The big question to be answered, in my view, is this... If wind technology has developed into a viable, cost effective energy production method, then we must study and determine where best to place wind farms so that they don't negatively impact the very environment that they may serve to protect. Perhaps the shoals offshore of a tourist driven community like Cape Cod is not the answer. Or perhaps, it would even bolster the Cape’s tourist trade. Cape Cod could boast that it has the world's largest wind farm off its coast and establish tours of the farm for visitors. However, if the plant endangers the coastline or ecosystem of the sound more than current technologies, than it's location must be reconsidered.

   Perhaps the best way to solve the Cape Cod issue is to study the world's existing wind farms to see how they have or threaten to adversely affect their environments. GE's 3.6 megawatt offshore turbines are going into use at The Arklow Bank Wind Plant in Ireland, so groups debating the Cape Wind project should closely monitor this situation.

   The 25-megawatt Arklow project (pictured right) was first introduced as phase one of a much larger development which Airtricity proposes to build over the coming years.

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