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:: Thursday, January 8th, 2009Cape & Islands News
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Delahunt flip flops over MMR wind farm
06/13/07 · 6:17 am :: posted by CCToday
Congressman covers his tracks on renewable energy The major congressional obstacle becomes an advocate
By Margot Russell
The Congressman was so concerned, in fact, he'd disregarded several studies, including one conducted by the United States Air Force Space Command and another by the Federal Aviation AdministrationA June 6, 2007 article in the Falmouth Enterprise titled "Bill Delahunt Pushing for Energy Independence at Military Base," may have taken some Cape residents by surprise. We'd become accustomed to headlines touting the Congressman's concerns about possible radar disruption at the Massachusetts Military Reservation if the proposed wind farm were to be built in Nantucket Sound.
One man's mitigation is another man's flip-flop
That was then, this is now
The Congressman was so concerned, in fact, he'd disregarded several studies, including one conducted by the United States Air Force Space Command and another by the Federal Aviation Administration, which concluded that the proposed wind turbines for Nantucket Sound would not be tall enough to interfere with operations. The Air Force report was referred to as "overly simplified and technically flawed," by the Department of Defense, and Delahunt called on them for a more comprehensive review.
The question is, what happened to that study?
No one seems to know.
The Department of Defense was slated to release the study sometime this spring, and by all accounts, it seems to have fallen off the proverbial radar screen.
In an article in the February 14, 2007 edition of the Yarmouth Register, Craig Salters reports:
"... wind farm opponents, specifically the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound, point to a larger study now being undertaken by the Department of Defense, one which won’t be available until spring. That study, says the Alliance, will be more comprehensive and was itself prompted by issues with the Air Force’s initial analysis."
"I want it done in a way that's transparent, that once and for all sets the record straight"
- DelahuntIn March 2006, Delahunt personally hand delivered a letter to the panel chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security in which he called for a more exhaustive study on the matter. "What I'm after really is a full exposition of the potential adverse consequence to national security and homeland defense," said Delahunt. "I want it done in a way that's transparent, that once and for all sets the record straight."
- DelahuntIn March 2006, Delahunt personally hand delivered a letter to the panel chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security in which he called for a more exhaustive study on the matter. "What I'm after really is a full exposition of the potential adverse consequence to national security and homeland defense," said Delahunt. "I want it done in a way that's transparent, that once and for all sets the record straight."
Where is the comprehensive report that sets the record straight? And is Delahunt's sudden interest in the Massachusetts Military Reservation as a potential site for renewable energy an answer to that question? What does he know that we don't?
One man's mitigation is another man's flip-flop
Delahunt is now calling for a wind farm on the Massachusetts Military Reservation, although the eagerly-awaited report by the Department of Defense has yet to be releasedAccording to Delahunt spokesman Mark Forest, in a phone interview Tuesday afternoon, any concerns about the base "have been mitigated." Interesting, since last we heard, Delahunt, along with the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound, were eagerly awaiting the results of the second Department of Defense study. According to Alliance President and CEO Charles Vinick, the organization is still "looking forward to further clarification from the Department of Defense."
"The Defense Department has consistently said that wind turbines provide a level of radar interruption for missile defense," said Vinick, in an interview Tuesday. "That's what they said in their 2006 report, and we're still awaiting further reports."
The report Vinick is referring to is the 2006 report released by the Director of Defense Research and Engineering, undertaken at the request of U.S. Rep. William Delahunt. The 62-page report concluded that large, industrial wind turbines such as those proposed for Nantucket Sound can interfere with military radar systems if built in the radar's line of sight. Officials asked for more analysis on an "expedited basis."
Congressman Delahunt is now calling for a wind farm on the Massachusetts Military Reservation, although the eagerly-awaited report by the Department of Defense has yet to be released. Since the Congressman spearheaded efforts for further study, it seems reasonable that he would have waited until the results of that study were released before encouraging the idea of green energy on the base.
That was then, this is now
"It has national implications," Delahunt said in his 2006 letter to Homeland Security regarding the proposed risk of radar interruptus. "We need answers. ... Otherwise we put the country at risk and air travel at risk."
For one reason or another, Delahunt is no longer concerned.
2 comments
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bittersweet [Member] writes:
They are so transparent, it's almost laughable.
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