by Brianna Crandall — October 15, 2010—The U.S. Department of Interior (DOI) and Cape Wind Associates signed the nation’s first lease for commercial wind energy development on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) on October 6. The leased area covers 25 square miles on Horseshoe Shoals in Nantucket Sound, off the coast of Massachusetts.
Cape Wind is planning to build 130 wind turbines in the leased area to generate up to 468 megawatts (MW) of wind power, with an average anticipated output of 182 MW. The 28-year lease will cost the company $88,278 in annual rent prior to production, and a 2-7 percent operating fee during production.
The Cape Wind energy project would be the first wind farm on the OCS, and could generate enough power to meet 75 percent of the electricity demand for Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, and Nantucket Island combined.
