Cape Wind
The Cape Wind Project was a proposed offshore wind energy project on Horseshoe Shoal in Nantucket Sound off Cape Cod, Massachusetts, United States. It was projected to generate 1,500 gigawatt hours of electricity a year at a first-dollar cost of $2.6 billion.
Cape Wind had arranged to borrow $2 billion from The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, and Siemens had agreed to supply turbines for the project. Some construction began in 2013, thereby qualifying the project for the federal production tax credit, which was expiring at the end of the year.
It was approved but then lost several key contracts and suffered several licensing and legislative setbacks. National Grid and Northeast Utilities eventually terminated their power purchase agreements in January 2015, making it difficult to obtain the necessary financing for the project to progress.
The developer, Jim Gordon of Energy Management Inc., eventually terminated the lease rights for the site in late 2017.
Plans
The proposed project was to cover and be located from Mashpee, Massachusetts, on the south coast of Cape Cod, and from the island town of Nantucket.Cape Wind's developer, Energy Management Inc., was a New England–based energy company with 35 years' experience in energy conservation and development. ESS Group, Inc. of Waltham, Massachusetts, was the environmental science specialist for the project. Cape Wind was also being assisted by Woods Hole Group, K2 Management, SgurrEnergy, AWS Truepower, and PMSS. Barclays was Cape Wind's Financial Advisor. The project envisioned 130 horizontal-axis wind turbines, each with a hub height of. The blade diameter was, with the lowest blade tip height at and the top blade tip height at. The turbines were to be sited between four and 11 miles offshore depending on the shoreline. At peak generation, the turbines were anticipated to generate 454 megawatts of electricity.
The project was expected to produce an average of 170 MW of electricity, about 75% of the average electricity demand for Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard, and Nantucket island combined. Had it been built, it might have offset nearly a million tons of carbon dioxide a year and produced enough electricity to offset consumption of of oil annually.
At the time the project was envisioned, 45% of the Cape region's electricity came from the nearby Canal Generating Plant in Sandwich, a bunker oil and natural gas run facility. The Cape Wind proposal was distinct in that it was envisioned to directly offset petroleum combustion, unlike most of the United States where electrical power generation from oil is rare and power from coal, natural gas and nuclear is more common.
Additionally, this project would have reduced the amount of oil shipped to the Canal Generating Plant; fuel for this plant had been part of two major oil spills, the first on 15 December 1976, when the tanker Argo Merchant ran aground southeast of Nantucket Island, Massachusetts spilling of oil. The second spill occurred in April 2003, when a Bouchard Company barge carrying oil for the Mirant Canal Generating Plant ran aground, spilling of oil, which killed 450 birds and shut down 100,000 acres of shell fishing beds.
File:Massachusetts wind resource map 50m 800.jpg|thumb|350px|The best wind resources in Massachusetts, by far, are offshore. The Cape Wind site is between Cape Cod to the north and the islands of Nantucket, to the south, and Martha's Vineyard, to the west.
Approval process
Because the proposed turbines were to be over from shore, they would have been subject to federal jurisdiction. However, near-shore infrastructure including roads and power cables made the project subject to state and local jurisdiction as well. All necessary state and local pre-construction approvals were obtained by 2009. Major federal approvals were obtained 17 May 2010, with lease details and construction and operation permits to be granted as the project proceeded.State and local approvals
At the state and local level, according to the Boston Globe, Cape Wind needed approval from the Cape Cod Commission; "a Chapter 91 license from the Department of Environmental Protection; a water quality certification from the state DEP; access permits from the Massachusetts Highway Department for work along state highways; a license from the Executive Office of Transportation for a railway crossing; orders of conditions from the Yarmouth and Barnstable Conservation Commissions; and road opening permits from Yarmouth and Barnstable."On 11 May 2005, the Massachusetts Energy Facilities Siting Board approved the application to build the wind farm. Opponents appealed the decision and on 18 December 2006 the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court upheld the decision.
In March 2007, the project received approval from Ian Bowles, the Massachusetts Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs, as required by the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act. In October 2007, the Cape Cod Commission declined to approve Cape Wind without further study of the impact by the developers.
On 20 June 2008, the Barnstable Superior Court dismissed four of five counts against the MEPA certificate that had been filed by opposition groups and the Town of Barnstable. The fifth count was not considered ripe for a ruling since the matter was still pending before a state agency.
