Would Cape Wind impede commercial or recreational navigation in Nantucket Sound?
Although several commercial navigation channels and ferry routes cross through Nantucket Sound, the Army Corps of Engineers concluded that Cape Wind would not impede navigation in Nantucket Sound because the park is located away from typical ship routes and the turbines would be spaced in a grid rather than scattered, so mariners who sail through the park (mainly recreation vessels with shallower drafts) would be able to navigate along straight, wide lanes between the towers. Because the towers would be marked with numbers and equipped with safety lines, the Corps found that the wind park could aid search and rescue operations in the area. Click here1 to read the Corps opinion on marine navigation impacts (Section 5.12.4.1.1, pages 5-227 to 5-233), and view Figure 5.12-1 for a map of shipping routes in the project vicinity.
