This Washington Times article is one of many on the Cape Cod windmill project. For the record, I am for windmills, and most any reasonable idea which will reduce our dependence on oil, particularly foreign oil. If I had the money, time, and will, I would put up my own personal windmill.

It amazes me that renewable energy is being fought on the Cape, mostly by rich liberals. (though I heard Walter Cronkite has withdrawn his opposition this is not confirmed. I am diligently researching this). This is certainly a NIMBY deal led by Kennedy et al. Kennedy has a home on Nantucket Sound, as do most of the other opponents with most recommending other locations. The Berkshire region of Massachusetts is frequently mentioned as an alternative, though there are just as many rich liberals (and conservatives) who I am sure would oppose it just as much.

It is reported the sole power plant on the Cape, which is located in Sandwich, MA, burns 300 million gallons of heavy oil per year. One of the major concerns about the windmills is the oil tank located on the transformer. This transformer will have a 40,000 gallon oil tank which will use mineral oil. Mineral oil is safer on the environment if spilled or leaked into the ocean. A barge delivering oil to the Cape plant to the Sandwich plant ran aground a few years ago and spilled 40-50,000 gallons of oil into Buzzards Bay killing birds, fish, and closing shellfish beds.

The wind farm is expected to produce up to 75% of the power needed for the Cape. The difficulties in permitting and building a power plant would be immense, and I am sure the same people who are against windmills are going to be against a fossil fuel plant as well.

Rep. Young of Alaska has filed an amendment on behalf of Kennedy and other to require windmills to be located 1.5 nautical miles from shipping lanes. Kind of amazing since oil rigs are only required to be 500 feet from shipping lanes.

John Kerry supports windmills….just not within eyeshot of his wife’s dead husband’s mansion in Nantucket.

Also see PBS here.

Archived in: Alaska, Conservatives, Environmentalism, John Kerry, Liberals, Massachusetts