In what will be a blow to its many supporters, and a reprieve for its opponents, the proposed windfarm for Nantucket Sound, Massachusetts (which would become the largest offshore windfarm in the world) has hit yet another speed bump.

The Minerals Management Service, which had been scheduled to deliver a draft environmental report that would signal its intentions for the project this month, said the report is "taking longer than expected" and will not be ready before late summer.

The delay means that a final decision on the project will be postponed at least until summer 2008.

Cape Wind Associates complain that their project is being scrutinised and agonised over far more than other energy projects would - like coal or nuclear.

The delay, on one level, was seen merely as a sign of the complex issues confronting regulators as they consider the nation's first proposal for an offshore wind farm; the agency has also postponed the release of a draft of new regulations for all offshore energy projects. But some proponents worried that it might mean the project is running into trouble.

... Cape Wind's plan to build 130 wind turbines in a 25-mile area of Nantucket Sound has whipped up controversy among residents of the Cape, Martha's Vineyard, and Nantucket, who fear that the project would industrialize the sound and threaten tourism. US Senator Edward M. Kennedy, former governor Mitt Romney, and former attorney general Thomas F. Reilly are among the powerful politicians fighting the project, and congressional efforts have nearly killed Cape Wind's chances several times.

Opponents said yesterday that the delay is appropriate: "It's the largest offshore development in the world, and it's not only complicated, but it is riddled with conflicts and problems, so this process should take time," said Ernie Corrigan, a spokesman for the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound that was formed to fight the project.

Nicolette Nye, a spokeswoman for the Minerals Management Service said in a statement that the delay is due to the fact that the agency is in uncharted territory.

"Offshore alternative energy is a new frontier for the nation," Nye said. "Thus the agency is proceeding with the review of the Cape Wind Energy Project in an appropriately deliberate and diligent manner."

Proponents and advocates for clean energy say the proposal should be embraced because it would produce about 79 percent of the daily power needs of the Cape and Islands, pollution-free. - Boston.com

This comes just a couple of weeks after having received approval from Massachusetts environmental regulators.

The announcement comes less than two weeks after Massachusetts Secretary of Environmental Affairs Ian Bowles certified the state's environmental review of the Cape Wind project as valid. The review examined the possible environmental impact of the undersea power cables that would run from the coast to the wind farm in the Nantucket Sound. It found that Cape Wind would offset 802 tons of sulfur dioxide, 497 tons of nitrous oxide and 733,876 tons of carbon dioxide per year.

Combined with a $10 million mitigation package that will go toward restoring marine and bird habitat disrupted by the 130 turbines and supplemental infrastructure, the review concluded that Cape Wind "provides significant environmental benefits" that outweigh any damage it may cause to wildlife habitat. - Greenwire (subscription required)