Secretary Salazar frequently claims that he supports of all-of-the-above energy development and has even stated that promotion of renewable energy on public lands is one of his top priorities.

Yet just yesterday, his National Park Service sided with the anti-energy crowd and struck a blow to the Cape Wind project, the first planned offshore wind farm in the US, by declaring that the Nantucket Sound is eligible for listing in the National Registrar as a historic place.

Despite this setback, Secretary Salazar still has the ability to save the project if he so chooses. As the New York Times reported today:

“The decision by the National Park Service did not kill the Cape Wind plan, but it erected new hurdles by requiring more negotiations and, possibly, changes to the project, like moving it. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar set a deadline of March 1 for the tribes and the project’s developer, Energy Management Inc., to reach a compromise.

If they do not — a distinct possibility given the acrimony surrounding the project — Mr. Salazar can decide the project’s future himself after seeking suggestions from the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, an independent group.”

President Obama has never publically expressed support for the project and many Democrats oppose it.

On March 1^st we’ll see if Secretary Salazar truly does support all-of-the-above energy development by issuing permits for Cape Wind, or if he will kill what would be our nation’s first offshore wind farm.