Shoring up New Bedford’s offshore wind dream [View all]

[jpak]

http://www.bostonglobe.com/editorials/2013/05/16/shoring-new-bedford-offshore-wind-dream/03eZFIHf4OsVldLrDdvE4O/story.html

THE COMPONENTS of offshore wind turbines are so massive that they are best welded, molded, and loaded as close to their wind farms as possible. With the federal government having designated 1,200 square miles of ocean for wind farms more than a dozen miles south of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket, it would seem that the $100 million the Patrick administration is sinking into the nation’s first port terminal geared for the offshore wind industry is a well-placed bet. Like all forms of government economic investment, it’s a risk — but one that seems grounded in a realistic assessment of the potential growth of offshore wind power, and Massachusetts’ ability to play a leadership role in developing new technologies.

In a groundbreaking ceremony last week, New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell predicted the project in his city would be transformative for “a corner of the state that has had its hopes dashed so many times.”

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