On December 1, 2017, after years of debate, the Cape Wind project that aimed to erect a wind farm off the coast of Nantucket officially raised the white flag. An ambitious undertaking when it first began in 2001, the project began with the goal to bring the US its first offshore wind farm. However, the 468 mega-watt farm that was expected to power the greater Nantucket area faced fierce push back both from wealthy donors, namely the Kennedy’s and Koch Brothers, as well as concern from residents worried about construction, wildlife impacts, and the aesthetic consequence of having turbines so close to shore.
As the future of our energy policies come barreling towards us, it might be time to rethink our priorities. Is a turbine in front of our sea side view that much of a blemish when it saves an entire region dependency on foreign oil? Moving forward, these questions are going to become much more important and the lessons learned from Cape Wind ever more prevalent.
Sincerely,
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David Roelke