The largest commercial offshore wind farm in the United States has been temporarily shut down after a “blade failure incident” over the weekend dumped debris into the ocean near the Island of Nantucket, Massachusetts, debris that soon made its way to nearby beaches.
Just seven short months ago, the wind farm owned by Vineyard Wind, a joint venture between Avangrid and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, began operating about 15 miles off the coast of Massachusetts. Vineyard Wind eventually plans to have 62 turbines in the area, but for now, just 10 are operational, contributing about 136 megawatts to the regional grid, WGBH reported.
‘The people of Massachusetts shouldn’t be forced to spend their hard-earned money on precarious energy sources resulting in environmental cleanups and unreliable, unproven outcomes.’
These turbines are massive, reaching a height of over 850 feet. Each turbine is also outfitted with three blades that are longer than a football field.
On Saturday, one blade on one of the turbines “experienced a breakage approximately 20 meters out from the root,” said Vineyard Wind spokesperson Craig Gilvarg. Despite the damage, the blade remains attached to the turbine.
Still, the “breakage” was enough to dump hundreds of blade fragments into the water. Gilvarg described this debris as “non-toxic fiberglass,” but the Nantucket Harbormaster noted that these fiberglass shards are nevertheless “sharp.” For this reason, Nantucket officials encouraged people to “wear appropriate footwear” when walking along the beaches and “to leave pets at home.”
By Tuesday afternoon, the debris became such a problem that the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement announced that “operations” of the Vineyard Wind farm had been “shut down until further notice.” The island’s south shore beaches were likewise closed as company crews worked to clean up the mess.
It hasn’t been easy. As of Wednesday afternoon, six full truckloads of blade debris had been removed from the area, the AP reported, enough to allow the south shore beaches to reopen for swimming and other “recreational activities.”
Thus far, no injuries have been reported. GE, the company which manufactures and installs the turbines, “will now be conducting the analysis into the root cause of the incident,” Vineyard Wind said.
“We’re making progress in the debris recovery efforts and mobilizing even more resources on the island to hasten the cleanup as quickly as possible,” said a statement from Vineyard Wind CEO Klaus Moeller. “The public can have confidence that we will be here as long as it takes to get the job done and make sure the beaches are cleaned up.”
Despite the progress, residents and area officials are demanding answers. At a town Select Board meeting on Wednesday, evening, Select Board member Malcolm MacNab called out Vineyard Wind for the assertion that the debris was “non-toxic.”
“It IS toxic material,” he insisted.
“The whole thing upsets me.”
Paul Craney of the Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance is likewise “upset” by “the whole thing,” including that turbines can suffer such a catastrophic breakdown after only a few months of use.
“There should be an immediate investigation to determine if the other current turbines are dysfunctional and the turbines in production,” Craney told Blaze News. “The people of Massachusetts shouldn’t be forced to spend their hard-earned money on precarious energy sources resulting in environmental cleanups and unreliable, unproven outcomes.”
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