BOSTON � A federal agency said Friday that the nation�s first offshore wind farm, proposed for the waters off Cape Cod, posed no serious environmental threat, bringing it a major step closer to fruition.

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Ron Schloerb/Cape Cod Times, via Associated Press

Homeowners and boaters have fought Cape Wind since it was first proposed in 2001.

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Bizuayehu Tesfaye/Associated Press

Supporters say it could meet 75 percent of the region�s energy needs.

The New York Times

The farm�s 130 turbines would be five miles off Cape Cod.

Homeowners and boaters on the cape, including Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Democrat of Massachusetts, have fought the project for eight years, saying it would hurt wildlife, fishing and tourism and spoil the beauty of Nantucket Sound.

Opponents have sued to stop the project, known as Cape Wind, and more challenges are certain, keeping the path to construction bumpy despite what supporters on Friday called a crucial victory.

The Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound, a group formed to fight the project, suggested that the Bush administration had unscrupulously rushed to approve it before President-elect Barack Obama takes office next week.

�They wanted some kind of a legacy,� said Audra Parker, the group�s executive director. �Cape Wind is far from a done deal, despite this favorable report.�

The federal agency that released the final environmental impact statement on Friday, the Minerals Management Service, is a division of the Department of Interior.