The benefits of offshore wind farms for renewable energy and the possible creation of artificial habitat for a variety of marine life, using the Cape Wind Project in Nantucket Sound as a case study.

Global warming is a pressing environmental issue in the world today. There are currently several forms of renewable energy available, as well as great advances in technology that allow us to harness this energy efficiently. One form of this renewable energy is wind energy, which can be harnessed using large wind turbines. When many of these turbines are placed in a grid-like pattern they form a wind farm, which can be very successful at producing power. The Cape Wind Project is a proposed wind farm to be located offshore in Horseshoe Shoal off the coast of Cape Cod. Placing the wind turbines offshore allows for greater energy potential because the wind offshore moves at higher speeds and is not obstructed by buildings or landforms. Moving these wind farms offshore has created much controversy over whether or not the turbines will affect marine life. After analyzing the turbine foundations and how they will be placed, as well as examining the results of artificial reefs all around the world, I determined that these turbines may actually have a positive effect on the marine life. They would act as an artificial reef, attracting both benthic and pelagic species of marine life. Evidence from the Army Corps of Engineers’ Draft Environmental Impact Statement shows that the turbines will have no negative impacts on marine life. This wind farm would serve to provide cleaner, and cheaper, energy to Cape Cod and the Islands while having no negative impacts on marine life.