Cape Wind Transmission Approved

AP via South Coast Today:

BOSTON — The state's highest court yesterday upheld a decision permitting construction of transmission lines to bring electricity from the Cape Wind project to shore.

The [Massachusetts] Supreme Judicial Court affirmed a May 2005 decision by the state Energy Facilities Siting Board that was challenged by a group opposing the Cape Wind project.

The high court said the board adopted "an eminently reasonable and practical approach to the uncommon jurisdictional issues presented by the petition" seeking to build a pair of 18-mile-long transmission lines.

If it receives needed federal approval, Cape Wind would become the nation's first offshore wind farm — a unique status that has presented local, state and federal jurisdictional questions during five years of government reviews.