Wind Farm Firm Says Lobbyists Got to Lawmaker

By Stephanie Ebbert, The Boston Globe

Feb. 23–The for-profit developers of an offshore wind farm are saying that a powerful Alaskan congressman has bent to the will of special interests, well-heeled people of Massachusetts who oppose their project.

The leaders of Cape Wind Associates are crying foul over a measure that could effectively kill its plans for a wind farm on Nantucket Sound. The 130-turbine project has generated fierce opposition from a group called the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound, which spent more than $800,000 over 3 1/2 years on federal lobbying against the project.

Cape Wind proponents complained that US Representative Don Young, Republican of Alaska, is pushing into a conference committee bill an amendment to restrict wind farms that has not been considered separately by either the House or Senate. With the other House members of the conference committee pulling for it, some said, the amendment could be part of a Coast Guard authorization bill that could be sent to both chambers as early as next week.

“At a time Congress is talking so much about the need to reform, to make their processes more transparent, and reduce the influence of special interests and lobbyists… to stick it in at the last minute in the conference committee, at the behest of some wealthy and influential trophy homeowners, would just be tragic, not only for Cape Wind, but also for the country,” said Cape Wind spokesman Mark Rodgers.

Several months ago, Young, who chairs the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, introduced the amendment that would prohibit wind turbines within 1.5-miles of shipping channels or ferry routes, a distance that would block Cape Wind from building on Horseshoe Shoal in Nantucket Sound. The amendment also calls for the Coast Guard to develop regulations to ensure that offshore wind energy does not pose a threat to navigation or safety.

Last week, Young wrote a five-page letter to other congressmen, urging them to back his amendment and detailing his concerns about Cape Wind’s potential impacts on navigation. In his letter, a copy of which was obtained by the Globe, he cites the project’s potential to interfere with ferry service and the opposition of the Steamship Authority and tourism officials concerned about safety.

“No one debates that America must encourage the development of alternative energy sources like offshore wind,” Young wrote. “But we need to set standards for such facilities before we move forward.”

A spokesman for Young’s committee did not return phone calls for comment, and his staff would not comment on his behalf.

Rodgers and other project allies questioned Young’s interest in the issue, noting his ties to Guy Martin, a Washington, D.C., lobbyist hired by the Alliance. In a brief interview yesterday, Martin said that he has known and worked with Young for years and that he is lobbying for the Alliance. But he said he had no involvement with the amendment.

“I simply have not worked the issue with Don Young,” Martin said. Asked about Young’s interest in the faraway issue, he said, “I think he’s really concerned about marine safety and navigation. I have had absolutely zero to do with it.”

Since 2002, federal lobbying records show, the Alliance has paid Martin’s firm about $440,000, including $100,000 within the first six months of 2005. The Alliance reported spending a total of about $830,000 on lobbying between 2002 and last summer, those records show.

But an Alliance spokesman charged that the Cape Wind officials have done the same and have interest groups, such as the American Wind Energy Association, lobbying for issues that also benefit Cape Wind. Cape Wind spent about $300,000 on lobbying since 2002, the records show.

“Cape Wind’s lobbying number does not reveal the true extent of the collaborative effort on their behalf,” said Alliance spokesman Ernie Corrigan.

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