Wednesday July 1, 2009, 7:12 am
Dozens of wind turbines could sprout within sight of the Massachusetts shoreline under a first-of-its-kind state blueprint with the promise of generating both electricity and controversy.

The draft plan, scheduled to be released today, would allow a series of small wind farms of up to 10 turbines each in coastal waters that stretch 3 miles from shore. Substantially larger farms - similar to what’s proposed in Nantucket Sound - could be built off Cape Cod near Cuttyhunk Island and adjacent to another tiny island several miles off Martha’s Vineyard.

But much like zoning laws on land that attempt to protect sensitive areas, the state plan aims to spare precious pieces of the sea that include fish nurseries and endangered whale feeding zones. Before developers could start aquaculture farms, lay electric cables, or plant wind turbines in those areas, they would have to prove there is no better alternative.

“For more than 300 years the Commonwealth has had a unique relationship with the ocean,’’ said Ian Bowles, state secretary of Energy and Environ mental Affairs. “Today, we are taking that relationship a step further by determining [its] future based on science but also recognizing the imperative of developing renewable energy . . . in an environmentally appropriate fashion.’’

The plan would have no effect on the 130 turbines proposed in Nantucket Sound because they would sit in federal waters.

But much like the Nantucket project and even single turbines on land, the smaller wind farms appear destined to pit the desire to generate clean energy against concerns that the whirling machines would obstruct views and harm wildlife.

Several offshore wind farms are likely to be proposed by companies and communities that support renewable power, but it’s unclear how many will ultimately be built. At least one community, Hull, had previously expressed interest in hosting up to four turbines a mile offshore.

The blueprint gives the state’s six coastal regional planning authorities the option to build up to 10 wind turbines each in state waters at least one-third of a mile from shore, for a total of 60 statewide. While the plan gives refusal rights to the community in whose waters a wind farm is proposed, it does not give similar rights to adjacent communities.

“We could have no say,’’ said Frank Haggerty, who successfully fought against a turbine on land near his home in Mattapoisett. “Turbines have their place, but where I’ve seen them they are 7 miles out - not a mile.’’

The plan emerges as the nation’s waters become increasingly crowded from competing uses of ship traffic, fishing, and a flurry of offshore energy projects, from liquefied natural gas ports to wind farms. Two weeks ago, President Obama called such ocean management a priority to help manage federal waters that stretch 3 to 200 miles out to sea

Saturday July 4, 2009, 4:38 pm
Go Mass. You make me proud you are doing the right thing! Happy 4th of July !