A federal judge in Washington on Friday sided with Cape Wind on nearly all the legal challenges raised by opponents of the offshore wind farm, but directed two governmental agencies to correct deficiencies in their regulatory reviews dealing with right whales and migratory birds.

Reaction to the ruling was typical for a project that has long provoked extreme positions. Cape Wind hailed the series of rulings by US District Court Judge Reggie Walton as “incredibly important legal victories,” while the chief opponent of the wind farm, the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound, called Walton’s decision “a landmark win for the environment.”

Walton held that the National Marine Fisheries Service neglected to determine how many North American right whales would be affected by the project and ordered it to do so. The judge also directed the Fish and Wildlife Service to make the required “independent determination” that operational restrictions on Cape Wind’s turbines were unnecessary.

“Cape Wind expects these two compliance actions to be minor agency administrative actions that will not impact Cape Wind’s financing schedule,” the wind farm company said in a statement. Cape Wind has said it expects to complete financing for its project by the end of September this year and begin construction after that.

Audra Parker, who heads the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound, said the judge’s finding of process shortcuts by the Washington agencies could be significant. “The opposition to Cape Wind doesn’t need to win all the lawsuits, but Cape Wind does,” she said, noting the wind farm is facing deadlines to get its project up and running.

A copy of the judge’s decision can be found here.