Interior Secretary Pushes to Complete Cape Wind Project

[SpartanDem]

Source: WSJ

WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--The Obama administration is pushing for a "common sense" resolution by March 1 to a battle over Cape Wind, the wind project off the coast of Cape Cod, Mass., that local landowners have spent years fighting.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said Monday that he plans to convene a meeting next week in an attempt to broker a deal that can satisfy all sides in the dispute. He said in a statement that if an agreement cannot be reached by March 1, "I will be prepared to take the steps necessary to bring the permit process to conclusion."

The announcement came after the National Park Service said that Nantucket Sound is eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places, a designation that could complicate commercial development. The U.S. government cited the body of water's historic and cultural significance, especially to the Wampanoag tribes, which believe that their ancestors lived on land now submerged beneath the water.

Cape Wind, which could be the country's first-ever offshore wind farm, is to consist of 130 wind turbines to be set up in 25 square miles of the sound, just off Cape Cod, Nantucket Island, and Martha's Vinyard. The controversial project has won state and local approvals, but those are being challenged in state court as local residents have raised numerous objections. The project's developer is privately held Energy Management Inc., founded by energy developer Jim Gordon.


Read more: http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20100104-731273.html