Economic Impacts
Would Cape Wind interfere with the fishing industry on the Cape and Islands?
The Army Corps of Engineers found that Cape Wind would not have substantial impacts on commercial or recreational fishing in Nantucket Sound. Fishing activities would not be restricted within the wind park area and underwater electric cables would be buried at least 6 feet below the seabed to avoid tangling with boats and fishing gear. Because the wind turbine towers would be spaced 0.34 by 0.54 nautical miles (629 by 1,000 meters) apart, the Corps did not expect that vessels would have difficulty maneuvering around them. Wind turbine generators would be marked with lighting approved by the U.S. Coast Guard to ensure safe vessel operation in the project area. Additionally, the Corps concluded that Cape Wind would not adversely affect ocean-bottom communities and finfish populations in Nantucket Sound.
Based on these findings, the Corps concluded that Cape Wind would not cause net change in the socioeconomic condition of the Cape and Islands fishing industry. Click here1 to read the Corps assessment (Sections 5.4.5.3, page 5-67, and 5.16.4.8, pages 5-279 to 5-280).
How would Cape Wind affect local property values?
The Army Corps of Engineers and the Minerals Management Service reached slightly different conclusions. The Army Corps of Engineers concluded that Cape Wind would not adversely affect local property values, based on several studies of property values in communities near U.S. and European wind farms and on the fact that the Cape Wind turbines would be located miles from shore, painted to blend in with the horizon, and lit with low-intensity FAA and Coast Guard warning lights, Click here2 to read the Corps analysis (Section 5.16.4.5, pages 5-274 to 5-276).
The Minerals Management Service concluded that impacts of wind farms on local property values are likely to vary from project to project based on whether potential buyers find wind parks attractive or objectionable. As a result, MMS did not find a basis for judging that Cape Wind would either enhance or detract from Cape and Islands property values. Click here3 to read the MMS assessment.
How would Cape Wind affect the Cape and Islands tourism industry?
Cape Wind’s main impact on tourism would be the fact that the wind park would be visible from shore in parts of the Cape and Islands. Studies near wind farms in Scotland, Denmark, Sweden, Australia, California, New York, and Vermont have not documented measurable declines in tourism after the wind parks were built. In some cases, tourist activity increased with the presence of the wind farms.
Cape Wind would be significantly larger than many of these other wind farms, so it cannot be assumed that it would have a similar benign impact. However, based on these findings and on the fact that Cape Wind would not interfere with tourists’ use of recreational sites such as beaches, golf courses, and freshwater ponds, the Army Corps of Engineers concluded that Cape Wind would likely have a positive effect on tourism on the Cape and Islands. Click here4 for the Corps summary of research findings (Section 5.16.4.6, pages 5-276 to 5-278).
Similarly, the Minerals Management Service concluded that Cape Wind would be unlikely to affect tourism on the Cape and Islands because the wind park would be located far offshore and would not interfere with use of land-based activities or beaches. Click here5 to read the MMS opinion.
What overall impact is Cape Wind likely to have on the local economy?
Global Insight, a Massachusetts consulting firm, performed an economic impact analysis which concluded that Cape Wind would have a positive economic impact on the mainland cities and towns in Barnstable County, especially Barnstable and Yarmouth. Benefits likely to be concentrated in Barnstable County included an annual permanent increase of 154 jobs and nearly $7 million in labor income. Property tax revenues would increase by an estimated $62,510 annually in Barnstable and $217,168 in Yarmouth as a result of onshore improvements associated with the transmission connection. Additionally, as part of its host community agreement with the town of Yarmouth, Cape Wind will pay the town a total of $350,000 annually or $7,000,000 over 20 years in taxes and charitable contributions. Click here6 for the Army Corps of Engineers summary of local economic impacts (Section 5.16.4.4.1 to 5.16.4.4.3, pages 5-270 to 5-273), and here7 for the Global Insight economic impact analysis.
1http://www.nae.usace.army.mil/projects/ma/ccwf/section5.pdf, Sections 5.4.5.3, page 5-67, and 5.16.4.8, pages 5-279 to 5-280
2http://www.nae.usace.army.mil/projects/ma/ccwf/section5.pdf, Section 5.16.4.5, pages 5-274 to 5-276
3MMS Draft Environmental Impact Statement for Cape Wind
4http://www.nae.usace.army.mil/projects/ma/ccwf/section5.pdf, Section 5.16.4.6, pages 5-276 to 5-278
5MMS Draft Environmental Impact Statement for Cape Wind
6http://www.nae.usace.army.mil/projects/ma/ccwf/section5.pdf, Section 5.16.4.4.1 to 5.16.4.4.3, pages 5-270 to 5-273
7http://www.nae.usace.army.mil/projects/ma/ccwf/app516a.pdf