Hamptons Opponents Hound Offshore Wind-Power Project

Residents of the exclusive New York hamlet of Wainscott are waging legal battles that could further complicate a project to power 70,000 homes 

By Amrith Ramkumar and Jennifer Hiller of The Wall Street Journal. He is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute. Excerpts: 

"South Fork Wind will power 70,000 homes around East Hampton, N.Y., when it starts generating electricity next year. Construction began recently after a six-year approval process from federal, state and local governments."

"More than 200 wind and solar projects face local opposition"

"That is up from roughly 165 in September."

"Opponents say they support the project and clean power but feel the cable’s installation will disrupt residential life and contaminate the area. Other routes would be less intrusive, they argue."

"The Mahoneys have filed a lawsuit against federal agencies alleging they didn’t adequately assess environmental and pollution risks, including groundwater contamination."

"Locals in eastern Washington state have fought wind and solar farms that would cover hundreds of acres and deliver power largely to urban areas such as Seattle. The projects mar vistas and hurt tourism and wildlife in the state’s shrub-steppe habitat and wine country, said state Republican Rep. Mark Klicker. 

The height and blinking lights of wind projects can ruin the landscape, he said. “They dwarf the Seattle Space Needle,” he said."