Broken Vineyard Wind turbine scatters debris along Nantucket's South Shore; Wind farm operations shut down by feds

Vineyard Wind, the nation's first large-scale offshore wind farm, was shut down by the federal government on Tuesday after a turbine blade failure sent thousands of pieces of debris into the ocean and onto the beaches along Nantucket's south shore.

The federal Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement announced Tuesday afternoon that Vineyard Wind's "operations are shut down until further notice...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."

The company, which is owned by Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners and Avangrid Renewables (a subsidiary of the Spanish energy giant Iberdrola), announced it was sending two teams of four people to the island Tuesday to assist with the clean-up effort, and Vineyard Wind representatives will appear before the Select Board Wednesday evening to answer questions. 

Residents began reporting pieces of green and white foam, along with larger pieces of what appears to fiberglass, along southern Nantucket beaches at daybreak, stretching from Madaket out to Nobadeer. By noon, the scale of the incident had become clear, and a massive clean-up effort got underway with the bulk of the work performed mostly by lifeguards, along with island residents and visitors.

In a statement released just after 8 a.m. on Tuesday, Vineyard Wind announced that it was "mobilizing debris recovery teams on Nantucket to survey the southern-facing beaches of the island for the recovery of debris following the blade damage incident that took place on Saturday, July 13, 2024. In addition, Vineyard Wind remains focused on ensuring the safety of personnel and mariners in the offshore area, and continues to work with the U.S. Coast Guard to maintain a safety zone of 500 meters around the impacted turbine offshore."

Vineyard Wind's GE Haliade-X turbines that will be attached to the monopiles drilled into the sea floor will reach 853 feet in the air at the tip of the blade, each nearly as tall as the Eiffel Tower. There will eventually be a total of 62 turbines constructed in the Vineyard Wind 1 lease area, and as of mid-July, 19 had been completed, with 10 operational.

The company characterized the debris as "non-toxic fiberglass fragments" and even though they are "not hazardous to people or the environment," Vineyard Wind is recommending that only its recovery team handle the debris.

"Vineyard Wind is fully committed to a swift and safe recovery of all debris, with an unwavering focus on community safety and environmental protection," the company stated. "As part of its immediate action plan, Vineyard Wind communicated with officials on Nantucket to inform them of the presence of debris and recovery efforts on the southern-facing beaches of the island."