WINDSTOP.ORG - URGENT!! THE BATTLE TO SAVE NANTUCKET SOUND IS NOT OVER. PLEASE CONTINUE TO CHECK FOR UPDATES

U.S. REPORT: WINDMILLS FOOL RADAR
09/29/2006 - Defense officials say large, industrial wind turbines such as those proposed for Nantucket Sound can interfere with military radar systems if built in the radar's line of sight, according to a report released yesterday. Based on the report's conclusions, the officials have asked for more analysis about whether the proposed 130-turbine Cape Wind project would interfere with an Air Force radar station in Sagamore.

The 62-page report, prepared for Congress by the Office of the Director of Defense Research and Engineering, specifically concludes that previous analysis of the effects on the PAVE PAWS radar station were ''overly simplified and technically flawed.''

FOES SAY CAPE WIND HID OIL SPILL REPORT
09/04/2006 - A report prepared by Cape Wind consultants made public this week by the Minerals Management Service concluded that if a major spill did occur at the project's electrical service platform - which would hold up to 40,000 gallons of lubricating oil - there's a greater than 90 percent chance the oil would reach the shoreline.

CAPE WIND SOUGHT TO BLOW PAST REGULATORS
05/12/2006 - Recently, some have suggested that Congress is trying to change the rules of the game for the developers of the wind farm proposed for Nantucket Sound. Some have even implied that the rules are being unfairly manipulated to sidetrack Cape Wind after years of regulatory review - and millions of dollars expended by the developer. Nothing could be further from truth.

WIND FARM FAVORED IN BILL
04/21/2006 - Special Interest Language Was Quietly Placed in Energy Act That Exempts Cape Wind From Public Bidding

OPPONENTS SAY CAPE WIND HAD "SWEETHEART DEAL"
05/05/2006 - Opponents of a proposed wind farm off Cape Cod are taking aim at environmental groups and the project's developer, saying the Cape Wind company was the beneficiary of a ''sweetheart deal" for exclusive rights to build on 24 square miles of Nantucket Sound.

WIND PLAN NEEDS AIRING
04/26/2006 - But it is hard to empathize with incensed proponents of the Cape Wind project who have spent five years characterizing any opposition as the self-interested whining of wealthy waterfront property owners. Nantucket Sound does not belong to Kennedy or Reilly. It is a national treasure, enjoyed as much by schoolteachers from Tulsa on a two-week holiday as it is by the landed gentry windsurfing off their Nantucket shorefront. To appreciate its aesthetic beauty, to want to preserve its natural wonder are no more a mark of elitism than it would be to resist development of the Grand Canyon.

NANTUCKET VOTERS REJECT WIND FARM PROJECT
04/12/2006 - If island voters have their way, wind turbines will never be seen on Nantucket Sound. In a nonbinding referendum yesterday, 66 percent of Nantucket voters opposed the construction of a wind farm in waters near the island.

SUNKEN TREASURE
12/04/2005 - Scientists mapping the seabed under a proposed wind farm in Nantucket Sound were stunned by their find: evidence of a submerged forest under 6 feet of mud. The find has scientists abuzz because if a preserved forest rests below the sea, maybe artifacts from ancient cultures do, too -- items that could help answer some of the most vexing questions about early people in North America. As more energy projects are proposed off New England, archaeologists say, there will be more opportunity for even bigger finds.

INTERIOR WILL RULE ON WIND PROJECT
10/14/2005 - After four years as the lead regulatory agency for the wind farm proposed for Nantucket Sound, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will not have the final say.

CAPE WIND PLAN FOR NANTUCKET SOUND NOT A "FARM" BUT AN INDUSTRY
09/21/2005 - We are derelict to be without policy and to be entertaining a private developer who stands in position to gain control of our public resource, rent free.

COAST GUARD BILL RAISES EYEBROWS
09/17/2005 - If it becomes law, the measure would allow the Coast Guard commandant to judge whether offshore wind projects ''would create an obstruction to navigation.''

FLAWED ANALYSIS
09/04/2005 - APCC calls for supplemental study of wind farm.

KEEP BOATING ROUTE CLEAR OF OBSTACLES
07/27/2005 - Horseshoe Shoal is one of the most trafficked bodies of water in all New England. It is the main thoroughfare connecting Hyannis, Cape Cod's largest harbor, to Edgartown, one of the world's most popular boating destinations. Tens of thousands of boats negotiate the narrow channel between Horseshoe and Wreck Shoals every summer. Why would we erect a major hindrance to air/sea rescue in one of our busiest maritime passages?

WIND FARM: A HAZARD TO VESSELS
06/10/2005 - The sinking in April of the F/V Atlantic Breeze and search for its owner in Nantucket Sound highlight the inherent hazard the proposed wind plant would pose to vessels. Though the fishing vessel sank approximately two to four miles west of the Cape Wind boundary, the search would have been conducted within the boundary.

WIND FARM MUST SHOW US THE MONEY
05/27/2005 - Can Cape Wind actually fund and build this project? Perhaps more important, can Cape Wind prove the project will be properly maintained over a 20-year period? Will this project be profitable and not go bankrupt?

INTERIOR: WIND STUDY FLAWED
03/04/2005 - In an often-critical, 58-page memorandum submitted to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Wednesday, the Interior Department pointed to flaws in the methodology and conclusions the Corps' Draft Environmental Impact Statement. "While some sections appear to have been done reasonably well, others are not and in certain regards the DEIS is at best incomplete, and too often inaccurate and/or misleading," the memo said.

FISHERMEN IGNORED BY THE POWERS THAT BE
02/27/2005 - As we all know, Cape Wind Associates proposes to build the biggest offshore wind factory in the world on a smallish portion of Nantucket Sound called Horseshoe Shoal. Some Cape fishermen, particularly those of the commercial persuasion, say their concerns are being swept under the rug by both the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the factory's proponents.

