The Nantucket Massachusetts Cape Wind plans to built the first U.S. offshore wind park are blowing some toxic waste to the surface of the broad zeal to create “green” industries. These toxins are not of the materially harmful kind, but consist of all the pretensions at the core of too much human self-indulgence floating around the quagmire of the green energy movement.
The planned 130 wind turbine forest covering 24 sq. miles, which is intended to become a symbol of alternative energy on Horseshoe Shoal in Nantucket Sound, could also become an enormous subsidy magnet, sucking $731 million from taxpayers, before any long term costs are estimated. The “money” in such projects is in “building” these blights on the landscape, and then heading out of town because they have historically never proven to either work or be comparatively efficient when measured against other energy sources. Nevertheless, the irony of the Cape Wind debate rests in the reaction it has received from the wealthier Massachusetts residents, lead by the Kennedy family.
After the recent push from the White House and Congressional Democrats for Cap and Trade legislation, and for a Copenhagen Agreement, it is ironic that the Kennedy clan and its Massachusetts friends are campaigning against the Cape Wind project. It seems, quite justifiably, that the blue bloods don’t want any unsightly giant wind turbines disturbing their idyllic paradise, and would rather not have them distract from the expansive views visible from their oceanfront weekend mansions. The farm would be visible from Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard. They are using the obviously suspect rationalizations for their dissenting views, including the concern for wildlife, and the danger to air and sea navigation. They would evidently be much happier if the windmills disadvantaged some other corner of the population, even as they profess support for them generally.
The hypocrisy here is that they can’t bring themselves to speak against the sham that is the building of windmill farms. The moneyed Massachusetts residents who have controlled that State’s politics for two generations cannot bring themselves to admit that this windmill project would be unviable, producing electricity at approximately twice the current wholesale prices (Minerals Management Service (MMS) Draft Environmental Impact Statement), or that such windmill farms are notoriously inconsistent, unreliable, and expensive to maintain. Currently the money is in building the farms, and not in their successful energy contribution to the grid over the long term.
There is ample evidence that such systems create cash sinks that do not benefit any progress toward renewable energy sources, which is now forcing Europeans to scale back on their windmill investments. Massachusetts blue bloods will rest self-righteously in the comfortable feint that advocating windmills plays to the politically correct, politically lucrative, and presently financially rewarding clean-energy movement, but, “Hide these windmills somewhere far away, and not in my backyard.”
Crossposted from The Pacific Gate Post
A constituent of the vast baby boomer generation with a career which has been fortunate to know the ponderous corporate worlds, as well as the intimately pressurized, and invigorating entrepreneurial domains of high tech and venture capital, I have harvested my share of mistakes meandering through corridors of enterprise from Silicon Valley, to London and endless, colourful, sometimes praetorian points in between. The voyage has provided an abundance of fodder for a pen yielding to an inquisitive keyboard, a foraging mind, and a passionate spirit.
Whether political or business or social or economic or personal, is it not all political? It is a privilege to write, and an even greater privilege to be read by anyone, and sometimes with the wind at my back the writing may occasionally be legible. I do not write to invite scorn, nor to invite respect, but if I get really lucky the writing can stimulate thinking. I also write for the very selfish purpose of animating my own processes, and engaging the best of what life offers. Above all, whether biting fire or swatting shadows, I am grateful to be gifted the freedom to write and publish whatever flows down to the keyboard. To all those who enabled this freedom, and to all those standing guard to preserve it, I am indebted.
Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard, one hundred and fifty plus years ago was home to the greatest whaling industry in the world. These intrepid hunters of the Spermacetti Whale sailed world wide, risking life and limb, to provide oil for lighting the homes of the well to do from the rendered blubber of the whale. These whalers killed many more whales than the rest of the world’s whaling fleets combined, without a thought to the “Green” implications. The oil provided a clean burning fuel so that wealthy people around the world could have light at night without the soot other oils produced in oil lamps. Thus wealthy people ‘fueled’ an industry that was environmentally wrong and the most dangerous industry in the world for its workers.
The wealthy cared not for the lives of the whales nor the lives of the whalers: they cared only for a ‘clean’ burning fuel for their lighting fixtures. There was a profit to be made and fortunes were created, but the chances of returning from a three to four year voyage of whale hunting was probably a little better than fifty percent.
How ironic, now the wealthy of ‘The Vineyard’ and Nantucket are directing the rest of us how to live and what energy sources to use ‘fueled’ by concerns of the environment and the Hoax of Global Warming; while they scream with shocked indignation at the thought of the implication of the same rules being applied to the sanctity of their pure and lovely seaside hovels. Yes, the ‘heavy breathers’ of Liberals most Elite do not intend for the implications of “Green” energy to apply to their private sanctums of beauty and solitude; like Orwell’s ‘Elites’ of 84, the absurd rules of inefficient “Green” technology do not apply to them; because some of us are more equal than others.
Now will the die-hard ‘greeners’ have sympathy for these self-indulgent elitists, who claim self-ordained rights because of the status of wealth and primogeniture that exempts them from the imposition of rules designed for the common man or will they be treated as regular people and expected to endure the inefficient technologies that they are so anxious to shove down our collective throats.
Personally, I think they need the windmills and some Public Housing Projects so that they can identify with the common man that they are directing from their ivory towers: but there are those who would say, I resent the Socialism and sanctimonious BS of the Witless Wealthy Elitists; how right they are!
Windmills are visible. Lighthouses are visible.
Tear down all of the lighthouses.
Our view is more important!
This long running story always deserves some extra highlighting, James. Kudos.
