Op-Ed

Retort to Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Local Public Radio station becomes a forum for RFK Jr. distortion

By Carl Freeman

On August 25^th, Bobby Kennedy Jr. was a guest on the NPR morning show discussing a variety of issues.  I found myself agreeing with almost every point he made until the subject of putting a Wind farm in Nantucket Sound came up.

I am sorry to say that everything he claimed to be outraged about concerning Cape Wind was either a complete lie, or at least a distant relative of the truth.  I downloaded the podcast of ‘The Point', recorded his assertions (as noted by: RFKJr:""), after which I have written the truth behind each of his statements.

RFKJr: "Cape Wind will absorb all of the Renewable Energy Credits (REC's) for Massachusetts." 

CF: REC's are a Nationally traded commodity.  Cape Wind can't absorb all of the REC's for Massachusetts because there is no State allotment ceiling. Business law simply doesn't work that way.  REC's are a ‘virtual' commodity where we measure the amount of clean power produced and polluters buy them to get under regional emission caps.  REC's are designed to ignore state lines and address regional & National pollution.

 I have a5kW Photovoltaic array on my roof and have a 3 year contract with Mass Energy to sell them about $180.00 each year in REC's from the power I produce.  A ‘yes' or ‘no' on permitting Cape Wind has no ability to rescind my existing contract.

The intention of REC's was to ‘grease the rails' for clean energy to get a foothold and satisfy the Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard (RPS) that sets benchmarks of clean energy to be generated in the State.  The RPS target for 2009 is 4%, of that we currently derive less than 0.25% clean energy from State sources forcing MA to import the other 3.75% of our clean energy (at a higher cost) from surrounding States & Canada.  Here again is an example of how Cape Wind will lower costs IF WE LET IT.

RFKJr: "Photovoltaics (PV) for electricity installed on your own roof are 3 times cheaper than the power from the wind farm."

CF:  This clever verbal footwork is trying to hide the fact that wind farm power will cost the same as any other power.  Cape Wind can't MAKE ISO New England buy their power at a higher price. All power generators are paid the same for any given hour of power needed, this is called clearinghouse pricing.  Several wind farm opponents have been making this ridiculous claim for years.  The actual method of selling utility power simply doesn't work the way they claim it does.   Though, I suppose if you are fighting the ‘evil' wind farm, a few fibs are O.K.

I work in the field of photovoltaics. They are a great investment.  I encourage anyone with a south facing roof to look into investing in them.  Over the course of 35 years, your system will pay for itself 3 times over. (Hence the 3 times cheaper statement)

Even when Cape Wind provides 75% of our power, it will take years to fill in that other 25% with residential clean power.

RFKJr: "Cape Wind would control the wind; it would no longer be a Democratic power."

CF:  This sounds like rhetoric to scare people. Is he implying that Cape Wind would exclude anyone else from making money from wind power? Cape Wind would be the first American offshore utility selling power into the grid.  Currently 99.99% of energy comes from private corporations (Like Cape Wind).

Cape Wind would be the only major utility using wind to make electricity instead of fossil fuels.  Some day (Hopefully) all of our power will be clean & sustainable.  To imply that a man doggedly determined to bring utility scale clean power to America is somehow an impediment to future clean energy development, I'm not sure I can put my disbelief of such flawed thinking into words.

RFKJr: Claims "Currently there are 4 ½ million boats that travel through those waterways each year."

CF:  Hmmm, 4,500,000 divided by 365 days equals 12,328 boat trips each day that would be negatively impacted by a Windfarm.  Hmmm.  Even at low tide when its zero to 20 feet deep?  Hmmm.  I believe this is called exaggeration, or more specifically, a HUGE exaggeration.  At the shortest dimension the space between turbines is 6 football fields wide.  Any boat captains out there want to raise their hand and say:"I can't steer a boat between poles 1/3 of a mile apart?"  In the 30 year history of offshore wind there have been NO reported collisions with turbines.  Every turbine will be GPS marked.  Is there a reputable boat captain out there not using GPS these days? 