BAY STATE GETS A BIT BIGGER
02/23/2005 - The federal government yesterday granted Massachusetts' request to redraw state boundaries in Nantucket Sound, leaving a corner of a controversial wind farm project in state waters. Cape Wind Associates, which was careful in its proposal to keep its offshore wind farm in federal waters, will have to relocate about 10 of the 130 wind turbines or face tougher state scrutiny.

WIND FARM FOES CITE OIL SPILL RISKS
02/22/2005 - A report released yesterday by opponents of the proposed wind farm in Nantucket Sound claims that nearly 80 percent of the 130 turbines would be in water deep enough to be vulnerable to a strike by a tanker. The result, the group says, could be a spill severely affecting the Nantucket Sound ecosystem.

WIND FARM TOO BIG FOR FISHING NETS: TURBINES WOULD CLOSE SOUND TO DRAGGERS SAYS STUDY
12/16/2004 - Squid and fluke fishermen dragging 1,000-foot-long nets will lose the use of Nantucket Sound if controversial wind-farm turbines are constructed on the shoals, a new report says. The ``limited study,'' conducted by Massachusetts Institute of Technology marine experts, found that the 130 proposed windmill turbines, standing 417 feet tall, will be too close together for trawlers to maneuver and drag giant nets to catch squid, fluke and other seasonal fish in the sound.

AN ILL WIND OFF CAPE COD

By ROBERT F. KENNEDY Jr.

THE NEW YORK TIMES 
Published: December 16, 2005

AS an environmentalist, I support wind power, including wind power on the high seas. I am also involved in siting wind farms in appropriate landscapes, of which there are many. But I do believe that some places should be off limits to any sort of industrial development. I wouldn't build a wind farm in Yosemite National Park. Nor would I build one on Nantucket Sound, which is exactly what the company Energy Management is trying to do with its Cape Wind project.

 Environmental groups have been enticed by Cape Wind, but they should be wary of lending support to energy companies that are trying to privatize the commons - in this case 24 square miles of a heavily used waterway. And because offshore wind costs twice as much as gas-fired electricity and significantly more than onshore wind, the project is financially feasible only because the federal and state governments have promised $241 million in subsidies.

Cape Wind's proposal involves construction of 130 giant turbines whose windmill arms will reach 417 feet above the water and be visible for up to 26 miles. These turbines are less than six miles from shore and would be seen from Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket. Hundreds of flashing lights to warn airplanes away from the turbines will steal the stars and nighttime views. The noise of the turbines will be audible onshore. A transformer substation rising 100 feet above the sound would house giant helicopter pads and 40,000 gallons of potentially hazardous oil.

According to the Massachusetts Historical Commission, the project will damage the views from 16 historic sites and lighthouses on the cape and nearby islands. The Humane Society estimates the whirling turbines could every year kill thousands of migrating songbirds and sea ducks.

Nantucket Sound is among the most densely traveled boating corridors in the Atlantic. The turbines will be perilously close to the main navigation channels for cargo ships, ferries and fishing boats. The risk of collisions with the towers would increase during the fogs and storms for which the area is famous. That is why the Steamship Authority and Hy-Line Cruises, which transport millions of passengers to and from the cape and islands every year, oppose the project. Thousands of small businesses, including marina owners, hotels, motels, whale watching tours and charter fishing operations will also be hurt. The Beacon Hill Institute at Suffolk University in Boston estimates a loss of up to 2,533 jobs because of the loss of tourism - and over a billion dollars to the local economy.

Nantucket Sound is a critical fishing ground for the commercial fishing families of Martha's Vineyard and Cape Cod. Hundreds of fishermen work Horseshoe Shoal, where the Cape Wind project would be built, and make half their annual income from the catch. The risks that their gear will become fouled in the spider web of cables between the 130 towers will largely preclude fishing in the area, destroying family-owned businesses that enrich the palate, economy and culture of Cape Cod.

Many environmental groups support the Cape Wind project, and that's unfortunate because making enemies of fishermen and marina owners is bad environmental strategy in the long run. Cape Cod's traditional-gear commercial fishing families and its recreational anglers and marina owners have all been important allies for environmentalists in our battles for clean water.

There are those who argue that unlike our great Western national parks, Cape Cod is far from pristine, and that Cape Wind's turbines won't be a significant blot. I invite these critics to see the pods of humpback, minke, pilot, finback and right whales off Nantucket, to marvel at the thousands of harbor and gray seals lolling on the bars off Monomoy and Horseshoe Shoal, to chase the dark clouds of terns and shorebirds descending over the thick menhaden schools exploding over acre-sized feeding frenzies of striped bass, bluefish and bonita.

I urge them to come diving on some of the hundreds of historic wrecks in this "graveyard of the Atlantic," and to visit the endless dune-covered beaches of Cape Cod, our fishing villages immersed in history and beauty, or to spend an afternoon netting blue crabs or mucking clams, quahogs and scallops by the bushel on tidal mud flats - some of the reasons my uncle, John F. Kennedy, authorized the creation of the Cape Cod National Seashore in 1961, and why Nantucket Sound is under consideration as a national marine sanctuary, a designation that would prohibit commercial electrical generation.

All of us need periodically to experience wilderness to renew our spirits and reconnect ourselves to the common history of our nation, humanity and to God. The worst trap that environmentalists can fall into is the conviction that the only wilderness worth preserving is in the Rocky Mountains or Alaska. To the contrary, our most important wildernesses are those that are closest to our densest population centers, like Nantucket Sound.

