In 2001, when Jim Gordon proposed building 130 wind turbines in the waters of Nantucket Sound between the shores of Cape Cod, Martha%u2019s Vineyard and Nantucket, he had no idea he was challenging a century-old status quo protected by some of the most powerful people in the world.
Cape Wind tells the incredible tale of how America%u2019s first proposed offshore wind farm triggered a schism in this idyllic coastal community, pitting neighbor against neighbor and environmentalist against environmentalist in a fight that took on national significance over the past nine years. The Project is a 468 megawatt power plant expected to cost over $1.5 billion and provide the Cape and Islands with 75% of its electricity. The sheer size of it set off a maelstrom of protest, morphing the permitting process into a battle royale of public relations and political maneuvering dominated by the region%u2019s deeply entrenched families: the Kennedys, DuPonts, Mellons, Roosevelts and Kochs.
So far $70 million has been spent on studies, lawyers, lobbyists and PR campaigns, and the fight has been everywhere from the Yarmouth Middle School and the Hyannis Yacht Club to the halls of Congress. With unfettered access to all sides, the story is told in cinema verite style from the perspective of the key players in the trenches: Jim Gordon, President of Cape Wind Associates; Barbara Hill, Executive Director of Clean Power Now; Audra Parker, President of the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound; and Cliff Carroll, the founder of Windstop.org. The combatants are fully consumed by their struggle, and the film%u2019s fly-on-the-wall approach humanizes their efforts and reveals their deeply rooted motives.