After 6 years, Denmark fishermen that work among Horns Rev or Nysted offshore wind farms have reported no issues with navigating among the monopoles.  Some have asserted that they provide a point of reference and help avoid the shallows, the same assertions made by the American Coast Guard about the Cape Wind project.

RFKJr: "Cape Wind will put every South Cape fisherman out of business."

CF:  I'm not sure how Cape Wind COULD do this.  As proud as opponents are of their quote "Nantucket Sound, not for SALE." The technical name of the agreement between the Mineral Management Services and Cape Wind is called a "right of use" that clearly defines the footprint of the monopole as the only area under Cape Wind's control.  There is no right to prohibit or restrict boat travel of ANY kind in the waters around the Wind farm.  (In Denmark sail boats do a healthy business traveling within the wind farm for paying tourists.)

In light of this revelation, opposition forces have changed their story and now claim; fishermen will refuse to fish in the area based on "boating safety".  We'll see how long that lasts once the fish stocks increase from the 130 artificial reefs the wind farm ‘dangers' fade to distant memory.

RFKJr "The cables running between the turbines would present a hazard for fishermen's gear."

CF:  He would have a point, if it weren't for the fact the cables will be buried 8 feet deep.  This has been presented publically several times.   I am certain that the opposition is aware of the jet trenching of cables because of their adamant opposition to it.  I guess they want it both ways.  Or more accurately, they don't want it ANY WAY.

RFKJr talked about a solar concentrator farm in Southwest America he has been working to get up and working.  He implied it was such a great idea that Jim Gordon should abandon his proposal.

CF:  I commend him.  I believe solar concentrators are an excellent way to generate clean energy.  Unfortunately the sun resource in the Northeast is significantly less than the desert.  The cardinal rule of renewables is to tap the resource you have in abundance, around here it is the wind.  If RFKJr wanted to put solar concentrator farms in Massachusetts I would be glad to support his efforts.

That doesn't change the fact that Jim Gordon has been legally permitting a wind farm here going on 9 years.  Is Bobby saying we should stop a significant clean energy producing wind farm here just because another project might come along?  As previously stated, we are well below the required level of clean energy for Massachusetts now; a wind farm will help make up the gap.  We will still need more utility scale projects to achieve cleaner air, energy independence, lower prices, and local industry.  Currently there are no other large scale projects of any kind that have begun the permitting process in the New England area except for more wind farms. 

For some reason, wind farm opponents seem to breeze over these glaring facts.  Of all people, Bobby Kennedy Jr. should know this.  It just shows the degree of prejudice he apparently has against this specific project.

RFKJr "The grid could not handle the power produced by the wind farm."

CF: Independent System Operators - New England (ISO - NE, the organization charged with running our electrical grid) released an exhaustive report last year that determined that the percentage of wind power our system can accept is roughly 20% (as published in the Cape Cod Times).  Currently we get less than .03% of our power from the wind, Cape Wind would bring that number up to around 2-3%.  Again, we have a ‘disconnect' from the truth.

RFKJr "There is no legal framework for permitting a wind farm" 

CF: Well Bob, it has all of the permits needed, it is only waiting for final approval from Minerals Management Services.  Even though Denmark figured out how to permit offshore wind farms years ago with no lasting environmental impact, America felt obligated to reinvent the simple process over the last 8 years and released it last April.

 The President announced on April 22, 2009 that the Department of the Interior completed The Final Renewable Energy Framework to grant leases, easements, and rights-of-way for orderly, safe, and environmentally responsible renewable energy development activities, such as the siting and construction of offshore wind farms.

For the complete regulations go to: http://www.mms.gov/offshore/RenewableEnergy/PDF/FinalRenewableEnergyRule.pdf

 RFKJr claimed "They are giving away coastline ‘Willy Nilly'".

CF: Wind farm opponents have a basic premise; that if you see wind turbine offshore, get to an emergency room ASAP.  They are dangerous and could cause ‘wind turbine appreciation' if stared at for more than a few seconds.

