Myth: Cape Wind is an environmentally benign project and would not harm local fisheries.
Fact: Cape Wind threatens the marine environment and would harm the productive, traditional fisheries of Nantucket Sound.
From the bottom up, the construction and operation of Cape Wind's 25 square mile industrial plant threatens benthic, marine, and avian species. In addition to the lengthy and destructive construction process that would include dredging, jet plowing, and pile driving, the plant's 10 story Electrical Service Platform would hold 40,000 gallons of hazardous oil in the middle of the 130 turbine array.Cape Wind's proposed site, Horseshoe Shoal, is a traditional and lucrative fishing ground where many hardworking local fishermen earn up to 50%-60% of their annual income. The Massachusetts Fishermen's Partnership, which represents 18 commercial fishing organizations, says that navigation of mobile fishing gear between the 130 towers would be hazardous or impossible and, in short, Cape Wind would displace commercial fishing from Nantucket Sound.
The electrical service platform (ESP) below would soar 10 stories high, cover 1/2 an acre, and contain 40,000 gallons of undisclosed oil that, in the event of a rupture, would reach Cape and Islands beaches within 5 hours.
