Court gives Cape Wind green light (Boston)
The state Supreme Judicial Court ruled in a split decision Tuesday that the Cape Wind project can move forward even though it had been denied approvals from local authorities.
The 4-2 ruling affirmed the decision of the state Energy Facilities Siting Board in 2009 to overrule the Cape Cod Commission, which had denied a permit for the 130-turbine Nantucket Sound project in 2007.
An opposition group, the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound, along with the Cape Cod Commission and the town of Barnstable had appealed the siting board ruling to the SJC. Cape Wind could have faced major delays if the SJC had sided with project opponents.
The project developer, Cape Wind Associates, must still win approval from the state Department of Public Utilities for its power purchase agreement with utility National Grid. The starting rate would be 18.7 cents per kilowatt hour under the agreement, and would take effect in 2013, the first year the project is expected to produce power.
The 15-year contract covers half of the power generated by the 420-megawatt project.
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