Off-shore Wind War
by Timlynn Babitsky
The war over off-shore wind power in the US may soon be over! The first large-scale US off-shore wind project has been stalled for nearly eight years by a very rich and famous NIMBY campaign of resistors. Yet despite every effort to kill the Cape Wind project, it may be just months away from finally starting construction.
The Cape Wind project plans to place 130 turbines in Nantucket Sound, south of Cape Cod. An untiring handful of grassroots organizers have waged a mighty battle with Cape Cod property owners, heiresses, billionaires, well-funded and well-organized opposition lobbying, and the likes of former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and Senator Edward M. Kennedy. But, David may yet defeat these Goliaths. In a few months The Cape Wind project expects to get authorization to begin construction.
The incredible case history of the early days of this project is documented in the book Cape Wind by Wendy Williams and Robert Whitcomb. It is a classic case study of how even the most powerful resistance can be overcome with dogged research (doing your homework!), developing a wide network of supporters and allies, and frankly (when dealing with a whole gaggle of the rich and VERY powerful) – a whole lot of money.
There is much to be learned from the Cape Wind project. It is important to note here that the size of this project and the wealth of the resistors made this battle an expensive one. But aside from the costs unique to this particular project, the strategies and tactics used by these grassroots activists have some major lessons for all wind activists and advocates.
Click here for an update on the Cape Wind project and on the trends in US off-shore wind power projects in general.
For information on the evolution of what started out as a grassroots campaign and is now a major agenda, visit the Clean Power Now website.
Thank you for posting our web site cleanpowernow.org on your blog and suggesting that readers visit us. In the second paragraph where you say that Jim Gordon funded the handful of grassroots organizers – that is not correct. Mr. Gordon, the President of Cape Wind Associates has never had any financial relationship with the grassroots organziation Clean Power Now. We are entirely funded through private donations and foundation grants. We have a policy to never accept any contributions from any developer as that could be viewed as compromising our independence and ability to evaluate and endorse viable renewable energy projects.
Best Regards,
Barbara
Thank you for clarifying the information I posted earlier. I have updated the original post to reflect your comments above. You folks are my heroes. As indicated in a much earlier post on this website I plan to scour the Cape Wind book as one of the best examples of grassroots organizing in support of a large wind power project. The case study I wrote for Cohen and Bradford’s Influence Without Authority has been reprinted in the Wind Project Community Organizing handbook noted on this site. It is a good example of grassroots organizing in support of distributed wind energy at the community and small wind farm level in Montana. Keep up the GREAT work! And thank you for your comment.
Timlynn
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[...] Off-shore Wind WarThe war over off-shore wind power in the US may soon be over! The first large-scale US off-shore wind project has been stalled for nearly eight years by a very rich and famous NIMBY campaign of resistors. Yet despite every effort to … – [...]