject to certain conditions designed to project offshore waters.

"This project fits with the tradition of sustainable development in the area," Salazar said at a press conference in Boston.

Read more: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N28240832.htm

[TrogL]

17. I flew over Scotland a few summers ago

There are wind farms everywhere, especially offshore, stretching for miles. It's about time we had them here in North America.

[liberal N proud]

18. I sure would prefer seeing a windmill offshore than an oil rig

Windmills don't leak 42,000 gallons a day in to the water.

[suston96]

19. I lived 45 years on Cape Cod...I remember this.....

http://www.radomes.org/museum/documents/TexasTower.html

Texas Towers, so-called because of their resemblance to oil drilling platforms in the Gulf Of Mexico, were huge manned platforms to serve as radar sites. Five Texas Towers were were originally planned to be built off the Atlantic coast, extending radar coverage seaward. Three were eventually built, TT-1 and TT-5 were never built. Besides TT-4, lost in the tragedy, the towers never lived up to Air Force expectations.

The Air Force originally planned for the towers to be continuously manned by twenty-two men. This number proved to be grossly inadequate; by 1957, a crew, normally consisting of six officers and forty-eight airmen staffed each tower. Not only radar men, but also personnel for plumbing, refrigeration, medical and cooking chores manned the stations.

The Air Force occupied TT-2, 110 miles off Cape Cod, in December, 1955. Tower and crew alike suffered the effects of constant vibration from the rotation of the radar antenna and the diesel generators. The surrounding water, and footings driven into the ocean floor even transmitted distant sounds up the steel legs to be amplified through the whole structure.

The Texas Towers were originally equipped with one AN/FPS-3 search radars and two AN/FPS-6 height finder.

I had friends on TT2 - not the one that fell into the ocean - That was TT 4.

My feeling: don't fool with Mother Nature. Very poor foundations and badly shifting sands on the ocean floor out there and many, many hurricanes, gales, and perfect storms.

[BrklynLiberal]

23. Do not believe that the same engineering principles apply here.

No diesel generators, no platforms, no manning needed, no radiation, no vibration,


what you hear is the wind.....


This video of the Nysted offshore wind farm includes a sailboat sailing through the wind farm and a maintenance boat getting into position to perform routine maintenance on one of the wind turbines. The video also shows many good views of gracefully operating offshore wind turbines delivering clean energy to Denmark’s electricity grid. See footage of this wind farm recorded on a boat tour.
http://www.capewind.org/downloads/nystedmed.mov

a choice of videos...
http://www.capewind.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Sections&file=index&req=viewarticle&artid=77&page=1#prevailing

[suston96]

28. No manning needed? No service, lubrication needed? No light bulbs changed?

I doubt that.

As to engineering and the like, Mother Nature doesn't give a hoot about engineering. Those are rough waters.

But we will see. Won't we?

[Ian David]

34. Yes, they need maintenance. That creates jobs. High-paying jobs in the fresh air and sunshine. n/t

[BrklynLiberal]

41. No one will have to LIVE on them as was described int he prior post.

The Air Force originally planned for the towers to be continuously manned by twenty-two men. This number proved to be grossly inadequate; by 1957, a crew, normally consisting of six officers and forty-eight airmen staffed each tower. Not only radar men, but also personnel for plumbing, refrigeration, medical and cooking chores manned the stations.

[suston96]

59. I was pointing out the dread and terror of those storms .....

....and how treacherous those sandy bottoms are.

Texas towers used to dump garbage and debris over the side one day and it would all be gone the next day.

Maintenance on the proposed water located towers will be difficult. Men will have to climb them to do that maintenance. We shall see.

[BrklynLiberal]

25. Off shore wind turbine installation and many other videos of offshore wind turbines

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVwn2ivxyxM

[Ian David]

20. Yay, Cape Wind! n/t

[BrklynLiberal]

21. Videos of offshore windfarms

what you hear is the wind.....


This video of the Nysted offshore wind farm includes a sailboat sailing through the wind farm and a maintenance boat getting into position to perform routine maintenance on one of the wind turbines. The video also shows many good views of gracefully operating offshore wind turbines delivering clean energy to Denmark’s electricity grid. See footage of this wind farm recorded on a boat tour.
http://www.capewind.org/downloads/nystedmed.mov

a choice of videos...
http://www.capewind.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Sections&file=index&req=viewarticle&artid=77&page=1#prevailing

Installation of offshore wind turbine..and many other videos
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVwn2ivxyxM

[Robb]

22. Wait, I thought Salazar only wanted to drill for oil and shoot wolves.

:D

[activa8tr]

24. You're thinking of the Sarah Tzar!!!! LOL n/t

[MicaelS]

29. Fantastic!!!

I was hoping the administration would do this, and not be kowtowed by a bunch of spoiled rich fucks.

[beachmom]

30. This is great news. Had Cape Winds crashed & burned, offshore wind farms

would be considered dead in the United States. Yes, there are local disputes, but if Europe can have them, we can have them.

[Evasporque]

31. Beats a burning oil derrick hands down...nt

[timo]

35. it will be years

before anything is done one way or another because of all the lawsuits that will be filed by the nimby crowd, "Teddy was against them, do it for Teddy!!"

[No Elephants]

46. Please see Reply ##s 44 and 47.

The old guard RW hates no one as much as it hates the Kennedy family. So, they've put a lot of energy into making Senator Ted's concerns about the wind farm seem frivolous and purely selfish.

Anyone who understands Cape Cod would have had concerns about a wind farm.

