Ballot Question 7: Shall the State Representative from this district be instructed to vote in favor of legislation that would support the development of SouthCoast Wind and Commonwealth Wind and other possible future offshore and onshore wind power developments in Massachusetts?
This nonbinding initiative, which was reportedly the work of an individual wind advocate, was a surprise addition to the ballot for residents of the 4th Barnstable District of the Massachusetts House. That district includes the Outer Cape towns of Chatham, Eastham, Harwich, Orleans, Provincetown, Truro, and Wellfleet (see map above).
While nonbinding, the ballot initiative was intended to demonstrate support among Outer Cape residents for offshore wind development. However, perhaps unexpectedly, the initiative failed with 52.4% voting against (graphic below). It’s noteworthy that 82% of South Shore (Massachusetts) voters supported offshore wind development when a similar initiative was on the ballot in 2008. That’s a massive decline in support albeit in a different coastal area of the state.
The opinion of Outer Cape residents is important because their towns are the closest to 3 of the 4 leases (0564, 0567, and 0568 in the graphic below) receiving bids at the Gulf of Maine sale. Those leases are directly offshore from the Cape Cod National Seashore.
Interest in the Gulf of Maine sale was weak. All bids were for the minimum allowable amount of only $50/acre.
Bud's Offshore Energy (BOE) 