lead the nation . This day has been a long time coming . '' The location of the wind farm has stirred heated emotions over the years . Cape Wind became one of the most heavily vetted energy projects in the world . Seventeen state and federal agencies weighed in , reviewing everything from its impact on shipping , aviation and fisheries . Salazar visited the Cape earlier this year . At the time , he pledged to cut through the nine years of regulatory red tape and make a final decision by the end of April . At Wednesday 's news conference , the interior secretary said the process took far too long and future offshore projects would follow a `` more rational and orderly '' process . There is no reason , he said , `` why an offshore wind permit should take a decade to review and approve . '' The most notable opponent of Cape Wind was the late Sen. Ted Kennedy , a champion of green energy who , to the dismay of environmentalists , fought against the wind farm . The Kennedy compound will have a view of the wind turbines . See how
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Interior Secretary Ken Salazar on Wednesday approved the nation 's first offshore wind farm , signing off on a project that has bitterly divided Cape Cod over the last nine years . The 130 turbines are to be located several miles from the Massachusetts shore in the iconic waters of Nantucket Sound . The interior secretary said Cape Wind , as the project is known , is the start of a `` new energy frontier . '' `` The United States is leading a clean energy revolution that is reshaping our future , '' Salazar told reporters in Boston . `` Cape Wind is an opening of a new chapter in that future , and we are all part of that history . '' `` Cape Wind will be the nation 's first offshore wind farm , supplying clean power to homes and businesses in Massachusetts , plus creating good jobs here in America , '' he said . `` This will be the first of many projects up and down the Atlantic coast . '' `` Thank you for this decision , '' said Gov. Deval Patrick . `` With this project , Massachusetts will