Judge tosses one of four legal challenges to wind turbines off Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard

By adamg on Thu, 05/18/2023 - 11:01pm

A federal judge this week dismissed a lawsuit by two Nantucket residents that sought to block construction of wind turbines off Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard, concluding they failed to prove the project or its construction would harm or kill right whales and increase air pollution.

In her ruling, US District Court Judge Indira Talwani concluded there was nothing wrong with the federal approval process for the Vineyard Wind project.

There are three other challenges to the first phase of the project 15 miles south of the two islands, whose backers claim will generate enough electricity to power 400,000 homes via 62 wind turbines and undersea cables to Hyannis.

Free tagging:

Martha's Vineyard

Nantucket

wind power

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Comments

The Wales

By Anonanon on Fri, 05/19/2023 - 7:01am.

Only matter when a pristine view is “threatened “

Two Nantucket Residents?

By John Costello on Fri, 05/19/2023 - 7:58am.

Adam - You misspelled ExxonMobilBPChevronUnionShell there when talking about the plaintiffs.

If you are somehow along Surfside and some thin towers the same distance away from you as Cohasset is to Cambridge as the crow flies is ruining it for you, check your head.

Last time I checked Block Island's 3 turbines, which are about a mile off shore, haven't caused the downfall of society.

Oil companies have framed wind (and solar) power into some anti-American effort and that if you support it, you are a sissy. It is amazing.

More wind means less money and political power for Greg Abbott, Ted Cruz, John Kennedy, Vladimir Putin, and Mohamed Bin Salman. It means less money flowing to Manchester City and Newcastle therefore teams owned by guys who made money in soybeans can do better.

It means a better world.

Nothing funnier than two people who live mid-island on Nantucket thinking their views are going to be ruined when what is really messing their lives up is the 15 Wesleyan lacrosse players living in the 4 bedroom house two doors down for the summer.

Weird take

By ScottB on Fri, 05/19/2023 - 10:11am.

Especially considering the state with the largest installed capacity of wind turbines is... Texas. Those turbines aren't even in Austin, but up on the plains where it is windy pretty much all the time. They just don't work so well if their operators haven't properly winterized them.

The oil companies are going to keep making money from other energy sources long after we stop pumping oil and gas from under the ground.

You are unaware of the history of this project

By SwirlyGrrl on Fri, 05/19/2023 - 9:00pm.

Corporate oil execs created an astroturf organization to battle for motherhood, apple pie, and pristine views from their mansions!

Being late to the game, you might do some googling.

get real

By anon on Fri, 05/19/2023 - 10:21am.

Adam - You misspelled ExxonMobilBPChevronUnionShell there when talking about the plaintiffs.

Nobody in the petroleum industry is shaking in their boots about the Cape Wind project.

They Aren't

By John Costello on Fri, 05/19/2023 - 12:17pm.

You are right. The petro-chemical industry is not worried about Cape Wind.

Cape Wind has been dead for years.

Cape Wind was to be between Hyannis and Nantucket.

Vineyard Wind is 15 miles south of the Vineyard and slightly more from Smith's Point on Nantucket.

Vineyard Wind and the two other proposals south of the Vineyard along with projects off the east coast are going to have a massive impact.

If they didn't why did the "Caesar Rodney Institute" which is basically a front for DuPont try to stop it?

Adam - If you are going to post something to counter something, at least let the Anon not bring up something that doesn't exist. Thanks.

Get real yourself

By SwirlyGrrl on Fri, 05/19/2023 - 9:01pm.

Look at the corporate pedigree of the astroturfers funding this opposition, dear.

Small note - BI has 5 turbines

By merlinmurph on Fri, 05/19/2023 - 7:15pm.

...unless over the winter, two got wiped out that I'm not aware of.

And, oh yeah, for those wondering - the residents love 'em.

At least this time they're

By xyz on Fri, 05/19/2023 - 8:53am.

At least this time they're changing things up a little by pretending it's whales they care about. Usually it's birds.

I publicly shamed the bird woman

By SwirlyGrrl on Fri, 05/19/2023 - 9:02pm.

"They die horrible deaths".

"Yeah, so do kids in environmental justice areas when they suffocate to death due to power plant emissions"

"That's DIFFERENT!"

A Silly and Possibly Deadly Boondogle

By Nowy Liberté on Fri, 05/19/2023 - 12:04pm.

Cape Wind and all wind projects are a silly attempt to resurrect technology which was abandoned with the advent of the steam engine -- first directly in the New England Textile Mills and later with the steam turbine driving a generator producing electricity.

Steam and other thermally powered electricity offers to key things wind and solar never can offer:

1) Concentrated Energy -- which you can site virtually anywhere
2) Energy available when you need it -- irrespective of the whims of nature

But --- there is also a major negative associated with wind turbines -- they are killers of wildlife -- particularly birds [the whale hearing thing is still TBD]

No bird has the reaction time or the acceleration capabilities to avoid a turbine blade whose tip is moving a good fraction of the speed of sound

Particularly at night the danger zone of the wind turbine while rotating is invisible to any animal that doesn't use echo location -- so migrating bats may be better off than migrating or hunting birds

Sharks and other large ocean predatory fish may have a bonus as there will be a constant supply of chopped bird to feast upon