US OK's First Offshore Wind Farm

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United States Interior Secretary Ken Salazar has officially approved the first offshore wind farm in the United States.  130 wind turbines will be built off the Massachusetts coast in the Nantucket Sound for roughly $1 billion USD.

Offshore wind farms have been pioneered in Europe, with more than 800 offshore wind turbines in countries like Denmark and Great Britain.  While the United States is amongst the world leaders in land-based wind power, it has not yet invested in deep water wind turbine tech.  These 130 wind turbines, dubbed Cape Wind, would provide renewable energy production to Massachusetts and move toward the aim to cut greenhouse gas emissions as planned by President Obama.

Naturally, some citizens of the Nantucket Sound, a cape wedged between the coast of Massachusetts, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket, are protesting the Cape Wind wind farm.  Many are concerned about the visual blight it could add to the Nantucket landscape, including Republican leaders in Massachusetts and local Native American tribes.  While Cape Wind still has plenty of hurdles to leap before production and installation, the approval of the first offshore wind farm in the United States remains a significant step forward for wind power.