If you have not been following the Cape Wind saga for the last 8 years (sheesh) now you will want to get a quick catch up here. If you don’t feel like reading all that let me summarize for you the way things have been going. Company wants to build America’s first offshore wind farm, rich NIMBY (not in my back yard) land owners don’t want view spoiled. Wash and repeat. Besides the fact that every argument always comes down to their view, and despite the fact that they lose EVERY SINGLE court battle, the rich landed elite of Cape Cod are determined to make sure that America doesn’t get it’s wind power.

However in yet another nail in the NIMBY coffin was hammered in today when the MMS (minerals Management Service) went ahead and gave a final (and favorable) review of the project. The delicious irony here is that the MMS was given review of the project because the Coast Guard was also favorable to the project and so Ted Kennedy and others moved the project to another agency to try and thwart it’s progress. So now that the MMS has given it a final favorable review (this is basically the most studied project in the history of off shore construction at this point), it will be up to the Obama administration and whoever they appoint to decide if it moves forward.

Cape Wind is upbeat about it’s chances to get most of it’s permits this winter.

The offshore wind farm will still require several other federal, state, and local agency permits. Mark Rodgers, spokesman for Cape Wind, said he expects that most of those permits could be secured “this winter,” except for a Federal Aviation Adminstration permit that he said could take until at least the spring to secure. (via)

I am pretty stoked about this project as I have been helping to convince people of it’s merits now for what seems like forever. Lets hope the Obama administration understands the vital nature of this project and pushes ahead on it as soon as possible.