Vineyard Wind turbine blade damaged; fiberglass debris in water south of Nantucket

A turbine blade at the Vineyard Wind offshore wind farm sustained damage Saturday, sending pieces of fiberglass into the water, the company said.

Debris has been moving toward Nantucket from the location of the turbines, 15 miles southwest of the island and south of Martha’s Vineyard. The company said it is deploying two teams of four people to Nantucket to remove debris from this island’s south-facing beaches.

Vineyard Wind said it has recovered three “large fragments” from the water and will continue to patrol the area by air and sea.

No one was near the turbine at the time of the incident, the company said. The wind project is under construction and will eventually have 62 turbines.

Vineyard Wind said it expects any debris that washes ashore to be one square foot or less in size. It is typically green or white. The company said the pieces are not toxic, but it asked the public not to pick them up.

On Tuesday morning, the Nantucket Harbormaster announced that all beaches on the south shore of the island are closed to swimming "due to large floating debris and sharp fiberglass shards."

Debris recovery teams will walk the beaches in the morning and evening, starting today and continuing for several days. They will visit Miacomet Beach and the southeastern tip of Nantucket, including Nobadeer Beach, Madequecham Beach, Pebble Beach, Tom Nevers Beach, Low Beach, Sconset Beach and other areas where debris may wash ashore.

In an emailed statement, Paul Craney of the Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance, which has been critical of offshore wind in the past, wrote that "this wreckage should prompt an immediate investigation into the blades currently installed and all the blades in production. State and federal authorities should be demanding answers."

The turbine manufacturer, GE Vernova, is investigating. In a written statement, a spokesperson for GE Vernova called the incident an “isolated blade event.”

“On July 13, a single turbine at the Vineyard Wind offshore wind farm experienced an isolated blade event,” the spokesperson said. “No injuries occurred, and GE Vernova’s Wind Fleet Performance Management team have initiated our investigation protocols into the event in coordination with our customer.”

The federal Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement is also investigating the incident.

"BSEE is coordinating with the United States Coast Guard and state officials to ensure information sharing," a spokesperson wrote in an email. "A team of BSEE experts is onsite to work closely with Vineyard Wind on an analysis of the cause of the incident and next steps. Operations are shut down until further notice."

Vineyard Wind, which is a joint venture of two companies — Avangrid Renewables and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners — said it communicated with town officials on Nantucket to inform them of the debris and recovery efforts.

Protocols for such incidents were established during permitting, and in accordance with those plans, Vineyard Wind has established a safety perimeter and worked with the U.S. Coast Guard to notify mariners, the company said.

A safety zone of 500 meters surrounds the damaged turbine.

In a written statement, Vineyard Wind said it will “continue working with federal, state, and local stakeholders to ensure the health and safety of its workforce, mariners, and the environment.”

Vineyard Wind is asking members of the public who find debris to contact Ian Campbell immediately at 781-983-8943 or icampbell@vineyardwind.com.

Reports of debris can also be sent to the cleanup contractor at this link: Recon Survey (NRCC) (arcgis.com).

This story is a production of the New England News Collaborative. It was originally published by CAI.

With reporting by WBUR's Miriam Wasser.