After 10 years of local protests and lawsuits, and regulatory red tape, Cape Wind finally received final approval to begin construction on the first offshore wind farm in the U.S.
The $1 billion, 468 megawatt (MW) project has the go-ahead to begin installing turbines 4.7 miles off the coast of Massachusetts in Nantucket Bay. Construction should start this fall.
The US Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement approved the Construction and Operations Plan.
130, 3.6 MW wind turbines will be spread over 25 square miles of federal waters.
The project is expected to supply 75% of the electricity demand for Cape Cod and the Islands of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket – more than 200,000 homes.
11 lawsuits are still pending to de-rail the project. Over the years, the project has been held back because of local concerns of losing pristine views and over wildlife concerns.
The DOE says that offshore wind could one day provide 20% of US electricity.
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