Has every home in view of a light house been ‘given away' to ruthless boat safety?  Has every beach in view of a sail boat mast been ‘given away' to sailing fanatics?  If they can convince everyone that domestic, clean energy is ‘ugly', they could still stop this project.  Enough accurate information about how a wind farm looks, sounds, and the environmental impacts have reached the mainstream lately that public sentiment has gone from 30% approval in 2002 to 71% in 2008 just on Cape Cod.

RFKJr "We should be building wind farms 20-30-40 miles offshore in 125' ft of water" 

CF: Anyone can propose such a project.  I suspect since they're still refining economically feasible deepwater technology, not a lot of corporations are knocking each other over YET to get their applications in.  Every mile from shore dramatically runs up the cost of project materials, time, permitting, and logistics not to mention the beating it would take from the much, much larger waves out in the deep.  A company builds this kind of project to make money.  Deep water will cost more than Cape Wind.  This point is irrefutable. 

There are several shallow water wind farms around the world; many more are on the way.  There are NO deepwater wind farms.  There are a few 1 or 2 turbine, deep water experiments going on, not revenue producing wind farms.

RFKJr "Ferry boats will have to steer around the wind farm."

The proposed location of the wind farm is 300 feet outside the shipping lanes.  (This is law)  If the ferry boat is way off course and in danger of stranding in the shallows of Horse Shoe Shoals, then it is possible it will have to steer around the wind farm.  Lucky for the ferry boat it will have a much better landmark of a monopole to warn it where the shallows are.

RFKJr "Airlines don't want it"

Cape Air flies over the sound more than any other airline.  Dan Wolf, president of Cape Air was initially against the project.  He went over to Denmark personally to see it and gauge reaction.  Upon his return he made comments that if the project passes environmental muster, he would strongly support the project.  This is consistent with almost everyone that has seen the Denmark offshore wind farm up close and personal.

RFKJr "Virtually everyone on Cape Cod is against the Wind farm"

On this point the Host, Mindy Todd brought up the fact that a majority of people on Cape Cod were FOR it. 

Then RFKJr said "Virtually every BUSINESS on Cape Cod is against the Wind farm" 

I don't have the time to personally ask every business owner on Cape Cod if they are for a Windfarm, but if you look at the number of tourists attracted by offshore wind farms around the world, I'm betting business will love it once it is here.

I stand behind my statements and would willingly debate RFKJr. anytime, anyplace about the facts surrounding the wind farm ‘controversy'.  I understand that Jim Gordon is treated with great disdain because he dared to propose a clean energy project in the Kennedy's private yachting waters.

If you notice on NPR, they always preface any wind farm stories by saying "the controversial wind farm project proposed for Nantucket Sound."  I wonder where the controversy is?  It has all of its permits legally earned after 8 years of grueling attempts by the Mega rich of Osterville to delay and derail it.  Alarming bird kill numbers have been dismissed by Mass Audubon.  It has received praise from the Conservation Law Foundation, Sierra Club, as well as several other responsible environmental groups.  The ‘controversy' always seems to come from stories that once delved into, yield little to no connection with reality.  NPR has had many discussion forums on the topic allowing representatives on each side of the debate to voice what they believe.  The sides are so far apart, they can't both be true.

Hmmm.  Strange that such a ‘controversial' project hasn't been investigated to see whose version of the facts is closer to the truth.  I suspect that some sizeable donations would be withheld if the real story were more generally reported.

When you assess Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s statements an alarming picture emerges; one of America's foremost environmental crusaders sings a different song when a visible project is in his back yard.  Real life examples of what ‘is' and scientific data suggests that he is poorly informed or just plain lying to get ‘his' way. 

I am sure Bobby would agree that America is way behind where we should be in producing clean energy.  It is such a shame he has misused his clout and name to sabotage the largest clean energy project so far in the world.

To end, I wish Bobby Jr. all the luck in the world developing clean energy, please be honest with us when it is developed in your family's backyard.

Carl B. Freeman
Renewable Energy Installer & Consultant
Orleans