Cape Wind is a project to create the United States’ first offshore wind farm on Horseshoe Shoal in Nantucket Sound. The towers for the 130 wind turbines will stand 258 feet above the water with the tip of the highest blade reaching 440 feet into the air. They will be spaced six to nine football fields apart to allow the shallow draft boats that pass through or fish Horseshoe Shoal to navigate. Once operational, Cape Wind will produce up to 420 megawatts of clean, renewable energy, helping to reduce air pollution, dependence on petroleum, and energy costs for the local residents. It will also create up to a thousand jobs in manufacturing, assembly, and ocean construction, boosting the local economy and creating 150 permanent jobs, including 50 highly paid maintenance and operations jobs based on Cape Cod.27 While Cape Wind enjoys support from many individuals and organizations, there are also those who have vigorously opposed the project. The project faced staunch opposition from, among others, two well-known environmental advocates, the late Senator Edward Kennedy and his nephew, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whose family compound has a view of Nantucket Sound that would be forever changed by the giant windmills,28 as well as former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney.
1. How much influence should property owners have in controlling their view? 2. How much influence should property owners have in controlling projects on neighboring property? 3. Should projects that are considered to be “good” for society or the environment be treated any differently than any other project?