There are many alternatives that would achieve the same benefits as Cape Wind without destroying this national treasure. Deep water technology is rapidly evolving, promising huge bounties of wind energy with fewer environmental and economic consequences. Scotland is preparing to build wind turbines in the Moray Firth more than 12 miles offshore. Germany is considering placing turbines as far as 27 miles off its northern shores.

If Cape Wind were to place its project further offshore, it could build not just 130, but thousands of windmills - where they can make a real difference in the battle against global warming without endangering the birds or impoverishing the experience of millions of tourists and residents and fishing families who rely on the sound's unspoiled bounties.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is an environmental lawyer and professor at Pace University Law School.

WIND FARM RISK TO LOW-FLYING JETS

ARTHUR MACMILLAN AND SIOBHAN MCFADYEN

A controversial windfarm planned for one of Scotland's most scenic areas is among developments that pose a potential risk to aircraft safety, aviation chiefs have warned.

More than 40 wind turbines over 400ft tall are planned for Lochluichart Estate, near Garve, in the Highlands, making them among the tallest anywhere in the UK. They will be visible from a series of famous mountain ranges including the Fannichs, Torridon and Strathfarrar.

Planes, including military jets, fly as low as 150ft in some exercises around the planned windfarm site although the normal limit for fixed wing aircraft is 250ft. Scotland has several tactical military training areas, including the Highlands and South Lanarkshire.

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has issued written guidance to planning officials due to concern at the height and extent of such developments. Both commercial airline pilots and the Royal Air Force have voiced worries about turbine interference with flight radar.

Donald Northwood, the secretary of Garve and District Community Council, said last night: "Part of our objection to this windfarm application has been that it is a low-flight zone. These turbines will exceed 400ft but RAF Tornados fly at between 150ft and 300ft through Glen Achanalt."

Turbines higher than 300ft must, by law, be fitted with lights so that airline pilots can see them. But the CAA is also concerned that the lack of lights on smaller structures could cause planes to crash through the blades when flying low.

Turbine blades also emit microwave radiation which can interfere with planes' primary radar, secondary surveillance radar and navigation aids. The worry is that a build-up of wind farms could give the appearance of a 'moving object', making air traffic controllers believe there is an unidentified aircraft in its radar. This could have a potentially catastrophic effect if another plane is flying in the same area.

Northwood added: "The implication that microwaves could have an impact on flight safety makes the issue of the windfarm even more vital for us. I am sure that the public will be alarmed to hear this."

The same flight control radar systems are used in helicopters, low-flying private planes, light aircraft and stealth bombers. An RAF spokesman yesterday confirmed that search and rescue helicopters and Tornado jets regularly operate in the Garve area.

He said: "We monitor all aviation developments carefully and when the CAA has concerns we will consider what further action we may want to take."

John Urquhart, who lives one-and-half miles from the proposed windfarm site at Lochluichart, said: "This will be of great concern to the community. It is a sparsely populated area but that is not the point. A risk is a risk."

The £89m project is planned for the Highland estate owned by Hamish Leslie Melville, 61, the managing director of international banking group Credit Suisse First Boston. He is being backed by windfarm developer LZN, which is a combination of Dutch wind farm giant KDE and Savills property consultants. The plans recently attracted controversy when it emerged that Leslie Melville is a former chairman of the National Trust for Scotland (NTS).

A spokesman for the CAA said it took action to warn Scottish councils of flight risks after planning officials recently received an application to extend the Hagshaw Hill windfarm development in Lanarkshire.

The proposal to build a further 20 turbines at the site was agreed last week just days after the biggest wind farm in the UK was switched on in Forth in neighbouring South Lanarkshire.

A spokesman said they would now monitor both ScottishPower sites after lodging their concerns during the consultation process.

He said: "We are concerned that a proliferation of wind farms in any one particular area may potentially result in greater difficulties for aviation than a single development would generate. The physical obstruction caused by a tall structure could be cause for concern as well as the effects that turbines and their blades can have on communications, navigation, radar and surveillance systems."

The spokesman added: "We will look, on a case-by-case basis, at factors such as the proximity of the planned development to airports and airfields, flight paths and radar systems. We will continue to monitor aviation safety in relation to wind farms and take all necessary steps to ensure that safety is maintained to the highest standards."

Around half the planned wind farms for Scotland are in the country's Central Belt.

The independent MSP Margo Macdonald last night demanded a review of the current planning process.

She said: "Do you think that the CAA is trying to tell us something? If the CAA is telling us that wind farms should carry a government health warning, it might have been a better idea to make their fears known before the second wind farm in the Forth area was agreed.

"We must take seriously the possibility that we can have too much of a good thing. With public safety in mind, the growing number of windfarms may soon pass saturation point across the Central Belt.

"I'm raising the matter with the Scottish Executive."

PLEASE NOTE    In November of 2004, The Nantucket, Martha's Vineyard and Barnstable Airports filed a formal objection to the placement of 130 Turbines in the middle of the 3 airports flight paths. These concerns were based on recent radar studies conducted by the UK Ministry of Defence. The FAA ignored this appeal. As of this date the FAA has never contacted any of the Airport Managers. The Air Traffic Controllers Union at Cape Approach stated that "They could not think of a worse place to put these turbines."

FOG HAPPENS

Feb 7, 2006

By Jason Graziadei
I&M Staff Writer

Both year-round and summer residents know that dealing with fog is a fact of life on Nantucket. It’s no secret that the island has more than its fair share of foggy weather.

But this summer has already seen more foggy days than any in recent memory. And not only does that put a dent in the number of beach days that can be enjoyed, but the consistent, thick fog that has enveloped the island this summer has wreaked havoc both at sea and in the air.

