After almost a decade of debate, on April 28, 2010, U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced approval of Cape Wind, the 130-turbine wind farm proposed for construction off the coast of Massachusetts in Nantucket Sound. The development has elicited a heated response from the public and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. Secretary Salazar acknowledged the controversy over Cape Wind, but indicated that he approved the nation’s first offshore wind project because of the anticipated construction jobs and power it would supply. Secretary Salazar noted that Cape Wind would be “the first of many projects up and down the Atlantic coast.” The Department of the Interior’s approval may open the door for other offshore wind farms from Long Island Sound to the Great Lakes.

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