On 22 May 2009, the Massachusetts Energy Facilities Siting Board issued a "Super Permit" to Cape Wind, overriding the Cape Cod Commission and obviating the need for further state and local approvals.
On 31 August 2010, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled 4–2 that the state had the power to overrule community opposition and granted the Cape Wind project a suite of local permits it needed to start construction.
On 28 December 2011, a ruling by "the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court gave its blessing to a novel power purchase agreement between Cape Wind and National Grid," as reported by the Boston Globe, and in so doing "the high court unanimously rejected criticisms by wind farm opponents of the state reviews of the agreement, under which National Grid would buy 50% of the wind farm's power."
Federal approvals
At the federal level, Cape Wind originally applied for a permit in 2001 under Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 with the US Army Corps of Engineers. The Army Corps eventually presented a draft Environmental Impact Statement. In a public comment period, many federal agencies, local governments, and community groups found that the draft EIS had deficiencies. Due to passage of the 2005 Energy Bill, the regulatory authority for off-shore energy projects had been transferred from the Army Corps to the Minerals Management Service within the Department of the Interior. Whereas Cape Wind had expected to obtain approval quickly from the Army Corps, this transfer of authority to the MMS delayed the project.The MMS issued a Draft Environmental Impact Statement in January 2008, and a Final Environmental Impact Report in January 2009.
On 4 January 2010, US Interior Secretary Ken Salazar called a meeting of principal parties to resolve remaining issues after the National Park Service ruled that Nantucket Sound was eligible to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places because of its cultural and spiritual significance to two Native American tribes. "After several years of review, it is now time to move the Cape Wind proposal to a final decision point. That is why I am gathering the principal parties together next week to consider the findings of the Keeper and to discuss how we might find a common-sense agreement on actions that could be taken to minimize and mitigate Cape Wind's potential impacts on historic and cultural resources. I am hopeful that an agreement among the parties can be reached by March 1. If an agreement among the parties can't be reached, I will be prepared to take the steps necessary to bring the permit process to conclusion. The public, the parties, and the permit applicants deserve certainty and resolution."
On 22 March 2010, a hearing was held before the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation. Proponents and opponents of the plan delivered testimony during the hearing. The council was to deliver their recommendations to Interior Secretary Salazar no later than 14 April 2010.
On 28 April 2010, at a news conference in the Massachusetts Statehouse alongside governor Deval Patrick, a supporter of the project, Secretary Salazar announced "I am approving the Cape Wind project." The Preferred Alternative of Horseshoe Shoal was selected by the Record of Decision.
The Federal Aviation Administration cleared the construction of the wind farm on 17 May 2010 after raising concerns that the wind turbine structures could interfere with radar system at nearby Otis Air Force Base. Cape Wind agreed to fix the base's system to ensure that it would not be affected by the wind farm. On 28 October 2011, the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia rejected the FAA's ruling. The court ordered the 'no hazard' determinations vacated and remanded back to the FAA. On 15 August 2012 Cape Wind again received full approval from the FAA, which determined that the wind farm would cause no danger to aircraft operations. However, Cape Wind had begun its planning, even without full federal approval.
The Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound filed a lawsuit in June 2010, claiming that federal approvals violated the Endangered Species Act, Migratory Bird Treaty Act, and National Environmental Policy Act.
On 6 October 2010, Interior Secretary Salazar announced that a 28-year lease had been signed, which would have cost Cape Wind an annual fee of $88,278 before construction, and a two to seven percent variable operating fee during production, based on revenue from selling the energy.
On 22 November 2010, a 15-year power purchase agreement between Cape Wind and National Grid was signed for 50% of the electricity, at a price of 18.7¢/kWh, which would have added $1.50 a month to the electricity bill of an average home.
On 7 January 2011, Cape Wind announced it had received permits from the US Army Corps of Engineers and the US Environmental Protection Agency.
On 18 April 2011, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement granted its necessary approval for the project.
In Summer 2011, the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head filed a lawsuit against the federal government for allowing Cape Wind to move forward. Contradicting the Aquinnahs, the Pocasset Wampanoag Tribe previously had expressed support for the project.
In July 2016, an appeals court ruled that the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management had not obtained "sufficient site-specific data on seafloor" as obligated by the National Environmental Policy Act.