New Bedford Ocean Wind Port Sets Off Alarm Bells

New Bedford Ocean Wind Port Sets Off Alarm Bells

America’s first offshore wind project hit with waves of controversy

By Hillary Vaughn

Published December 18, 2014 FoxNews.com

“America’s first-ever offshore wind farm is going over-budget before construction even begins, critics say.

The $2.6 billion Cape Wind project, a private project benefiting from millions in federal subsidies, plans to pioneer offshore wind energy in pursuit of an eco-friendly, sustainable energy supply.

Wind turbines typically seen onshore will be installed offshore on the coast of Cape Cod in Nantucket Sound. But before Cape Wind can be built, a marine terminal first must be constructed to hold the turbines. And the cost of this separate project, funded by taxpayers in Massachusetts, has shot up by $10 million – estimated to cost state taxpayers, so far, $113 million for the terminal alone.

“This ten million is just another crumb that’s being thrown into the black hole of Cape Wind,” said Greg Sullivan, a former inspector general of Massachusetts who now works at the Pioneer Institute in Boston.

While taking turbines offshore allows them to harness more wind power, it comes with a cost. And critics like Sullivan say taxpayers are over-paying for a technology that will supply only a fraction of energy needed at a higher cost.“It’s so much more expensive than regular onshore turbines. It’s far more expensive than regular electricity,” he said.The over-budget marine terminal is just the latest example, for detractors, of the project’s rising price tag.”

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