Massachusetts Wind Project Delayed

A federal environmental assessment of a controversial offshore wind-energy project has been delayed, the Department of Interior's Mineral Management Service recently announced. The Cape Wind Associates project will be located five miles off the Massachusetts coast and would generate a maximum of 420 MW of electricity from 130 wind turbines. It would be the world's largest offshore wind project. The study was expected this month but will be delayed until summer, MMS says, because of the complicated nature of this first-time project. Cape Wind is supported by the Massachusetts governor, and late last month it received a favorable review from the state's environmental office. However, it has garnered opposition from many influential Cape Cod residents. The project's fate will be a signal for a host of other similar renewable-energy wind projects under consideration around the country. The company aims to complete the project by 2010.