Massachusetts Fishermen Drop Lawsuit Against Cape Wind Project

David Quilty | 29 June, 2012 | Clean Tech, Wind

Members of the Martha’s Vineyard/Dukes County Fishermen’s Association have dropped a lawsuit they filed which aimed to stop the Cape Wind Project in Nantucket Sound from going forward, reports CBS News.

With an expected outlay of cash to the tune of some $2.5 billion, the Cape Wind Project has been a source of much contention amongst local residents. While 80 percent of Massachusetts residents support the 454-MW offshore wind farm, environmentalist Robert F. Kennedy has been in opposition to the project for years.

The fishermen had sued the U.S. Department of the Interior after it approved the project in 2010, stating that it would make navigation in nearby waters too risky and expensive. The giant turbines can interfere with marine radar and the Coast Guard had stated that each boat would need a dedicated lookout on staff at all times.

After spending some $25,000 on the lawsuit, on Tuesday an attorney for the association announced that they were dropping it. “The idea is to work together to figure out how to maintain fishing opportunities,” said David Frulla, the the group’s attorney. “The concern is that you could end up in a never-ending grind of litigation.” Instead, they will work with project developers and local authorities on ways in which the project can benefit everyone involved. Part of the terms for dropping the suit include a creation of a “permit bank” on the Vineyard, which leases expensive fishing permits to fishermen at reasonable rates.

The Cape Wind Project, once completed and online, is expected to substantially lower electricity bills for residents of New England. Since my entire family lives near there, I will be sure to remember to ask them come 2015 when the turbines start producing energy.

Image Credit: Mark Heard/Flickr

1barbaradurkin

Cape Wind, if all goes well, would have a levelized cost over the 15 year term of over .30 per kWh. This is more than three times current energy cost. Their spec’d wind turbines are “discontinued”, “sinking”, “shifting” and “corroding” as installed offshore UK.
Cape Wind has bought off a few fishermen. The developer is unwelcome by the majority of fishermen who earn their living that Cape Wind threatens in Nantucket Sound.
June
26, 2012

PRESS RELEASE
Statement
of the MA Fishermen’s Partnership

The
MA Fishermen’s Partnership, the largest commercial fishing organization in the
state, remains strongly opposed to Cape Wind. The fact that the Martha’s
Vineyard Fishermen have dropped their lawsuit against Cape Wind in exchange for
monetary compensation does not change the fact that Cape Wind will devastate
essential fish habitat in Nantucket Sound and put the livelihoods of many
commercial fishermen at risk. It is deplorable in such tough economic times
that Cape wind would stoop so low as to push fishermen to accept an arrangement
that would harm the industry for generations to come.