A federal advisory panel urged the U.S. Interior Department on Friday to block a $1 billion wind project off Cape Cod opposed by local business leaders and politicians but seen as helpful to the Obama administration’s energy strategy.

Cape Wind Associates LLC has proposed building 130 wind towers that would soar 440 feet above the surface of Nantucket Sound near the popular Massachusetts tourist areas of Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket Island.