The federal government has approved the nation’s first offshore wind farm near Cape Cod, Massachusetts. On Wednesday, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said the Cape Wind project would mark a major step toward a green energy economy.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar: “Cape Wind will be the United States’ first offshore wind farm, supplying clean power to homes and businesses in Massachusetts while creating good jobs here in America. This will be the first of many projects up and down the Atlantic Coast, which I expect will come online in the years ahead as we build a new energy future for our country.”

The decision had been delayed for nearly a year amidst opposition from two Native tribes over the project’s impact. In a statement, Kert Davies of the environmental group Greenpeace USA praised the announcement, saying, “There could be no clearer direction for America’s energy future and global warming leadership…President Obama [should] think twice about…[opening] the door to more risky offshore drilling and prioritize renewable energy projects like Cape Wind instead.”