Like death and taxes, fog has been nearly a guarantee this summer, and for those people responsible for the safety of Nantucket’s airspace and waterways, it has not been easy.

Takeoffs and landings at Nantucket Memorial Airport are down 30 percent compared to this time last year. The Coast Guard and Nantucket harbormaster received over 40 distress calls from boats lost in the fog on the Fourth of July alone. And the summer fog has also hampered other water-dependent businesses such as fishing charters and whale watches.

“The fog is making it hard on everyone,” said Harbormaster Dave Fronzuto. “It just seems like it’s been here every night for a month. It’s definitely been worse for a longer period of time than I can remember. We’ve had to escort a lot of boats lost in the fog, or boats run aground in the fog, literally every night.”

While Nantucket’s location, more than 20 miles out at sea and surrounded by water, is one of the causes for the heavy fog that regularly plagues the island, a nearly constant southwest wind this summer, along with cooler-than-normal water temperatures, has produced conditions perfect for fog. Essentially, fog is a cloud that is based on the ground or over the water, and it forms when water vapor in the air cools to the dew point and condenses into minute, visible droplets of water suspended in the air. Technically, fog exists when visibility drops below one kilometer.

“Typically, the reason we see fog in the summertime is that we have a prevailing southwest wind which brings a lot of humidity and it’s that warm air going over the cooler ocean water that causes fog,” said meteorologist Joe Dellicarpini of the National Weather Service in Taunton, Mass. “There’s so much water around Nantucket, it tends to be thicker and it’s harder for the fog to burn off in the sun. But we’ve been stuck in the same weather pattern for a few weeks and it’s been a little more persistent in the last month than we typically see.”

Fog on Nantucket reaches its peak in the late spring to mid-summer, with an average of 14 days with fog in July and 10 days with fog in August. Historically, the island has been riddled with fog-related disasters at sea. In 1909, the passenger liner Republic collided with the steamship Florida in thick fog southwest of the island, sinking the Republic. In 1934, the Nantucket lightship was rammed and sunk by the White Star liner Olympia – sister ship of the Titanic – in another fog-caused accident, killing seven of the lightship’s crew. And in the most famous fog-related wreck near Nantucket, the Italian passenger liner Andrea Doria collided bow to bow with the Swedish American liner Stockholm in 1956 and later sank after nearly all of its passengers had been rescued.

In Nantucket Harbor, boats without the use of radar and Global Positioning Systems (GPS) have had a difficult time navigating in the fog this summer, with many vessels simply getting lost or actually running aground in different parts of the harbor. Both Fronzuto and Coast Guard Senior Chief Sheila Lucey are quick to mention the Fourth of July as the most difficult evening of the summer so far.

With hundreds of boats out on the water waiting for the fireworks to begin, a thick fog smothered the island, postponing the festivities and leaving the boaters with little or no visibility. In the two-hour period that followed, more than 40 distress calls poured into the Coast Guard and Marine Department requesting assistance.

“There was about two hours of mayhem when it was really thick,” Lucey said. “That night we had over 42 calls for assistance from people lost in the fog, put aground, disoriented and scared. The first thing we do is ask them if they are anchored, if they have life jackets on, and then once we get them stationary, figure out where they left from, what was their course, destination and speed. We also have a direction finder that we can use to get a line of direction from where they’re talking and where they are from the station. That gives a good idea of where to start looking.”

While the Coast Guard was getting inundated with calls, Fronzuto and the Marine Department were assisting with the fireworks on the barge, but quickly realized they were also getting swamped with distress calls.

“We had so many incidences that night,” Fronzuto said. “We were trying to run around in the fog, in the dark, trying to rescue people, but we did it. There was no property damage and no injuries, which was beautiful.”

Not only have private recreational vessels had issues in the fog this summer, but even the Hy-Line’s passenger ferries have had trouble coping with the conditions. On July 5, the Hy-Line’s fast ferry Grey Lady and the conventional ferry Point Gammon collided bow to bow in thick fog in Nantucket Harbor. Neither vessel sustained significant damage and there were no injuries to any of the passengers, but the incident illustrated the fact that even with the use of radar and radio communication, navigating through the fog can be risky and dangerous.

Hy-Line Vice President Murray Scudder said that each vessel had the other on its radar as its primary way of locating the other, and also said the vessels were in radio contact. But Scudder said the thick fog obscured each vessel from the other as well as the reference points around the harbor, and the boats collided despite traveling at the slowest possible speed, four knots, with their engines engaged.

At Nantucket Memorial Airport, the summer fog has caused delays, cancellations and has cut down the airport’s operations by 30 percent. More than 8,000 scheduled operations have been canceled because of weather conditions, specifically fog, that reduce the ceiling, or the height above the ground that is visible, that pilots need to land an aircraft.

“It’s been one of the worst Julys in memory,” said Airport Manager Al Peterson. “Our traffic is off 30 percent, primarily because of the weather. This has been a long siege of really bad weather.”

For planes to land at the airport, they need a 200-foot ceiling with a runway visual range (RVR) of 1,800 to 2,400 feet, depending on whether the centerline lights on the main runway, 6/24, are functional. Those lights, however, have been the last portion of the runway improvements to be completed, so the airport has been required to have an RVR of 2,400 feet for most of the summer, further reducing the window that planes have to land on the island.

“I’ve talked with some of the pilots and controllers and they don’t remember it being this foggy in a long time,” said Patrick Topham, the airport’s control tower manager. “Unfortunately, the airport is getting a bad rap and getting some of the blame because the lights weren’t fixed. But even if they were, we’d still have been below the minimums.”

For people like Blair Perkins, who runs the whale watch operation Shearwater Excursions, and Karsten Reinemo, the captain of Topspin Sport Fishing, the foggy weather has affected business in a variety of ways, from safety to the bottom line.

