Yes to wind farms in proper scaleCAPE WIND'S letter "World's most productive wind farm" (Oct. 3) touts the sizable amount of electricity its 130 offshore wind turbines would produce. With crude oil at record prices, we'd be foolish not to begin to harvest the air for energy. But Cape Wind's 130-turbine scheme -- one of the world's largest -- faces serious challenges.
Modest offshore wind farms now blossom at record rates around the world. For example, Denmark's eight wind farms produce 20 percent of that country's electrical needs with each site holding an average 26 turbines. Great Britain just opened two wind farms of 30 turbines apiece, with plans for an average of 40 turbines at each of 12 additional locations. Cape Wind's proposed site at Horseshoe Shoals has high winds above shallow waters, both of which make for superior economics. But wind may be economic at sites all over New England's blustery 660 miles of coastline. The Cape Wind proposal has raised concerns over visual, avian, and marine impacts. This hefty assemblage of 130 contiguous towers in Nantucket Sound might push against our values and cultivate resistance to other more modest -- and less injurious -- wind projects. Offshore wind power is a great opportunity that should not fall victim to the cliche that wind won the battle but lost the war across New England. Wind farms should not be a question of if, but rather one of where and at what scale. Public officials should encourage development of right-sized wind farms modeled on international precedent. Finding complementary projects and locations will not be easy. Compromises in both private profit and environmental purity may be needed.
GLEN A. BERKOWITZ
Letters should be 200 words or less. Letters to the Editor, The Boston Globe, PO Box 55819, Boston, MA 02205-5819. Fax: 617-929-2098. E-mail: letter@globe.com. © Copyright 2004 Globe Newspaper Company.
|
