Trending
It has not been so long ago that liberal politicians were screeching about the dangers of extraction industries and the benefits of renewable energy sources, while at the same time refusing to allow a major wind farm off the coast of their Massachusetts estates because they were worried it would ruin the view. When Cape Wind failed, it was because the same people who were trying to kill the coal industry were also unwilling to put in place a renewable energy project in their backyard.
Now, President Joe Biden is taking another look at offshore wind energy off the coast of Massachusetts with Vineyard Wind. It would be the first utility-scale wind power development in federal waters. But its developers must also worry about the safety of birds, sea life and those operating boats in the area. There are dangers to the environment and human health with offshore wind farms, too. Regulators must apply the same safety and environmental standards to this project as they would to a new extraction industry project. If they can find the right balance, more power to them.