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US offshore wind farm advances

Plans to build the United States’ first offshore wind farm – off the coast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts – have moved ahead, Reuters reported. The north-eastern state’s environmental protection department approved proposed undersea power-transmission cables for the US$1 billion project on Tuesday.







Under the Cape Wind scheme, 130 turbines would be placed about eight kilometres offshore, in Nantucket Sound, part of the Atlantic Ocean. Beachfront homeowners in the popular tourist region have opposed the wind farm, arguing that the proposed 75-metre wind towers would spoil their sea views.

 

A state review, however, determined that the project would mean “greater public benefit than detriment” by providing power for about 400,000 homes.

 

Cape Wind developers still await other state and local permits, along with federal approvals by the US Coast Guard, the interior department and the Federal Aviation Administration.

 

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