Massachusetts high court rejects challenge to Cape Wind offshore wind farm permit

Mass. court rejects challenge to Cape Wind permit

BOSTON — Massachusetts’ highest court has rejected claims by opponents of a wind farm off Cape Cod that the project sidestepped proper permitting.

The Supreme Judicial Court on Tuesday backed a 2009 decision by the state Energy Facilities Siting Board to grant the Cape Wind project permission to build power transmission lines through state waters.

A different finding could have threatened the entire project, which would be the nation’s first offshore wind farm.

Cape Wind applied to the state board after a local board, the Cape Cod Commission, rejected its request.

Project opponents had argued the state board exceeded its authority. They also argued the board should have considered the entire project’s impact on Massachusetts.

The court says that would have wrongly given the board power to reject the whole project.