Tilting at offshore windmills

How Massachusetts's Cape Wind project got hijacked.

By Wendy Williams

from the May 16, 2007 edition

Page 1 of 2

mashpee, mass. - America's flagship offshore wind project – the 130-turbine, 468-megawatt Cape Wind development – has once again become mired in delay.

First proposed in 2001 for the famous yachting waters of Nantucket Sound south of Cape Cod, the ambitious Massachusetts endeavor would help stabilize New England's aging power grid and ease Cape Cod's severe air pollution by reducing the use of the local oil-fired generator. It would also lower New England electricity rates.

Sadly, New England does not enjoy such benefits, largely due to the Cape Wind controversy. Airtricity, a major Irish wind energy company, intended to base its US operations in Boston. After watching the Cape Wind battle, the company moved to Chicago.

The stalled project is a loss for New England and a setback for wind-power proponents across the country. It's also a victory for the powerful people who aligned themselves against it. Many factors fueled their personal attacks and endless litigation, but their opposition boils down to social narcissism.

Cape Wind, however, is not just a petty neighborhood squabble driven by NIMBY, or "not in my backyard!" syndrome. In a world of global warming, war in the Middle East, soaring gas prices, and declining fossil fuels, the campaign against Cape Wind is a sad commentary on the state of democracy and public policy in America.

I have watched this drama unfold for nearly six years. The desperation, indignation, exaggeration, and imagination of the critics is astounding. Among the project's opponents is a socialite named Rachel "Bunny" Mellon, widow of the philanthropist Paul Mellon. "You're a traitor to your class!" Mrs. Mellon replied to a lawyer who supported Cape Wind.

Particularly effective has been the meddling of former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, a Republican, and Massachusetts Sen. Edward Kennedy, a Democrat. For years, the duo did everything possible to hold up Cape Wind. In one case, when a frustrated state employee, who served at the pleasure of the governor, spoke publicly about the unprecedented stalling, she found herself out of a long-held job.

I have sat through thousands of hours of meetings, including a Saturday morning "emergency" session held in the summer of 2002 in a century-old Nantucket Sound ballroom by the fabled and ultra-WASP Wianno Yacht Club.

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