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SJC Confirms Cape Wind-National Grid Power Deal

The state's highest court has upheld a deal in which the electric utility National Grid agreed to buy power from the planned Cape Wind offshore wind farm.

The Supreme Judicial Court's decision released Wednesday confirms the deal already approved by the state's Department of Public Utilities.

The year-old deal was challenged by the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound and other opponents of the wind farm planned for waters off Cape Cod. They argued, in part, that the deal unconstitutionally restricts interstate commerce because National Grid didn't consider less expensive, out-of-state power sources.

Cape Wind officials argued the focus on price is too narrow and ignores project advantages, including job creation and environmental benefits.

The court ruled the state's review of the deal was "thorough" and its decision was justified.

Cape Wind's president, Jim Gordon, says he's confident the project will be able to move forward.

"Although this has been quite a challenging project, we fully expect to sell the balance of the power as well as successfully finance and build this important energy project," he said.

But, Audra Parker, of the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound, says she doesn't think the project will ever be built.

"There's still a number of lawsuits that are live in federal court, so at this point, Cape Wind is facing insurmountable legal and financial challenges," she said.

Gordon says the company will be able to meet those challenges.

This article was originally published on December 28, 2011.

This program aired on December 28, 2011. The audio for this program is not available.

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