OREC Supports Existing Procedures for Cape Wind

The Senate has started its debate over legislation to give Governor Mitt Romney the power to veto the the proposed Cape Wind offshore wind project, which would be located in Nantucket Shoals off the coast of Massachusetts.  A Boston Globe story on the current status of the bill is available here.

OREC opposed the original version of the Young Amendment that prohibited construction of wind farms closer than 1.5 miles from shipping lanes.  As described here, that amendment would have precluded development of many viable offshore wind farms and also, could eventually have been expanded to bar wave and tidal projects as well.  The present Young/Stevens amendment is narrower, giving the Massachusetts governor the power to veto one project:  Cape Wind.

OREC opposes this "poison pill" legislation. The bill sets a dangerous precedent for Congress to kill any offshore wind, wave or tidal project that has invested millions of dollars in navigating the regulatory process and injects yet another level of uncertainty into our nation’s fledgling offshore industry.  If offshore wind and wave are to succeed in the United States, our projects must "sink or swim" on the merits, not politics.

For additional information, read OREC CEO Carolyn Elefant’s  Letter to the Editor on the Cape Wind Project.

Posted by Ocean Renewable on May 10th, 2006 filed in Legislative Updates