In a continued battle between aesthetics and efficiency, two authors and ardent alternative energy supporters argued in favor of the Cape Wind energy project yesterday at the State House, maintaining the latter still strongly outweighs the former.
Wendy Williams and Robert Whitcomb, authors of Cape Wind, which outlines the proposed windmill construction off the coast of Nantucket Sound, hailed the advantages of wind power in a meeting with lawmakers.
Williams said the Cape Wind Project, which would be the nation’s first offshore wind farm, would create 130 turbines and could generate up to two-thirds of the energy used on the Cape and Nantucket.
“I can’t tell you that [the wind farm] should be built, as it’s not my place to endorse anything,” Williams said. “However, I can tell you that there is no reason for this not to be built.”
Only 8 percent of New England’s energy is generated by renewable sources, Williams said, adding Cape Wind is part of the larger “20/20 Initiative,” which will increase renewable sources to 20 percent by 2020. She said the plan would reduce electricity costs and waste, improve public health and create more jobs.
Despite the proposed benefits, Cape residents have opposed the construction because they say the wind turbines would ruin the picturesque ocean view and negatively affect the environment.
“This wrong-headed decision will threaten fishermen, tourists and residents; place public safety in jeopardy, and endanger the marine environment of Nantucket Sound,” the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound released in a statement, according to an April 2 Daily Free Press article.
“People are for it, until there’s talk of exact locations,” Whitcomb said. “It’s not amongst political party lines. It’s amongst dinner party lines.”
U.S. Energy Department Boston Regional Office program manager Albert Benson said the project’s only downside is its infrequent unsightliness.
“Harvard Public Health has done a study that if the project goes forward, it would save 20 lives a year and save $80 million a year in health benefits and hospital visits for the state of Massachusetts alone,” Benson said. “A few wealthy people think they might see it on a summer day. . . . Since the project is five to eight miles offshore, I doubt it seriously because of the haze. The only time you would ever see it is in winter.”