The U.S. Supreme Court declined a request from Massachusetts residents to review a lower court’s rejection of their challenge to federal approval of offshore wind turbines that generate electricity.
The decision to deny the petition in Nantucket Residents Against Turbines v. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management came in an unsigned order on Jan. 13. No justices dissented. The court did not explain its decision.
The residents argued that a wind farm in the Cape Cod community was placing an endangered species of whale, the North Atlantic right whale, at risk and that federal agencies failed to follow the law when assessing the environmental impact of the project. They also said the turbines were damaging the local environment….