Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick’s statement on the approval of Cape Wind:
Mr. Secretary, on behalf of the hundreds of men and women who will build this project, the thousands of Massachusetts citizens who will benefit from stable electric rates, and the millions of Americans whose security and prosperity depend on energy independence, thank you for this decision. America needs offshore wind power. And with this project, Massachusetts leads the Nation.
This day has been long in coming. For nine years, the Cape Wind project has undergone the closest scrutiny by state and federal agencies and by the public. There are thoughtful views on all sides of this question and they have been acknowledged and considered seriously. But today’s decision affirms that on balance Cape Wind is good for our environment and good for our energy needs.
The clean energy future we are striving to create for Massachusetts and the Nation will include offshore wind power from Nantucket Sound.
Cape Wind is also good for Massachusetts. The United States is 20 years behind Europe on offshore wind, and China is pulling out ahead on offshore wind as well. America now has a chance to turn that around, and we in Massachusetts have a chance to show our leadership. Siemens has already said it intends to locate its U.S. offshore wind operation here in Massachusetts because of the Cape Wind project. With the support of the Obama administration, the largest wind blade testing facility in the world is under construction right now in Charlestown — the first facility in the U.S. capable of testing the large-scale wind turbine blades, up to 90 meters long, that represent the next generation of wind power technology. And we are making wind power a reality on land, as well as offshore. By the end of the year, we will have increased the amount of wind power in Massachusetts ten-fold.
We are on our way. If we get clean energy right, the world will be our customer. I thank Secretary Salazar for giving us this chance.
Leave a Reply