http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/green/articles/2010/09/01/sjc_ruling_gives_cape_wind_project_green_light_to_build/A divided Supreme Judicial Court ruled yesterday that a state board had the power to sidestep community opposition to grant the controversial Cape Wind energy project local and state permits it needs to start construction in the waters off Cape Cod.
The long-awaited 4-2 decision removes a potential obstacle to the wind farm as its developers prepare to start building 130 turbines in Nantucket Sound within the year. If the court had sided with opponents, the project would probably have been delayed indefinitely or killed outright because several permits would have had to come from a community and a regional agency that oppose the project.
Cape Wind still must win approval from the state Department of Public Utilities, which is reviewing National Grid’s agreement to purchase half of the wind farm’s expensive power.
The court upheld a May 2009 decision by the Energy Facilities Siting Board to issue nine local and state permits to Cape Wind, even though the Cape Cod Commission, a regional planning and regulatory agency, had denied one of the permits, for a transmission line.
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