July 1, 2009 Bay State to unveil draft plan for wind farms Play video

(NECN: Peter Howe, Boston, Mass.) - Wind power could soon take the state of Massachusetts by storm. Environmental officials are planning to release new rules for setting up wind farms in state waters.

The plan gives six coastal regional planning authorities in Massachusetts the option to build up to 10 wind turbines each at least one-third of a mile from shore.

It also gives refusal rights to the community in whose waters a wind farm is proposed, but not neighboring communities.

The plan requires developers to prove that their projects will not affect fragile environmental systems, including fish nurseries and endangered whale feeding zones.

Gov. Deval Patrick has set a goal of generating 2,000 megawatts of wind power in Massachusetts by the year 2020 - an effort that may require the installation of as many as 3,000 wind turbines.

*Material from The Associated Press used in this report*