The Cape Wind Project: Costs and Benefits

The CapeWind project is and alternative energy proposal that has generated much controversy since it became known to the public. The plan consists of building 130 wind turbines offshore from the nearby island of Nantucket in Massachusetts. This is an instance where the idea of NIMBY (not in my back yard) has come to the forefront in an energy dispute.

The Cape Wind Project is similar to other wind farm projects. It will utilize elevated wind turbines that catch the offshore winds and rotate in order to drive a piston or dynamo, which in turn will generate electric power. Each of the turbines will be positioned between four and thirteen miles offshore, raised to a height of about 250 feet off the surface of the water. The spot was chosen because the Cape Cod shoreline has fairly reliable winds. The more wind you have and the stronger it is, then the more electricity will be generated from the dynamos.

The turbines have a high potential for producing electricity. Estimates predict that the project could produce nearly seventy-five percent of the electricity demand of Cape Cod, NantucketIsland, and Martha's Vineyard. Although the Cape Wind Project is estimated to cost around 900 million dollars to implement, the electrical gains would soon make up for the difference. Furthermore, the project would save the United States an estimated 113 millions gallons of oil and would keep a million tons of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere annually. In a time of great trepidation about the possible consequences of global warming, the Cape Wind Project advertises itself as a step in the right direction away from dependence upon oil.

As promising as the Cape Wind Project is to reduce energy consumption in Massachusetts, it has drawn heated criticism from residents and politicians. Many residents of the rich communities of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket argue that the turbines would be unsightly and reduce the natural beauty of Nantucket Sound. Furthermore, critics have argued that the turbines pose a threat to sea birds flying in the Sound, as well as to shipping lanes. Although the threat to sea birds is a legitimate concern, it seems unlikely that with today's technology of positioning and location that a sea captain would fail to miss a regular line of 250 foot tall windmills standing in the water.

Politicians have joined the fight as well. Senator Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts has expressed his opposition to the project, even though he expresses support for wind power projects in general. Senator Kennedy owns a house that looks out on the Sound, so it seems legitimate to speculate that he shares many residents' sentiments about the unsightliness of the proposed project. Overall, this attitude seems to reflect the "not in my backyard" approach to change. People express interest in implementing new ideas, but if the proposal reaches into their neighborhood, they are expressly against it.

The Cape Wind Project is a means for producing clean energy. There are costs and there are benefits. In a time of global conflict over oil and an encroaching threat on the environment due to a dependence on it, citizens of the United States are going to have to ask themselves what is more important to them when it comes to alternative energy programs. The costs or the benefits?