Perkins has had to cancel at least 16 voyages this summer due to fog, and when he has been able to make the trip out to sea, spotting whales has been difficult with the poor visibility.

“We’ve definitely had more fog than in the last couple years,” Perkins said. “We’re a good four to five degrees below normal this year (for water temperature) and with extremely high dew points, it’s easy for fog to form. It impacts my business quite a bit. I’ve lost 16 days and the fog can be very fatiguing just navigating in it.”

Perkins added that Nantucket has had the type of humidity and dew points this summer that are more common in the Carolinas than the Northeast.

For Reinemo, whose boat is equipped with radar and GPS, the issue has not been getting lost, but rather avoiding other boaters who don’t have the proper equipment and don’t see him coming.

“We have had to avoid a lot of people this year, they don’t even know we’re there,” Reinemo said. “It’s dangerous for people who aren’t used to fog, the weekend boater. Radar is the only device that tells you when something’s coming at you, but very few people have radar because it’s too expensive.”

Over the past week, the fog has not been as prevalent as it was earlier in the summer, but those who were affected by the pea-soup conditions will remember the months of June and July well into the off-season

RADAR RISK RESEARCH THREATENS WIND FARM

By KEVIN DENNEHY and DAVID SCHOETZ
STAFF WRITERS
Foes of the proposed Nantucket Sound wind farm say British research on wind turbines interfering with radar raises grave doubts about the Cape project.

The U.S. Department of Defense is investigating whether wind turbines affect military radar. That research, due to be reported to Congress in May, has included consultation with military leaders from Great Britain, where large wind farms already exist and recent studies suggest turbines can interfere with military and maritime radar.

Studies conducted by the British Ministry of Defence in 2005 and obtained by the Times concluded turbine blades can produce ''hole(s) in detection'' in air defense radar systems, sometimes causing aircraft to become obscured from view. While British researchers are trying to develop computer software to reduce the turbines' impact on radar, the technology currently does not exist.

U.S. military officials have said little about their research, but the federal government recently froze a permit for a wind park in southeastern Wisconsin until the Air Force is sure turbines won't interfere with a nearby radar station.

U.S. Rep. William Delahunt was briefed this month by Pentagon officials on the radar issue and said available evidence has reaffirmed his national security concerns over Cape Wind Associates' proposed wind farm.

''They're losing airplanes from radar (in Britain),'' said Delahunt, the Cape's congressman and a Cape Wind opponent. ''These are unanswered issues and they can't be dismissed.

''I know they haven't been answered,'' he added, ''because I've been told by the Department of Defense.''

The Quincy Democrat has asked the Committee on Homeland Security to investigate how Cape Wind's project would affect radar, calling it a potential threat to the PAVE PAWS radar station in Sagamore, as well as civilian radar.

130 turbines planned

Delahunt said he has sent documentation on his concerns to numerous other congressional committees. Recipients include a conference committee debating a Coast Guard bill that would ban wind turbines within 1½ miles of shipping and ferry lanes - mainly because of maritime radar concerns. If approved, that bill would likely kill the Cape Wind proposal, an ambitious plan to build 130 417-foot turbines on Nantucket Sound.

While Cape Wind officials are following the Pentagon study closely, spokesman Mark Rodgers said they remain confident radar technology will be developed to address any interference concerns.

''For those wind farms where they are finding (radar) is a problem,'' he said, ''I'm sure there will be technology to address those concerns.''

Michael Hay, a renewable energy specialist for the British Wind Energy Association, said the industry group will resume tests with the British military into new technologies in May. ''It seems these problems can be overcome, not through changing of the wind projects, but an upgrading of the radar equipment,'' he said. ''It looks like something we can solve without any major costs.''

But Cliff Carroll, a Cape Wind opponent, said the technology doesn't exist. And that, he said, should be a concern not just for the military, but for those who rely on the three regional airports that surround Nantucket Sound.

For more than a year, Carroll, a co-founder of windstop.org, has pushed federal officials to look at the British radar experience. Now, he predicts, the radar issue will sink the Cape Wind project.

''If you go by the UK standard, this thing never would have gotten off the drawing board,'' he said. ''It's the wrong place. ... It's toast.''

While Carroll's prediction remains to be seen, U.S. military officials are certainly paying closer attention to wind projects - onshore and offshore.

Earlier this year, a panel of defense and Homeland Security agencies started looking into the effects of modern windmills on military readiness. The study was required as part of the 2006 Defense Authorization Act, and includes representatives from the Air Force, Army, Navy, Missile Defense Agency and U.S. Northern Command.

Defense leaders are saying little about the study. ''Until this report is submitted to Congress, it would be premature to talk about specifics of what the team is discussing,'' said Maj. Susan Idziak, an Air Force spokeswoman.

Cape Wind officials say the company has already received approvals from both the Federal Aviation Administration and the Air Force.

In particular, Rodgers cited a 2004 FAA letter that affirmed ''no hazard'' to aviation, as well as a 2004 Air Force letter that said the Nantucket Sound project would pose ''no threat to the operation of the PAVE PAWS radar.''

Risk cited in Wisconsin

''As far as we're concerned,'' Rodgers said, ''this has been looked at by the FAA.''

Earlier this month, the FAA notified a Chicago developer that a plan to build 133 turbines in Wisconsin may pose a ''presumed hazard'' to air traffic and the nearby Horicon military radar station.

''Therefore, the operational impact on the Air Force mission of the proposed wind farm development can't be fully assessed at this time,'' Fred Souchet, an FAA specialist, wrote to Forward Energy Center, the project's developer.

