Your editorial “Financial disclosure” (Nov. 25) points out an important lack of transparency in the Cape Wind project. Two other points have not been made clear.
Proponents have said the turbines will seem tiny “on the horizon,” but that is in the daytime. At night the horizon will be bright with a forest of blinking red lights. Each turbine must have at least one such light, and maybe several. Some might consider such a sight entertaining, but from certain distances, any mariner’s ability to distinguish navigation lights and buoys against this illuminated backdrop will be severely compromised.
The second point is the question of what will happen if there is vandalism out there. Ask the Coast Guard about bullet holes in their navigational buoys. It seems logical, especially since this is obviously a contentious project, that someone might find these great turning blades a tempting target for vandalism. Would Cape Wind then demand all of Horseshoe Shoal be closed to marine activity? How else could it protect such valuable installations? (Land installations are protected by nearby businesses or houses, or are relatively easy to patrol on owned land, while deep-water turbines are protected by their distance from shore.)
Richard S. Blake
East Falmouth
3 December 2007
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2007/12/03/wind-farm-will-mean-night-lights-vandals/