Cape Spin: An American Power Struggle

Nantucket Sound is the vacation playground for America's richest families who have summer homes on the surrounding islands of Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket, and Cape Cod. Long a tourist destination, The Sound is now home to an approved plan to place 130 wind turbines as tall as 440 feet about ten miles from shore. CAPE SPIN is an inside look into the ensuing public outcry from local residents who don't want to see their million-dollar-views ruined, and the ambitious support from environmental groups eager to see The Sound serve as home to the country's first offshore wind farm. Getting an in-depth look into the political tug-of-war that has continued since the original 2001 proposal for Cape Wind's green energy project, it becomes clear that regardless of the motivations on both sides of the issue, this is going to be a well-financed fight to the finish. On the one side, Cape Wind serves as a marker for the U.S.'s attempts to be the planet's leader in renewable energy; on the other side, some of the most influential political and entrepreneurial players in our country are fighting for the right to unobstructed horizons. Even the environment-loving Kennedy family is pitted against the Cape Wind project. CAPE SPIN provides further proof that in the fight for a greener planet, there's nothing greener than cash. –T.W.