Rodgers said the Cape and Wisconsin projects cannot be compared because of different geographical positions relative to nearby military radar.

The Wisconsin project is within the ''sight-line'' of the military radar system - meaning radar beams would strike turbines directly without topographical interference such as hills.

The main beam of the Air Force radar station in Sagamore, however, would shoot above the line of turbines, Rodgers said.

Kevin Dennehy can be reached at kdennehy@capecodonline.com. David Schoetz can be reached at dschoetz@capecodonline.com.

(Published: March 30, 2006)

Copyright © Cape Cod Times. All rights reserved.

CAA HIGHLIGHTS WIND TURBINE PERILS

By David Learmount in London

Wind turbines, especially many grouped in a wind farm, can wipe out the effectiveness of primary and secondary radar surveillance systems and radio navigation aids, says the UK Civil Aviation Authority. In a report, the agency calls on the government to require those responsible for siting wind turbines to consider aviation safety as well as other issues.

“The development of wind turbines has the potential to cause a variety of effects on aviation,” says the CAA report. “These range from physical safeguarding [turbines as tall obstacles], generation of unwanted returns on primary radar, affecting the performance and propagation of secondary surveillance radar [SSR], navigation aids and communication facilities, through to consideration of [air] turbulence. It should be noted that wind turbines do not in themselves cause electromagnetic interference.”

There are multiple ways in which wind turbines can interfere with radar surveillance, especially if they are in groups, in radar line of sight, and located within 28km (15nm) or less of the radar head. According to the CAA the types of interference include:

The CAA says it is researching all these effects more closely and will promulgate further advice.

READ OR DOWNLOAD THE UK CAA WIND FARM RADAR INTERFERENCE REPORT HERE http://www.caa.co.uk/docs/33/Cap764.pdf

IDENTICAL TO THE CAPE WIND SITE- FAA SAYS NO TO RADAR INTERFERENCE!!

AIRPORT RADAR TILTS WITH FIRE ISLAND WINDMILLS

By MATT WHITE
Anchorage Daily News

Published: August 21, 2006

A Chugach Electric idea to put giant, electricity-producing windmills on Fire Island is giving its neighbor, Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport, a case of bad vibes. Radar experts recently found that electromagnetic waves from the proposed 33-windmill project would be so strong they would warp the signal of the airport's main air traffic control radar. On top of that, the sheer size of the windmills, whose blade tips could reach 400 feet in the air, would also physically block the signal of another key radar already on Fire Island.Those conclusions come from radar engineers hired by the Federal Aviation Administration to examine what effects Chugach's proposed wind farm would have on the airport. The FAA runs the nation's air traffic systems, including radars and control towers at airports.A Chugach Electric Association official said the company has already modified its concept so that the windmills won't block the Fire Island radar, a navigational beacon known in pilot-speak as a "VOR."But electromagnetic problems remain between the wind project and the airport's primary air traffic control radar.Anchorage-based Chugach is the state's largest power utility, with customers from Homer to Fairbanks. It has toyed with using wind power for years as a way to bring less-polluting, non-fuel-using electricity generation to the state's Railbelt region. It has studied costs, demand and the best locations for windmills.About a thousand VOR radars are spread across North America as navigational beacons. Virtually all planes flying near Anchorage use the Fire Island VOR, from private Cessnas landing at Merrill Field to Elmendorf's fighters to airliners passing five miles overhead. VOR radars need clear lines of sight in all directions, down to a specific angle from the ground.Phil Steyer, a Chugach manager closely involved with the project, said that to accommodate the VOR, "we've done some turbine reallocations, some went away and some added with height limitations."Chugach is partners in the wind-power initiative with three other utilities: Anchorage's Municipal Light & Power, Homer Electric Association and Golden Valley Electric Association in Fairbanks.The original concept was for 33 windmills on Fire Island generating up to 3 megawatts each, which in peak conditions could hit 100 megawatts of power, about a fifth of the energy Anchorage can demand. A 3-megawatt windmill stands 265 feet tall, with blades almost 150 feet long. But to fit around the VOR, Steyer said, the utility scaled down the idea to two dozen 1.5-megawatt windmills, cutting the project's possible output."That still leaves issues with the approach radar," Steyer said.Air traffic controllers use an "approach" radar to guide planes arriving at and departing from the airport.As a modern windmill spins in a breeze, its blades turn an electric turbine, which uses an electromagnetic field to create electricity. That field, if large enough, can radiate for miles and disrupt radio transmissions of all kinds.According to the FAA's engineers, even Chugach's smaller windmills could produce electromagnetic fields that cause "false target presentations and permanent echoes on air traffic control radar displays."In other words, controllers in the airport's control tower might see planes where there were none or be blind to real ones.Officials with both the FAA and Chugach said they are continuing to work together on the problem, though it's unclear what, if anything, can be done. FAA spokesman Allan Kenitzer said the agency is "assessing methods of modifying the radar to avoid any adverse effects" to airport operations but would not be more specific. He also would not say whether Chugach's revised concept would alleviate concerns with the Fire Island VOR.The idea of using Anchorage's natural wind tunnel, otherwise known as Turnagain Arm, to generate electricity is not new, nor is this the first time Chugach Electric's hopes for developing wind power have hit, well, turbulence."We have been looking at the potential for wind generation around Southcentral Alaska since at least 1998," said Steyer. "It's all dependent upon economics of the project. No decisions have been made whether to try and bring the process forward."Chugach declared Fire Island a favorite spot for a wind farm in 2004, after several years of studying possible sites around the region.A site near Whittier was deemed too windy and likely to damage the machines. One at Bird Point on the Seward Highway was too small. The Army declared military land near Arctic Valley off limits. And the wind at a site above Bear Valley was too icy.And projects at any of those sites, officials said at the time, would have been scorned as eyesores.But Fire Island has plenty of windy real estate owned by Cook Inlet Regional Inc., the Anchorage regional Native corporation, which signed on to the project. And three miles from the nearest scenic overlook, the site was less likely to draw aesthetic complaints.

