Cape & Islands News

Clean Power Now blasts Cape Wind opponents for delay tactics

Grassroots group accuses opponents of taking money from Coal & Oil interests

Clean Power Now (CPN), the rapidly growing local grassroots group with 14,000 members  based on Cape Cod, today blasted the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound (APNS) which is the lead the group opposing Cape Wind, America's first offshore wind farm.

CPN says the Alliance is guilty of' "gross attempts to deny this region the benefits of clean energy and for taking dirty coal money as a big part of its funding for lawyers scheming to delay the final review of the renewable energy project."

Alliance sas 5,000 weeks study needs 3 while Gulf oil rigs studied 1 week

"We plan to highlight the coal & petroleum coke connections to the opponent group."
                         - Barbara Hill.

Clean Power Now reacted to reports yesterday revealing that the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound has requested a three week delay in the start of proceedings before the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities concerning the power purchase agreement between National Grid and Cape Wind. The agreement is one of the final steps before Cape Wind can start construction of 130 wind turbines and begin producing clean energy for the region.

"The Alliance, for the past nine years, has taken millions of dollars in funding for its lawyers and its smear campaign from people who have made their fortunes in the coal, oil and petroleum coke industries," said Barbara Hill, executive director of Clean Power Now. "We plan to highlight the coal and petroleum coke connections to the opponent group. So, here we have the fossil fuel industry trying to stop a wind farm, people should be outraged," she added.

MS Hill continued, "Cape Wind has undergone the most thorough, exhaustive review of any energy project in the region and now the opponent group wants more time for delay, delay and delay. We say: no way and people should know what's going on here" adding that the delays may end up costing citizens if federal clean energy incentive deadlines are not met.

Things don't go better with Coke Koch

In an October 2005 story in the Cape Cod Times story Koch is quoted as asying, "I freely admit I don't want to look at (the turbines)," adding that the environmental and cost benefits of wind energy are overblown. Those perceived benefits, Koch said, can be "seductive." He compared it to walking into a strip bar, and falling under the gaze of an exotic dancer. "It's so seductive, but if you go over there you can get in a lot of trouble, and get a lot of diseases."

William Koch, CEO of the Oxbow Group and long-time leader and heavy financer of the Alliance has been in the fossil fuel business for many years and is on the record as a significant donor to the Alliance in its attempt to deny the benefits of Cape Wind.

Koch, member of the Board of Directors of the Alliance is the largest known donor to the opposition group, having donated in the millions of dollars to date, according to publicly available media reports.

Mr. Koch is the CEO and owner of Oxbow, his privately held energy company accoding to a press release from the CPN.

Two prominent divisions of Oxbow Energy are in coal mining and petroleum coke. Oxbow Energy also sells coal combustion waste.

In addition to making large donations to the opposition group, Koch has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on anti-Cape Wind lobbying, according to public media reports.

Clean Power Now started on Cape Cod in 2003 and has grown to over 14,000 members strong. According to public documents and media reports, the Alliance to Protect, some say Protract, Nantucket Sound is largely funded by waterfront home owners and people with interests in the fossil fuel indistry.