I first posted about the alliance between Romney and Kennedy back in April 2006, teaming up to destroy the wind farm because it would make their property values plummet, and ruin “the view”. Apparently clean technology has it’s limits. Romney’s participation in this has always been a sticking point for me… and isn’t something I like about Scott Brown today.
With Romney gone as Governor, and busy on the GOP primary campaign trail, Cape Wind found a new ally in the governor’s seat, and another breeze filled their turbine sails on the project start. I again tried to bring attention to this NIMBY characteristic of Romney in Jan 2008.
The whole dang thing started back in 2004, fer heavens sake… and still the island elite battle it down six years later. Makes you wonder just how the Big Zero seems to believe he’ll get wind farms up and running in his lifetime, eh? Which is the reason I penned the wind/solar farms to nowhere post back in Aug 2008.
So keep bringing this up at regular intervals, please. People need to be constantly jolted into reality that all this “alternative energy” hype is pretty much a pipe dream. It’s not only economically counterproductive, …. as the Spain study proves…. but no environmentalist or elitist will allow it to happen without delays and lawsuits.
@ MataHarley,
Good note. While we might all suffer from just a little NIMBY syndrome to varying degrees, this one is a beautiful pendant for the hypocrisy that is alive and well in Massachusetts.
Neither Windmills, nor Solar panels, are the answer. Some of the new research on solar panels suggests that they achieve exactly the opposite of what they intend – the problem being the massive-black-heat-absorbing surfaces of the panels.
. . . Keep fighting against the Cap and Trade boondoggle.
PRESERVE NANTUCKET SOUND, RELOCATE THE CAPE WIND PROJECT
As a colonial-rooted Cape Cod native who firmly believes in the sanctity of our maritime heritage, I am writing to ardently express my steadfast support for the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound. Based upon sensible logic, data and reasoning, I am also conversely opposed to the controversial Cape Wind Project which seeks to despoil and rob us of the pristine nautical legacy bestowed by our forefathers. As a result of the likely profound damaging regional financial, ecological and public safety consequences Cape Wind would wrought upon us all, it should not be allowed to proceed forward to fruition.
The project poses a cogent danger to essential air and sea navigation. Siting the project in Nantucket Sound is a breach of the public trust. Contrary to their sham claims, the cost of the electricity which the project will produce would not be cheap or competitive. It would be an
unbearable fiscal burden hoisted upon us without our sanction or consent. Furthermore, it will represent a deleterious local economic blow by it’s absconding of undeserved taxpayer-funded subsidies, forced real estate devaluations, and lost revenues from commercial and tourism activities. The proposed one hundred thirty wind turbines will perpetually cause unsightly visual contamination and distressing noise pollution. Finally, Cape Wind will unnecessarily endanger a critical marine and wildlife habitat.
Off-shore deep water wind has surfaced as a cost-effective and technologically feasible option in lieu of the Nantucket Sound situated Cape Wind Project. Cape Wind has chosen a location which possesses countless expenses as well as hazards to public safety, the marine environment, and the local economy. Deeper-water sites offer more powerful winds and the advantages of clean renewable energy without surrendering the irreplaceable natural beauty of Nantucket Sound.
More distantly sited off-shore locations guarantee the advantages of clean wind power without many of the harmful effects of close-shore siting. Furthermore, there would be little harmful impact upon air and marine navigational safety and local tourist-based economies.
In 2007, the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) estimated a total off-shore wind energy resource of over 1000 GW. The potential for deep water locations greater than 30 m (or 100 feet) is enormous. Approximately ninety percent of the off-shore wind potential in the United States resides in deep water.
With the aforesaid thoughtful rationales in mind, along with the inherently unfair and inequitable nature of the proposed Cape Wind Project itself, it must not become a reality which will forever doom our children and grandchildren to a ghastly socially inhumane legacy.
Ron Beaty
West Barnstable, MA
Dear Ron, if you can explain why your Liberal Draconian environmental extremist’s ideas are suitable for us commoner types, but of no discernible benefit for the wealthiest elites of Liberal Land, I would consider lending my journalistic knife to your cause; a knife that can cut both ways, both wide and deep; although it seems to me, you and your Progressive Socialist Brothers are receiving exactly what you are palming off on the rest of the country. We resent the imposition of your Socialist values upon our lifestyles; but now you now have the chance to prove the soundness and courage of your convictions by standing up for the values that you are so ready to lord over the rest of us: accept your windmills with Socialist Pride or change your attitudes towards the rest of America. Most of us will never be bothered by your windmills, no more than you will you feel the utterly absurd energy laws your Liberals are ready to stuff down our ‘Collective’ throats. Perhaps you should reexamine the politics of your sanctimonious energy policies that are obviously good enough for the common man: but hardly suitable for the wealthy Elites.
Welcome to the real world Ron, it can be real ugly at times.
@ Skookum,
. . . “Perhaps you should reexamine the politics of your sanctimonious energy policies that are obviously good enough for the common man: but hardly suitable for the wealthy Elites.”
Exactly on point. AND, . . . notice the persisting justification for windmills located in “deep water” being OK? . . . so hypocritical, but expected.
Windmills aren’t OK, anywhere. They are, and always have been, “up-front” cash grabs siphoning off taxpayer money for projects that simply are not viable. The Altamont Pass just East of San Francisco is a good Long Term example. Perhaps if anyone is out there driving by them, count how many of the windmills are working right now out of that whole forest of them, . . . and it’s been a generation that those have been up.
Could we talk about more practical and effective long term solutions like nuclear? Solar panels and windmills are feel-good schemes, and cash grabs by those who can.
. . . And BTW, I love Cape Cod, and its beauty doesn’t deserve either the stupidity of windmills, OR their ugliness. Neither does anywhere else.