At a press conference held on the docks of Hyannis in the US state of Massachusetts, Jim Gordon, president of private developer Cape Wind Associates, announced the naming of Hy-Line Cruises as the official “Cape Wind Eco Tour and Visitor Centre” operator.
The cruise company, a local entity that ordinarily ferries tourists to the summer havens of Nantucket Island and Martha’s Vineyard off the Massachusetts coast, is currently in the process of developing a special “green” vessel to take tourists out to the wind farm for a narrated tour of the site (and eventually, the wind farm itself).
Meanwhile, a new visitor centre will educate visitors of all ages about the history of the Cape Wind project and energy use on Cape Cod, the US and around the world, company officials said.
Specific emphasis will be placed on the history of energy use on Cape Cod and the Islands ranging from historic windmills to whale oil, to fossil fuels and the new transition to a clean energy economy led by citizens of Cape Cod and Massachusetts.
"Hy-Line is confident that the Cape Wind Eco Tour and Visitor Centre at Hy-Line Cruises will promote the continued growth of our company and stimulate economic development and job growth and creation in Hyannis, Cape Cod, the Islands, and the Massachusetts tourist-based economy,” said David Scudder, Vice President of Operations at Hy-Line Cruises.
“The creation of this world class tourist attraction will provide yet another great reason for people all over Massachusetts, New England, the United States and the World to visit Cape Cod and the Islands,” Scudder said. "It will stand as a testament to the spirit, ingenuity and progressiveness of Cape Cod and how our community harnessed the wind to protect and preserve our environment."
Officials at the press conference pointed to Palm Springs, California, where a 30-year-old, inland wind farm has been the area's second most popular attraction for decades, as the kind of opportunity to they’re trying to seize on the US east coast.
"The Cape Wind Eco Tour and Visitor's Centre at Hy-Line Cruises represents more than creating a world class tourism attraction and drawing visitors from around our region, nation and globe,” said Cape Wind’s Gordon.
“It will stand as a testament to the spirit, ingenuity and progressiveness of Cape Cod and Massachusetts and how our community harnessed the wind to protect and preserve our environment, to revitalize our economy and to create a healthier more secure future,” Gordon said.
In October 2010, US Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced that the federal government had signed a 28-year lease with Cape Wind for an annual fee of $88,278 before construction, and a 2 to 7 percent variable operating fee during production, based on revenue from selling the energy.
A month later, the developers signed a 15 year power purchase agreement between with the national grid, which will take 50 percent of the wind farms electricity. The project still awaits permits from the US Army Corps of Engineers and the US Environmental Protection Agency.
In the meantime, Hy-Line Cruises is working closely with the Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority and others to tie into the inter-modal transportation system to service its site.
As part of its outreach efforts, Cape Wind partnered with E/The Environmental Magazine to sponsor The Energy for Life Art Contest. To participate, students and young adults were asked to submit art that illustrated their vision of the future as a result of wind power. Students were also asked to write a short essay describing their vision and their art.
The first place winner was “Tracey,” a Massachusetts 11th-grader, whose work illustrates this article. There were also nine honourable mentions. All of the winning artwork is displayed here.
In her essay Tracey said “I have tried to display the appeal of the Cape -- a healthy prosperous environment -- with the help of wind powered energy. Without power plants assistance depleting the ozone layer and harmful pollution these wind farms would not only help our people, but our land as well.
“The small wind farms in the back of the painting shows that even though we would be able to see the tiny farms, we should be less concerned with the appearance in the distance and more concerned with the welfare of our people and habitat,” Tracey continued. “This painting is a good depiction of the positive effects of wind powered energy and shows how little we would be giving up for a cleaner, healthier Cape Cod that tourists and residents alike can enjoy.”
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