A majority of the members of the Massachusetts Legislature – 107 in total, representing Democrats and Republicans in the House and Senate – have signed on to a letter to Department of the Interior (DOI) Secretary Ken Salazar urging him to approve Cape Wind ‘as soon as possible.’
This announcement coincided with a recent event in Newark, Del., where Vice President Biden and Salazar highlighted offshore wind power development in the U.S.
Chairman Frank I. Smizik, who authored the letter, says he is pleased to have obtained nearly 30 additional signatures less than a month after he first submitted the letter with 78 signatures.
‘Projects that start controversial up here usually stay controversial,’ says Smizik. ‘Not Cape Wind. Rarely have I seen legislators come to such a consensus in support of a project as they learn more about it, and this letter – with a strong and ever-growing majority of the Legislature signing on – represents that.’
Salazar is expected to issue a record of decision on Cape Wind in the near future. The DOI's Minerals Management Service issued Cape Wind a favorable final environmental impact statement in January. In March, the Massachusetts Energy Facilities Siting Board voted unanimously to issue the project a composite certificate that will finalize state permitting.
SOURCE: Cape Wind Associates
