| By Chris Baltimore
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Opponents of a plan to build the first
offshore U.S. wind farm in Nantucket Sound off Massachusetts were a
step closer on Friday to blocking the $900 million project.
Negotiators in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate agreed
late on Thursday to give Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney the power
to block a plan by Cape Wind Associates LLC to put 130 giant wind
turbines near the resort islands of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket.
Romney, a Republican sometimes touted as a potential presidential
candidate, is an outspoken opponent of the plan, and U.S. Sen. Ted
Kennedy of Massachusetts, a leading Democrat, also opposes it.
Backers say the project could generate enough electricity for most
of Cape Cod and nearby islands. Opponents include wealthy residents
with yachts and shorefront property near the proposed site.
An odd alliance has formed to block the project, including Kennedy
and two Alaska Republicans -- Sen. Ted Stevens and Rep. Don Young,
chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
The blocking provisions were included in the $8.7 billion Coast
Guard reauthorization bill that House and Senate negotiators approved
late on Thursday.
Young's spokesman said the senator opposed the project out of
concerns it would be unsafe for ships trying to navigate off the
Massachusetts coast.
Jim Gordon, President of Cape Wind, accused Alaska's Young of
cutting a backroom deal with project opponents including wealthy
island residents.
"This eleventh hour move to change the rules ... is unjust and
contravenes our regional and national energy policy interest," Gordon
said.
Project opponents say the plan could endanger tourism and fishing,
while promoters say it could provide 75 percent of the electricity
needs of Cape Cod and nearby islands.
Studies show the area has some of the strongest, most consistent
wind in the eastern United States. At peak output, the project would
generate more than 400 megawatts of electricity, enough to meet the
needs of some 400,000 homes on Cape Cod and the nearby islands. |
