U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar will today announce his decision on the controversial and much-debated wind farm proposed for Nantucket Sound off Cape Cod.
Salazar will make his announcement at noon today in Boston at the State House along with Gov. Deval Patrick, a supporter of the project, Salazar's office said this morning.
Salazar's plan to announce the decision with Patrick bodes well for advocates of Cape Wind, as the governor has been a supporter of the project. Cape Wind wants to build a 130-turbine wind farm in Nantucket Sound.
A live Webcast of Salazar's press conference will be available here on Cape Cod Online as an embedded video beginning at noon.
Cape Wind has scheduled a 2:15 p.m. press conference at the Park Plaza Hotel in Boston. A live broadcast of the press conference may be available at Cape Wind's website: www.capewind.org.
There is no official word yet on plans today by wind farm foe Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound.
Today's announcement also comes as Salazar's boss and Patrick's good friend, President Barack Obama, makes a two-day, three-state Midwestern trip, focusing on his economic and clean-energy programs as job creators. Yesterday, the president toured an Iowa company that makes blades for wind turbines and is set to supply turbines for the proposed Nantucket Sound wind farm.
Cape Wind aims to begin generating electricity in 2012 and supply three-quarters of the Cape's power. Cape Wind officials say it will provide green jobs and a reliable domestic energy source, while offshore wind advocates are hoping it can jump-start an industry that's lagging behind Europe and now China.
Opponents wanted the project moved out of Nantucket Sound, saying it would endanger marine life and maritime traffic, while defacing historic vistas, including the view from the Kennedy family compound in Hyannisport.
The late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy fought Cape Wind, calling it a special-interest giveaway, and he also complained that the 400-foot-tall turbines — spread over 25 miles of federal waters — would mar a pristine landscape.
Opponents also say the power from the pricey Cape Wind project, estimated to cost at least $2 billion, would be too expensive.
Cape Wind appeared close to final approval in January 2009 when the lead federal agency reviewing the project, the Minerals Management Service, issued a report saying the project posed no major environmental problems.
But two Wampanoag tribes claimed the project would ruin an ancient ritual that requires an unblocked view of the sunrise, and could disturb long-submerged tribal burial grounds.
Early this month, a federal historic council backed tribal claims and recommended Salazar reject the project, citing its "destructive" effects on views from dozens of historic sites.
Yesterday, Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry said he would support the project if Salazar gives his approval.
"I have said this is the first siting of anywhere in the country, (so it's) very important for the process to work its way forward," Kerry said. "I favor a wind project somewhere in Massachusetts, and I've said, again and again, if the process decides that this is the one that it should be, I support moving forward."
Obama has pushed renewable energy, and his recent decision to expand offshore drilling indicates a willingness to tap ocean-based energy sources. But Obama, who was close to Kennedy, has never spoken publicly about Cape Wind.
The president is also close to Patrick and recently urged his re-election this fall.
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