Developer abandons plans for long-stalled Cape Cod wind farm

A Massachusetts company is abandoning its long-stalled plans for a wind farm off Cape Cod.

Cape Wind Associates notified the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management this week that it has ceased operations and was surrendering its federal lease for 46 square miles (119 square kilometers) in Nantucket Sound. Company vice president Dennis Duffy disclosed the official notice Friday.

Cape Wind proposed the nation's first offshore wind farm with a 130-turbine project 16 years ago, but it was dealt major setbacks including the termination of critical agreements with utility companies in 2015.

Audra Parker, head of the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound that opposed the project, told the Cape Cod Times the announcement was "fantastic news." Earlier this week, the alliance and others appealed a federal decision reaffirming Cape Wind's lease through 2041.