The Cape Wind project has received a major boost, as Massachusetts regulators signed off on a comprehensive permit rolling together nine state and local permits related to electric cables connecting the offshore wind farm.

The Massachusetts Energy Facilities Siting Board approved the Certificate of Environmental Impact on Thursday.

In January, the nation’s first proposed offshore wind farm passed muster with the Minerals Management Service, the lead federal agency reviewing the project.

U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar must still sign off on a final federal permit before the 130-turbine project can move forward.

Activists continue to fight the project which they say poses a risk to birds and would mar Nantucket Sound. (AP)