Salazar Gives the Project a Green
Light
 The
approval of the Cape Wind project on April 28, 2010 by Secretary of the
Interior Ken Salazar is a major step forward and a clear signal of US
commitment to renewable energy.
Cape Wind is a “wind farm” project by a private developer that will
be comprised of 130 wind turbines that can each generate 3.6 megawatts
of electricity and will cover a 24 square mile area that juts out into
the Atlantic Ocean, 6 miles off the southeastern coast of Massachusetts.
This area is a coastal bay that is partially bounded by the southern
edge of Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, and Nantucket Island. In average
winds, these 130 turbines have the potential to supply 420 megawatts of
electricity, or the equivalent of about 75% of the needs of the Cape Cod
and the outlying islands.
The benefits of renewable off-shore electricity generation include
- more predictable electricity costs of wind when compared to the
volatility of fossil fuel prices
- a good potential for jobs - approximately 1,000 temporary, 200
permanent as well as at least 50 for ongoing maintenance
- cleaner air and a more healthy environment - Cape Cod has the
worst air quality in Massachusetts
- the reduction of gas emissions from the burning of fossil fuels by
Cape Wind of approximately 734,000 tons / year. Global warming is
raising the temperature of our oceans, which increases acidification
and ocean water evaporation causing more frequent and worse storms
resulting in coastal flooding and beach erosion.
Our health and environment are hurt by our increasing use of fossil
fuels and the waste and damage they create. Most of our electricity
(83%) in Massachusetts comes from burning fossil fuels in plants that
are often more than 50 years old. The practice of burning coal, oil, and
natural gas for electricity harms the health and lives of the people
from the original source of the fuel to the dumping of the spent waste
from the coal plants in our neighbor’s backyards.
The Sierra Club supports properly-sited off-shore wind and land-based
wind power. We feel that the time has come to replace as much of our
energy needs as we can with clean energy. Every day we do not put wind
turbines in our Massachusetts skies means approximately 61,000 metric
tons of carbon dioxide released into our atmosphere. |
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