Cape Wind adds wrinkle to Mass. governor’s race

BOSTON (AP) – The plan to build 130 wind turbines in Nantucket Sound is exposing new rifts in the race for Massachusetts governor, allowing Republicans to lay claim to a slice of the late U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy’s legacy.

For Democratic incumbent Gov. Deval Patrick, Wednesday’s approval of the nation’s first offshore wind farm by U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar is a key victory in what’s shaping up to be a tough re-election campaign.

Patrick said the project will bring in badly needed jobs, ease the state’s dependence on fossil fuels, and let Massachusetts spearhead the nation’s push to capture the momentum on offshore wind energy from Europe and China.

“America now has a chance to turn that around, and we in Massachusetts have a chance to show our leadership,” Patrick said. “This day has been long in coming.”

One reason for the delay has been the dogged opposition of project critics, who say the wind farm is misplaced and its costs and benefits still largely unknown.

The highest profile critic was the late Sen. Kennedy, who argued the wind farm would kill birds and endanger sea life, and harm the scenic area’s tourism and fishing industries. The Kennedy family’s Hyannis Port compound would also have a clear view of the farm.

Patrick’s two challengers, and the Republican elected to fill the seat Kennedy held for nearly half a century, are echoing those concerns.

They’re also challenging Patrick’s assumption that the project translates into an economic boon for the state.

Republican candidate Charles Baker said that while he believes renewable sources of energy are important to the country’s future, he’s not convinced Cape Wind is the smartest investment of public resources.

“We can’t support projects that are going to increase the cost of electricity to people and businesses in Massachusetts and I have yet to see proof that Cape Wind will lower energy costs for Bay State families and businesses,” Baker said.

Independent candidate for governor Tim Cahill called the decision by Salazar “a mistake” and said he was worried about the effect on tourism, especially to Cape Cod and the islands.

He also said the project may end up costing taxpayers while hurting those it’s intended to help.

“This wind farm will have a limited net effect and could actually drive up the cost of utilities for electricity rate payers, creating an additional burden for middle class homeowners and small businesses,” Cahill said.

One reason Salazar’s approval was particularly important for Patrick is that he made renewable energy a key element of his first term in office. Patrick has tried to ramp up the state’s reliance on wind, solar and other forms of “green energy.”

Standing next to Salazar, Patrick rattled off some of those accomplishments, including the ongoing construction of the world’s largest wind blade testing facility in the Charlestown neighborhood of Boston – the first facility in the U.S. capable of testing turbine blades up to 90 meters long.

For Cahill and Baker, who have both faulted Patrick’s leadership of the state through the economic downturn of the past few years, there’s little to be gained politically in endorsing the project.

The race is tight.

A recent poll by the Western New England College Polling Institute showed Patrick holding onto a narrow lead over Cahill and Baker.

Just 34 percent of likely voters support Patrick, according to the poll which found 29 percent favoring Cahill and 27 percent backing Baker. The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 4.5 percentage points.

Two other hopefuls, Democrat Grace Ross and Green Rainbow Party candidate Jill Stein, are also running.

In another political twist, Scott Brown, the Republican that Kennedy’s widow Victoria Reggie Kennedy worked to defeat in January’s special U.S. Senate election has sided with her late husband’s opposition to Cape Wind.

Brown called the decision “misguided” and said it could cost jobs, harm key industries like fishing and tourism, and infringe on the rights of Native American tribes.

“While I support the concept of wind power as an alternative source of energy, Nantucket Sound is a national treasure that should be protected from industrialization,” Brown said. “I am also skeptical about the cost-savings and job number predictions we have heard from proponents.”

Brown said he was proud to stand with Democratic U.S. Rep. William Delahunt who represents Cape Cod and also opposes the project.

Brown’s Democratic counterpart in the Senate, Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, served alongside Kennedy for more than two decades and offered measured support for the project, saying “I accept and support” Salazar’s decision.

“I believe the future of wind power in the Massachusetts and the United States will be stronger knowing that the process was exhaustive,” Kerry said. “I think it’s a benefit to know that every argument, every criticism, every worry was answered.”