The Cape Wind project in Massachusetts is pretty amazing. Not only would it provide 75 percent of the electricity used on Cape Cod, Nantucket, and Martha's Vineyard, it would be an amazing step forward for clean energy in the U.S., paving the way for even greater clean energy projects around the country.

After six long years, the project has reached its final review phase - through the Minerals Management Service - and that agency has opened up a public comment period for the project.

We need your comment in favor of the project today. Click here to send in yours.

There has been a lot of controversy around this project, and it's been a long struggle, but we're almost at the end of it. Time and again, the overwhelming opinion is in favor of Cape Wind, but we need to get over this last hurdle to make it a reality.

And, once Cape Wind is in place, it will set a standard for renewable energy policies across the country. So please, make your voice heard, today.

Well it appears that the Cape Wind project has got some serious life again. Despite the underhanded and highly objectionable effort of the Teddies (Ted Kennedy and Ted Stevens), Senators are starting to speak up and are threatening to hold up the Coast Guard bill until the anti-Cape Wind provision is removed.

Senator Bingaman deserves much of the credit for spearheading this fight, and has succeeded in bringing Senator Pete Domenici (Chair of the Senate Energy Committee) along. The two of them sent a letter to senate leadership tonight stating that they will hold up the Coast Guard bill until the provision is removed. Download file

But can they do that to Ted Kennedy? The Senate Lion? Hear him roar.

Penn University has set the standard—purchasing around 30 percent of its electricity from wind power. Now that should be a factor in ranking colleges.

Just when you thought things couldn't get worse at the federal level...apparently Congress is posed to effectively kill the largest offshore wind project in the country. According to a story in Environment & Energy Daily (firewalled) the final Coast Guard reauthorization bill provides the Massachusetts Governor with the power to veto the project.

The final bill still needs to be passed by the House and Senate, so this could turn into a fight—but it won't be easy to stop this train now without some heros. Will any Senator step up and throw themselves on the tracks to avoid one of the worst precedents for clean energy? Where's renewable energy's Ted Stevens? (though we could do without whiny tone).

Another feel good story from the UK. Wind power is thriving in the U.S., we just haven't set any national goals—we tend to eschew those positive targets we can work toward.

On the other side of the pond though, they have pushed to get 10 percent of their electricity from renewables by 2010. And apparently the booming wind industry is set to provide half of that amount.

I should note that several states have set goals for renewable energy production.

NPR ran this great story about the real-life impacts of wind power on rural communities. While allowing the grievances about noise and visual pollution to be aired, the story's undeniable point is that wind is rescuing small towns. On the Tug Hill Plateau in New York state, Horizon Wind Energy's 120 turbine project has revived a dwindling community. Each tower generates $6,000–$10,000 in lease revenue for landowners per year. One family interviewed in the story has 8 towers on its property generating between $50,000–$80,000! And, the wind farm will generate $9 million/year in local taxes suddenly providing the town with the opportunity to build new parks and invest in other amenities. Giddy-up!

(Hat Tip to Shannon Ryan).

The EPA released the Top 25 Purchasers of Green Power. While it was no surprise to see Whole Foods on the list, there were other names I wasn't expecting, including the Air Force at the top of the list--doubling the next highest buyer.

Much has been made about Robert Kennedy Jr.'s opposition to the Cape Wind project. But with the project nearing full approval, the dust is being kicked up again. Amanda Griscom Little had a great article last week capturing the debate between RFK Jr. and pretty much the rest of the environmental community. In response to RFK Jr's vocal opposition, 150 environmentalists recently released a letter urging him to reconsider his position.

David Roberts, who blogs for Grist, posted an interesting response to the on-going discussion. While I agree, in theory, with his argument that no one issue should receive unquestioned approval, I don't think that really captures the debate.

Many environmental groups did not voice knee-jerk support for Cape Wind, but instead waited for the environmental assessment to be completed. Groups recognize that wind farms are industrial projects--with impacts. It is critical to note that these impacts are significantly smaller than conventional energy sources, but there are impacts nonetheless.

Most environmentalists will assess whether the impacts of a given project are justified. In fact, NRDC--Kennedy's employer--has itself taken this measured approach with Cape Wind.

What is so discouraging about Kennedy's opposition is that, ultimately, it really is a case of NIMBYism (Not In My Backyard). Yes, the project may create more noise, and perhaps the thumb-sized dots on the horizon are a blight of the Cape's historic views, and some people in the fishing industry may even take a little hit. But we aren't talking about shutting down the city of Boston, or sending a species into extinction, or displacing thousands of people.

This is the problem: in voicing his opposition to the Cape Wind project, Kennedy has set the bar for opposing these vital projects so low. How will he ever be able to convince another community that the rights they are fighting for (less noice, nicer vistas, etc) are any less valuable.

All environmentalists--even Kennedy--agree that stopping global warming requires an unprecedented build-up of wind farms across the country. If Kennedy has any forsight of what needs to be done, he will reverse his opposition and get behind this project. Unfortunately, his actions preface the sort of narrow self-interest that will impede the way forward.

This hasn't gotten nearly enough attention nationally, but last week California created a $3.2 billion program to build solar roofs over the next eleven years. The program will generate 3,000 MW of solar power--the equivalent of six new coal-fired power plants!

As a sad comment on the state of affairs in Washington DC, I think that California will soon be investing more in solar energy than Washington does for the entire country--but I'll have to verify that such a dismal statistic is in fact true.