State board approves wind farm cables

Despite the Romney administration's strong opposition to the proposed wind farm off Cape Cod, a state board appointed by the governor gave its approval yesterday for the project to run two buried transmission cables through state waters.

The 5-to-2 vote by the Energy Facilities Siting Board is a significant victory for developer Cape Wind Associates, which wants to build the nation's first offshore wind farm in Nantucket Sound.

The board became mired in controversy after it delayed a final decision on the cables at the request of opponents of the project last fall. The vote is one of the few opportunities the state will have to weigh in on the project, which is being built in federal waters.

''We must be guided only by the facts," said chairman Paul G. Afonso, near the close of the three-hour meeting yesterday afternoon. The 18-mile long transmission lines would extend from the 130-turbine project to a Barnstable switching station.

The board's authority extends only to the siting of the transmission cables and analyzing their reliability, cost, and associated environmental concerns. ''We had to do this fairly," he said after the meeting, expressing regret the board did not have more control.

Members Judith F. Judson and Deborah Shufrin voted against the project. After the meeting was over, Judson left quickly and could not be reached for comment. Shufrin declined to comment.

The proposed wind farm still needs a host of other local, state, and federal approvals, the most important being final environmental approval from the US Army Corps of Engineers. The Army Corps has already issued a favorable draft environmental review, but a final decision isn't expected for at least seven months.

Proponents and the developer of the wind farm hailed the siting board's decision. ''This is a significant milestone," said a smiling Jim Gordon, the developer of the project. ''They based their decision on the merits of the project."

The wind project has generated considerable controversy in the four years since it was proposed, propelling numerous political moves by opponents to stop it. Most recently, Massachusetts state water boundary lines were redrawn, which would have placed some of the turbines in state waters and giving Governor Mitt Romney's administration more power over its approval.

The Energy Facilities Siting Board delayed a final vote on the project last year despite its staff's tentative approval.

Opponents said they were considering an appeal to the state Supreme Judicial Court. ''We're disappointed a group of state officials voted to give away public coastal resources without at least first fully examining the impacts to our fishing community our commonwealth's environment," said Susan Nickerson, executive director of the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound.

Beth Daley can be reached by email at bdaley@globe.com.