An Offshore Wind Farm Caught In A Political Breeze
Tuesday, January 27, 2009 at 10:59AM 
The plan to erect 130 giant turbines across 25 miles of federal waters in Nantucket Sound poses no major environmental problems according to a recent report from the federal Minerals Management Service.
The report declared that the wind farm off Cape Cod would have little lasting impact on wildlife, navigation, and tourism. The report cleared the way for the Obama administration to make a final decision on whether to issue a lease for the project.
The Minerals Management Service reviewed Cape Wind's impact on noise, coastal vegetation, wildlife, fisheries, tourism, and aviation, as well as other issues. Wildlife and fish would be affected minimally, except for a "moderate" impact on some birds, the report said. And, Rodney Cluck, who oversaw the agency's review, said, "we feel we can mitigate most of those" effects. The report determined there would be a "minor" impact on tourism.
So, after years of Congressional delay, many may think that the creation of America's first offshore wind farm would finally be on the fast track to federal approval. After all, alternative energy has been a campaign pledge by the new American President and offshore wind power fits Obama's energy initiatives in every way.
The problem is that powerful forces within the Presidents own party have opposed the Nantucket Offshore wind farm for the last decade. Massachusetts Congressman William Delahunt and Senator Ted Kennedy have opposed the wind project because they believe that the turbines would kill birds and endanger sea life while imperiling the scenic area's tourism and fishing industries.
Green peace believes that the Massachusetts Democrats opposition to the wind farm is due to the Kennedy's pristine ocean view. Recently, the environmental group launched a three-week, $40,000 television ad campaign in the Boston and Cape Cod media markets urging both Delahunt and Kennedy ‘‘to put public backing for clean energy before the interests of wealthy homeowners on the sound“.
Kennedy has said that he does not oppose the project because of aesthetics but the fact is that the turbines would stand 440 feet above sea level. As a result, the Kennedy family's Hyannis Port, Mass., ocean front compound would have a clear view of the wind farm which would be located just 4.7 miles offshore.
Meanwhile, Massachusetts Governor Duval Patrick, also a Democrat and a friend of the new President has the opposite viewpoint. He has championed the wind farm, embracing it as part of a push to make his state a leader in alternative energy.
In fact, the site of the wind turbines was chosen because it was highly favorable for wind development (maybe the best in the East Coast). The area has strong steady winds and is close to onshore power lines while being protected from high waves.
America's first offshore wind farm is still caught in a stiff political breeze. The Obama administration will tread very carefully because of Ted Kennedy's dedicated opposition.
With environmental reports still pending from the Federal Aviation Administration and the Interior Department's inspector general, there is plenty of opportunity for further political delay.
As a result, wind turbines in Nantucket Sound may not become an American alternative energy reality anytime soon.
Reader Comments (4)
Wind farms produce virtually nothing. They require constant back up from conventional fossil fuel power stations, they;
• contribute to grid failure
• increase the cost of electricity
• suffer from extreme corrosion & logistical maintenance problems at sea
• produce far less electricity than presumed installed capacity
• give little or no significant CO² emission savings owing to back up requirements.
Wildlife
Ground transmitted vibration and IFLN (Infrasound and Low Frequency Noise) will impact on all small mammals, badgers, mice and rabbits etc over a wide area. Many believe turbines at sea are responsible for reduction in fish stocks, still born seal pups, beached dolphins and whales.
Exploding lungs" is not a sign one would expect to see at a wind farm. In May 2007, the US National Research Council published the results of a survey of US wind farms showing that two bat species accounted for 60% of winged animals killed. The study shows that the moving blades cause a drop in pressure that makes the delicate lungs of bats suddenly expand, bursting the tissue's blood vessels.
Erin Baerwald University of Calgary, Canada collected 188 dead bats from wind farms across southern Alberta, and determined their cause of death. They found that 90% had signs of internal haemorrhaging, but only half showed any signs of direct contact with the windmill blades. Only 8% had signs of external injuries but no internal injuries. The movement of wind-turbine blades creates a vortex of lower air pressure around the blade tips similar to the vortex at the tip of aeroplane wings.
Health and Welfare.
Nina Pierpont MD PhD reports that Vibro-acoustic Disease (VAD) results from long term exposure to low-frequency noise, below the range of hearing, and is characterized by fibrous thickening in the cardiovascular and pulmonary systems, and seizures and cognitive changes in the brain. VAD is recognized as an industrial disease.
Professor Mariana Alves-Periera from Lisbon University in Portugal has produced irrefutable evidence of serious physiological cell degeneration (Vibro-acoustic disease) from inaudible infrasound (ILFN) of the type produced by giant industrial wind turbine generators. Evidence is based on 27 years valid and robust research by teams of scientists, doctors, pathologists & noise specialists with participation from eastern European universities. Research includes health monitoring of individuals exposed to ILFN (infrasound and low frequency noise).
Infrasound is known to be dangerous. There is much information available. It is used in torture and crowd dispersal by several countries. Some of its more prominent well known features are;
• Ability to travel for tens of kilometres
• Hugging the ground and passing easily through solid objects
• Resonating in enclosed cavities i.e. double glazing, wall cavities, ceiling voids and closed rooms, human organs and cavities. Low frequency noise is said to increase in closed spaces
• Ability to explode matter at certain frequencies.
The health of residents living within 2 kilometres down wind of these giants is more at risk than from nuclear power stations.
Yeah, wind farms are very inefficient at producing energy. This whole sustainable development trend is just a disguise for environmentalists to say how they actually want no development. To read more about this, visit http://tothecenter.com/
are other solutions to produce energy but nobody wants to implement them
while those who belong to the world oil...will not be anything good
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