On the downside, construction on the island would be more costly than on a mainland site, said Steyer, and power cables would need to run underwater to the mainland.

CAPE WIND MUST CONFRONT LOCAL OPINION

By CLIFFORD CARROLL
If "all politics is local", as Tip O'Neill once remarked, the Cape Wind project is now entering very unfriendly water as it finally gets the close scrutiny that the federal Army Corps process has failed to deliver.

Cape Wind's strategy from the start has been to try to convince the locals that this $800 million industrial project will somehow be good for Cape Cod and the islands with its promises of abundant clean energy, jobs and a massive reduction in polluting emissions from nearby electricity-generating plants. Critics of the project have long pointed out that Cape Wind's claims are grossly overstated, but you wouldn't know it from reading the 3,800-page, 24-pound Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) written by Cape Wind's paid consultants and blessed by the Army Corps.

But then along came the Cape Cod Commission with its own professional assessment of the project and the DEIS. The DEIS conclusions "appear to be based either on an incomplete or flawed analysis," the commission report concluded. The commission went on to criticize the utter lack of "transparency" in the DEIS that makes it impossible to validate conclusions, to properly identify the source of those conclusions or provide detailed quantitative information that would allow for an independent assessment of the DEIS conclusions. In the absence of that transparent process, the commission undertook the review that the Army Corps failed to take.

So what did Cape Wind do when confronted with this show of local resolve by the Cape Cod Commission? It stood before commission members and defied its authority, telling the commissioners, in effect, they were nothing more than a little wheel in a far bigger game.

The town of Yarmouth got a similar stiff arm from Cape Wind when it insisted on having more time to comment on the incorrect representation of agreements and the negative impacts of the project as part of the state's Energy Facility Siting Board (EFSB) process.

Watch what happens next when an realignment of the state and federal ocean boundary finds that some portion of the Cape Wind project would actually be in state water. How quickly will Cape Wind move to withdraw the offending towers and retreat to federal waters so it needn't face the music from the local citizenry?

The clearest sign yet about Cape Wind's disrespect for local opinion was the political poll it recently promoted claiming that a "near" majority - or 47 percent - of a 400-person sample of state voters support its project. Of those 400 interviews, only 16 were actually from the Cape and islands while the rest, presumably, wouldn't care if you painted the Sagamore Bridge pink for all the time they spend looking at it. Why would you care if Cape Wind puts 130 massive steel towers into the middle of our beautiful ocean vista, if you live in Worcester County?

Cape Wind's real intent with the poll was to send a not-too-subtle message to Gov. Mitt Romney and Attorney General Tom Reilly that Massachusetts voters support the project and politicians had better support it, too. But what the paid pollsters failed to mention in their interviews with participants is that the Cape Wind project will decimate the Cape's tourism-based economy and ruin a beautiful vista from every beach on Nantucket Sound in trade for an industry-scale project that will permanently destroy the unique character of Cape Cod and the islands.

If the Cape Wind project has to pass local muster, it will never be built in Nantucket Sound. The list of communities and organizations opposed to it is deep and wide, including the Nantucket and Cape Cod Chambers of Commerce, the towns of Yarmouth and Barnstable, and all three major Cape and island airports, which have filed objections with the Federal Aviation Administration. Every coastal town on Nantucket Sound is demanding to see an oil spill trajectory map that would detail how 40,000 gallons of transformer oil would travel on the tides and currents should Cape Wind's transformer substation rupture into Nantucket Sound.

It is little wonder, then, that Cape Wind is challenging the Cape Cod Commission's jurisdiction and then pushing a survey that has little or nothing to do with the Cape and islands as somehow relevant to those of us who have to live with this monstrosity. We are not fooled, and the political leaders who have stood up to this developer's roughshod tactics are not going to be intimidated.

Clifford Carroll is one of the founders of Windstop.org.

(Published: February 24, 2005)

BBC: WIND FARM FEARS FOR SHIPS' RADAR

Fears over possible interference with ships' radar could put plans to build the world's largest wind farm in the Greater Thames Estuary in jeopardy.

A consortium including Shell WindEnergy is planning 270 turbines for an offshore site between Kent and Essex.

Shell spokesman Andrew Murfin said the development could not go ahead until objections raised by the Port of London Authority (PLA) were addressed.

"We are continuing to talk to them to try to resolve those issues," he said.

We are aware that they have some ongoing concerns about a particular part of the site towards the south
Andrew Murfin

A planning application for the wind farm was submitted this week by London Array Ltd, which includes EON UK Renewables and CORE Ltd as well as Shell.

The £1.5bn development would cover 152 sq miles (245 sq km).

The PLA has been conducting trials at a smaller wind farm being built near Herne Bay.

"The trials indicated that these structures can have a detrimental effect on ships' radar," said Roy Stanbrook, harbourmaster at Gravesend.

"It can make it difficult for one ship to detect another.

"This is caused by the presence of secondary echoes which mask areas of the radar screen."

He said the PLA was in uncharted territory as there was "precious little" data available from other wind farms.

"We are the area which seems to have been conducting trials with turbines close to main shipping channels."

'Ongoing concerns'

Mr Murfin, Shell's vice-president for development, said the consortium had been discussing the project with stakeholders, including the PLA and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, for two years.

"We are aware that they have some ongoing concerns about a particular part of the site towards the south," he said.

The wind farm would be 20km (12.4 miles) out to sea and Mr Murfin said it would not be visible from the shore except on very clear days.