I've ridden cross country by train. I've seen acres and acres of land broken by little but rusting vee-hickles where a wind farm would improve the view and probably the local economy and ecology, too.

So, why did ecologically fragile Cape Cod, which survives economically almost totally on tourism, sailing and ferry riders, immediately become the be all and end all of wind farms?

[NoSheep]

36. I've heard the wind must be sustained at an unrealistic level for it to work

and that there were problems with storing the power. I need more info before I get behind it. Especially becasue we already know it screws with wildlife.

Where do you get honest analysis of it?

[No Elephants]

47. Shhhh. the narrative is that it works, is wonderful and has been kept out of Cape Cod waters solely

because of the selfishness of rich people who don't want anything new marring the view from their summer homes, which they rarely, if ever, occupy anyway.

There just is no room for the concept that Cape Cod wind might not be the best thing for the planet since sliced bread or might damage an already highly fragile ecology, a place where women already get breast cancer in jaw dropping percentages and no one is sure why. A place where residents must annually buy sand to fill in for the rapidly disappearing shore, Where a hurricane literally breaks pieces off the Cape, creating litle islands that were once part of the narrow "mainland" and sending homes out to sea.

So, please, do sit down and be quiet.

http://www.silentspring.org/ (website of the Silent Spring Institute, formerly located at Barnstable, Cape Cod, Massachusetts)

[Nihil]

51. Woohoo ... the defender of the rich Cape Codders has arrived (in posts 44, 46, 47, blah, blah)

> Shhhh. the narrative is that it works, is wonderful and has been
> kept out of Cape Cod waters solely because of the selfishness of
> rich people who don't want anything new marring the view from their
> summer homes, which they rarely, if ever, occupy anyway.

Not just the rich people but also their backing companies with their
astroturfing (Koch et al).


For example, dragging in totally unrelated garbage like this:
> a place where women already get breast cancer in jaw dropping percentages
> and no one is sure why.

Just WTF does this have to do with the wind farm?


And as for the people who are doing this:
> A place where residents must annually buy sand to fill in for the
> rapidly disappearing shore,

That rather proves the point that some people have more money than sense.
(Hint: King Canute showed that it didn't work a long time ago)


> Where a hurricane literally breaks pieces off the Cape, creating
> little islands that were once part of the narrow "mainland" and
> sending homes out to sea.

Welcome to the real world where these things called "Natural effects"
take place. Nature is pretty damn powerful and really doesn't give a shit
about whether people are stupid enough to build houses in unsustainable
places.


> So, please, do sit down and be quiet.

Yes, on this point, please do!

[tomm2thumbs]

40. maybe they will explore other designs as well

Found this to be interesting





Link:
http://www.trendir.com/green/urban-wind-turbine-qr5-from-qu.html

[daleo]

42. Just wait until there's a wind spill

And tens of thousands of barrels of wind wash up on shore, fouling the environment for decades.

Oh, yeah. That doesn't happen.

[Psephos]

43. There will be a fair amount of seabird carnage, though.

As well as seafloor disruptions from the cabling to get the power to shore.

No energy source is without its negs.

That said, I'm glad to see this project finally proceeding despite the best efforts of the Eastern Massachusetts moneyed class.

[No Elephants]

48. Please see Replies 44, 46 and 47. BTW, the monied class began protecting the

environment before anyone else gave it a first thought, let alone a second. The poor were too busy trying to feed their families to hire Luther Burbank to landscape the land surrounding their summer cabins, as did Edison and Ford, or to found the Sierra Club.

Not that I want to disturb anyone's narrative about the wealthy on Cape Cod, Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard in general, or the Kennedy's in particular. However, unless you've studied both wind farms and Cape Cod, you really have no business making assumptions about folks who truly love the Cape and whose concerns were much more legitimate than the narrative allows.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

54. Is this sarcasm?

"Landscaping and building summer homes" is the same as "environment preservation"?

Pity for the poor wealthy?

:hi:

[ozone_man]

56. We need to move toward local economies and local generation of power.

We have wind power in Vermont and it's typically fought by the people who have to see towers on the hills, many who are second home owners, who come for the scenic views Vermont is known for. This is changing as we get used to the idea that all energy use comes with costs, some of which are living within view of a wind farm. It brings home the reality that our energy use has real impacts on the environment, and on our quality of life.

When energy comes from foreign oil, we may send our armies to capture foreign oil and gas fields, and have U.S. multinationals take them over. The costs are out of sight out of mind, except for the tax bill to pay for the MIC, and the climate change, which all of nature has to pay for. But, if you're vacationing along pristine Atlantic beaches, who really wants to think about all that stuff? It's not within view of the horizon, even with a good pair of field glasses.

[Thor_MN]

52. +10

:rofl: :applause:

[Thor_MN]

53. I see it that people in coastal areas probably have three choices

1. Stop having and work towards others stopping having so many children
2. Get used to wind generators (the Dutch did, and windmills became tourist attractions)
3. Get used to offshore oil spills.

While I believe in protecting the environment, I think the root of that protection needs to be in overcoming the situation of having hungry hoards destroying the land, sea and sky.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

55. Cleaning up wind spills is literally a breeze.

[ItNerd4life]

57. I don't know why I smiled, but I did. nt

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

58. One smile a day is my objective.

I'm not super-ambitious.

Got my quota.

[Odin2005]

60. The NIMBY idiots finally lose. About time.

[fascisthunter]

61. Excellent News!!! (nt)

[robcon]

62. Good news. Ted Kennedy was totally wrong on this.

n/t