OFFSHORE WIND A POLITICAL FOOTBALL

Mass. Gov. candidates spar over Cape Wind, energy
Steve LeBlanc, August 17, 2010 (AP via Bloomberg BusinessWeek)

"Incumbent Democratic Gov. Deval Patrick was the lone candidate to defend a planned wind farm off Cape Cod at a gubernatorial debate...[He] said the proposed 130-turbine Cape Wind project in Nantucket Sound will thrust the state to the forefront of offshore wind energy in the US…guarantee reliably priced electricity into the future…[and the] nation's first offshore wind farm will also create up to 1,000 jobs and help make Massachusetts a hub for a new energy industry.

"…Republican Charles Baker and independent state Treasurer Timothy Cahill, argued against the project…Baker faulted the project for not being competitively bid and said it will result in higher electricity costs and automatic price increases for homeowners and businesses, making it harder for the state to lure sorely needed jobs…[and] said the project is also receiving subsidies that could be better spent elsewhere…Cahill echoed those concerns, faulting a power purchasing deal that enables annual percentage increases in the energy purchased from the wind farm. He also accused the Patrick administration of trying to pick winners and losers instead of letting the market decide…"

It's about a lot more than politics. (click to enlarge)

"…[Attorney General Martha Coakley] recommended state regulators approve [the] power purchasing deal between Cape Wind and utility National Grid that would set its starting price for electricity at 18.7 cents per kilowatt hour in 2013. The price would be allowed to rise 3.5 percent annually…[if] approved by state utility regulators…The cost of the project also drew the criticism of Green Rainbow candidate Jill Stein, who said Cape Wind was too expensive and the state should focus on encouraging other renewable sources or energy and making existing homes and businesses more energy efficient…

"Cape Wind has been at the center of a battle stretching back nearly a decade as community groups and top political figures, including the late Sen. Edward Kennedy, fought against it…The project has survived legal challenges and regulatory hurdles. In April it received the approval of U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar…"

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"…[Cahill called for] the new generation of nuclear plants safer and cleaner than earlier versions…[Patrick raised] the problem of disposing of nuclear waste, while Baker said the nuclear plants should continue to be a part of the state's energy portfolio…Stein called renewed talk of nuclear power "incredibly foolhardy."

"…[O]n the question of global warming…all four said they agreed that the globe is warming, [but] Cahill and Baker said that warming was only partially attributable to human activity…Patrick said the warming was "mostly" attributable to people while Stein said that "virtually all" of it was humans' fault…"