The Hill: Renewable Energy Issue Could be Ill Wind for Kerry

6/17/2003

From: Sam Dealey of The Hill, 202-361-8061

WASHINGTON, June 16 -- Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) has urged the country to become less dependent on foreign energy sources - but some critics charge the Democratic presidential hopeful hasn't lived up to his own rhetoric in his own state, staff writer Sam Dealey reports in the June 18, 2003, issue of The Hill. A proposed wind farm seven miles off Nantucket Island isn't sitting well with some of Kerry's constituents, including retired CBS anchorman Walter Cronkite and members of the Kennedy family, who don't want whirling turbines blocking their view. But the project would produce electricity with no pollutant emissions, waste discharge or water consumption. A Kerry campaign spokeswoman said the candidate was "waiting to hear about the results from the environmental impact statement" and would announce his verdict on the project after receiving the information.

A foul Cape Wind blows for Kerry

By Sam Dealey

A renewed plea by presidential hopeful John Kerry (D-Mass.) to redouble efforts at using renewable energy has elicited criticism that the senator has failed to adequately push for such innovations in his own backyard.

Speaking in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, last Friday, Kerry called for a "new Manhattan Project" to decrease the nation's dependence on foreign energy sources and go easier on Mother Nature.

"We can generate more and more of our electricity from wind, the sun, forest and farm products," Kerry said. "I believe we can and should produce 20 percent of all our electricity from renewable sources by 2020. Twenty by 2020 -- now that's a clear vision for America."

It turns out, however, that it's not such a clear vision for all.

A huge proposed wind farm on Horseshoe Shoal, seven miles off Nantucket Island, has met with fierce resistance, including from some of Kerry's well-connected constituents and neighbors, who look askance at the idea of peering at a 130 whirling turbines from their luxurious vacation retreats.

Some residents in nearby Cape Cod and Martha's Vineyard, replete with well-heeled castaways and summer vacationers, say the wind farm would mar the view of the sound.

Kelly Demander, a spokeswoman for Kerry's presidential campaign, said the senator is "waiting to hear about the results from the environmental impact statement."

She said he will announce his decision when he sees the results. Demander declined to say whether Kerry would endorse the plan if the environmental impact studies turn out favorably for the massive project, known as Cape Wind.

Vocal opponents are not waiting for such results. They include retired CBS anchorman Walter Cronkite, who has a home in Martha's Vineyard, and members of the Kennedy family.

Energy Management Inc. (EMI), a renewable energy firm, sponsors the project. When up and running, the farm's turbines would produce 75 percent of the Cape and island's electricity with no pollutant emissions, waste discharge or water consumption.

Massachusetts lawmakers at both the federal and state levels have lent a sympathetic ear to their outraged constituents. A number of roadblocks have been thrown up to try to delay the project or ban it outright.

Several environmental impact studies have been commissioned, including one by the Army Corps of Engineers.

Kerry is in the spotlight on the issue because he is a major Democratic presidential candidate and a veteran advocate for renewable energy. The senator and his family summer on the Cape.

His equivocal stance on the project has drawn fire from some critics, including several longtime supporters.

"Kerry is the one who really needs to be called out on this stuff," said Kert Davies, research director of Greenpeace. "He's been pretty mum so far. We don't know where he stands."

Davies added, "He's obviously very pro-renewable energy; he knows the climate better than almost anyone in the Senate. And by that logic, he should be in favor of this project being implemented."

Supporters of the wind farm say the ongoing environmental impact study is a pretext for those who hope to kill the project.

"Typically, when people are trying to assemble the capital for a project they have a window, and if things don't get moving then the window just melts away," said Myron Ebell of the Competitive Enterprise Institute, a free-market environmental think tank. "It's a typical strategy. Whenever you've got a project you don't want, you just delay it to death until the capital investment goes somewhere else."

Greenpeace's Davies agreed. "It's like any tactical fight," he said. "They're pushing every channel. It's the same stuff we use when we want to block something. You go from every angle, because you never know which one will stick."

"Ultimately," he added, "it's a Nimby argument." Nimby is an acronym for "Not in My Backyard."

James Gordon, president of EMI, is well aware of the ironies involved.

"There is a certain minority of folks on the Cape that have a problem with the visual impact, as modest as it is," he said. "It is difficult to come out and say you're a supporter of renewable energy until you may have a distant view of it."

Gordon declined to speculate on Kerry's stance on the project. "I'm convinced, frankly, that when public officials and legislators see the results of Cape Wind's environmental impact statement, they're going to support the project," he said.

In addition to Greenpeace, the Natural Resource Defense Council, the World Wildlife Fund, the Conservation Law Foundation and Friends of the Earth have spoken favorably of the project. Even some commercial competitors have voiced their support.

"Basically the only groups that have come out ardently opposed to it are some of the animal welfare groups that got told or misled early on that this is going to kill critters," said Davies of Greenpeace. "We've been watching them like a hawk. So far they're playing by the rules and more, going beyond what would be typical corporate behavior."

He added, "They're really trying to dot every 'i' and cross every 't'."

The Cape's population has tripled from 90,000 since the 1960s, when the last power source -- a heavy oil fuel fire plant -- was built.

"People think if you live in the right area you don't have to put up with anything," Ebell said. "Well, where are they going to get their energy? From little squirrels in wheels?"

"In the end, the true argument is people don't want to look at this thing from their million dollar homes," said Davies. "What's their impact on the planet when they've got a 15-room house they're air-conditioning all summer? Everybody has to ante up in the fight to solve global warming."