October 11, 2006
Massachusetts

Maloy backs Cape Wind development

Aaron Maloy apparently has had a change of heart about Cape Wind. The GOP nominee in the 4th Barnstable District state representative election said at a debate last Wednesday he now supports the proposal to develop a 140-turbine wind farm in Nantucket Sound.
“I’ve done my homework,” he said. “I am supporting Cape Wind. The quality of air is deteriorating, people are getting sick, we need to reduce our dependence on coal.”
Maloy, a health care administrator, was responding to a wind energy question posed at the event, where he debated Provincetown Selectwoman Sarah Peake, the Democratic nominee.

Little new information was revealed at this debate, where most questions mirrored those already addressed by the candidates in recent weeks.
Before a crowd of about 100 people in the auditorium of the Nauset Regional Middle School in Orleans, Maloy said, “The location [for Cape Wind] is right, developers will be able to make a profit.”
The controversial Cape Wind development is planned for Horseshoe Shoal, about four miles from Hyannis Port. Up to now, Maloy had leaned against the proposal. In a primary election debate last month, he said Nantucket Sound was “not a good location,” and that any wind farm developer should be subject to competitive bidding. There has been no such bidding for the Cape Wind project.
“I was undecided,” Maloy said Wednesday, adding that he now believes the benefits would outweigh any detriments.
Peake said she’s looking for more information “before giving it a seal of approval.”
Noting there are studies under way, or soon to get under way, to test any effects the turbines would have on radar and navigation (see related story, this page), Peake said she was withholding judgment.
“There’s been no talk of compensation to the Cape, there needs to be money for mitigation, and for further testing [if the development is approved]. If [certain] conditions are met, I can and will support it,” she said.
The Massachusetts House of Representatives does not at this time have any authority over the proposed wind farm, which would be built in federal waters in Nantucket Sound.
Cape Wind is under review by the Minerals Management Service, a federal agency, and must receive permits from several other federal agencies. The MMS review is expected next year.
The candidates will face off in the general election Nov. 7.

By Donna Tunney/ dtunney@cnc.com

townonline.com


URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2006/10/11/maloy-backs-cape-wind-development/