The US Could Get Its Own Offshore Wind Farm
In today’s society, researchers and scientists continue to look for alternative sources of energy that are more environment-friendly than oil, coal and natural gas. Common options for other power sources include electricity, solar energy and wind power. However, wind power may have been an unrated alternative energy source in America since countries like Europe and Asia have used offshore wind farms for a while unlike the United States. But now the U.S. federal government has approved the launch of a project to provide the United States with its very own offshore wind farm.
For this project, a twenty-five mile, one hundred and thirty turbine farm is to be built and located on the waters five miles off the coast of Cape Cod in Nantuket Sound. Once completed, this wind farm would generate enough power to meet seventy percent of the energy requirement for Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantuket. In addition to state and federal government, this project is also supported by Greenpeace and the Sierra Club. However, this alternative energy venture could take years to be fully realized since several groups are strongly opposing it.
Stiff opponents of the U.S. wind farm project include local government groups, the Kennedy family, the coastal Wamponag tribe and numerous environmentalist organizations. Their complaint is that this project would kill the pristine view of the waters, harm the tourism industry and violate tribal rights of Native Americans by obstructing their view of the sunrise in the area. Thus, court battles and financial deals between groups are probably on the way before the U.S. offshore wind farm truly becomes a reality. Nevertheless, the development of wind farms in the United States could provide cleaner and more renewable sources of energy in the long run.
Tags: alternative energy, Offshore wind farm, U.S. Federal Government