There would also be an electricity substation at Graveney, off the North Kent coast.

Mr Murfin said the project was being funded partly by electricity consumers through a levy imposed on their bills by the government.

COMMISSION FINDS FAULT WITH WIND FARM PROPOSAL
By Doreen Leggett/ dleggett@cnc.com
Thursday, February 3, 2005

With its public hearing on the wind farm scheduled for next week, the Cape Cod Commission staff has released a report that details a number of concerns it has with the inadequacy of the project's review, and requests further study.

The staff said that the draft environmental impact report, a 3,800-page largely favorable document produced by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, uses "flawed assumptions," has a "lack of quantitative information" and the information was not independently verified. It also states that when detrimental impacts are mentioned they are "downplayed."

The 35-page report was released days before the hearing, set for 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 8 at Mattacheese Middle School in West Yarmouth on Cape Wind Associates' 130-turbine wind farm planned for the federal waters of Horseshoe Shoal.

The commission is in a joint review process with the state Department of Environmental Affairs, under the Massachusetts Environmental Protection Act. The project is also being reviewed under the National Environmental Protection Act, and the Corps - which is the primary permitting authority.

 Mark Rodgers, spokesman for Cape Wind, disagrees with the commission's stance.

 "This draft environmental impact statement is the most thorough, complete and comprehensive of any in recent Massachusetts history," he said.

 The Army Corps has also stood by its report, which includes input from 17 state and federal agencies. Officials there have also said that studies were indeed funded by Cape Wind, as is the case with other reports, because if the applicant doesn't pay for them the burden falls to the taxpayer.

Among other findings, the commission said since the project is the first of its kind in the nation, it is "essential" that the public and regulators fully understand the specific benefits and detriments. The staff doesn't believe the DEIR adequately describes those and is calling for a "supplemental" DEIR which will address key areas where the current report "fails to adequately and accurately identify the impacts" of the proposed project.

The wind farm has been embroiled in controversy for a number of years, but this is the first time the Cape's planning agency, which was voted into being by residents, has commented.

In particular, the commission finds fault with the proposed alternatives to the project. Since the Corps used "utility-scale renewable energy" projects, in the 200-1,500 MW range, it eliminated virtually all other technologies, and other sites, the report states.

The commission also pointedly disagrees with some of the report's conclusions saying that they aren't backed up properly, or rely on incomplete and flawed information.

Ernie Corrigan, a spokesman for the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound, which opposes the project, said that the report underscores what his group has been saying all along. Corrigan said that Massachusetts Audubon has also asked for a supplemental review because of what it sees as incomplete bird data.

 "The Cape Cod Commission represents the most significant local voice on this project and we heartened to see that they have taken this analysis really seriously and taken their local role seriously as well," he said.

READ THE FULL CAPE COD COMMISSION WIND FARM REPORT: http://www.capecodcommission.org/CCC-CapeWind-Report.pdf

DANISH OFFSHORE TURBINES ALL NEED REPAIR

By JOHN LEANING
YARMOUTHPORT - The turbines of the world's largest offshore wind farm in Denmark will be dismantled and brought onshore to repair a host of problems.

Conditions in the North Sea off Denmark's west coast have led to a variety of issues with internal generators, transformers and other equipment. Officials from Vestas, the turbine manufacturer, will bring in all 80 two megawatt turbines at the Horns Rev wind farm for repairs.

Vestas officials expect the turbines to be reinstalled and in operation again this fall. The work will cost millions of dollars to complete. Technology and reliability issues have long been a concern voiced by opponents of the proposed wind farm in Nantucket Sound.

Cape Wind Associates, of Yarmouthport and Boston, hopes to erect 130 turbines, all larger than the Vestas turbines, in a 24-square-mile area in Horseshoe Shoal in the Sound.

The $700- to $800-million proposal, the first such project in the nation, is now in the third year of a state and federal environmental review. A draft report is expected from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers later this summer or early fall.

"In general our concern is that this is an immature technology in an off-shore environment. Are we willing to turn Nantucket Sound into an experience," said Audra Parker, assistant executive director of the principal wind farm foe, the Cape-based Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound.

"To go with a massive installation is a huge risk," she said, noting there are many unanswered questions, including insurance and decommisioning issues.

The Horns Rev wind farm went into production two years ago. Cape Wind spokesman Mark Rodgers noted that Vestas is committed to making the Danish project work.

"Vestas has made public statements that it will do whatever it takes to make it right." he said.

He added that Cape Wind will satisfy requirements made by the Army Corps, if the Nantucket Sound project is allowed to move forward.

"Offshore wind is an emerging technology, and as with any such emergent technology, sometimes problems are discovered," he said yesterday.

He said Cape Wind plans to use 3.6-megawatt turbines made by GE Wind Energy, and that similar turbines in operation off the east coast of Ireland on the Arklow Bank have not had unusual operating problems.

"What happened at Horns Rev is not a show-stopper for the industry," said Ben Bell, a vice president at GE Wind Energy, whose company will supply all of Cape Wind's turbines.

GE is using its Arklow pilot project, with seven 3.6-megwatt turbines in operation since the early spring, to learn as much as it can about operational challenges, including machinery issues and the all important question of access, Bell said.

The GE turbines installed on the Arklow Bank are the largest off-shore turbines in use anywhere in the world.

(Published: July 13, 2004)

ALSO READ: ROUBLED WIND FARM DISMANTLED

Denmark-based Vestas, one the world's major wind turbine companies, announced that every last one of their wind turbines installed offshore at their flagship Horns Reef project will be transported to nearby Ringkobing and Lem and dismantled for tests and repairs due to ongoing problems.