Nantucket Select Board to pursue reimbursement against Vineyard Wind in wake of blade failure

Amid the Vineyard Wind crisis rattling the island, the Nantucket Select Board is set to pursue reimbursement against the wind energy company in connection to the blade failure that has resulted in debris floating on the ocean and washing ashore.

The Select Board is scheduled to meet in executive session on Tuesday to discuss the path forward relative to recovery costs associated with the disaster, according to an agenda posted on the town website Friday.

Select Board members will convene in a public session on Wednesday evening with a follow-up on the Vineyard Wind 1 blade failure and an update on the cleanup slated to be part of the town manager’s report.

Nantucket Select Board Chairwoman Brooke Mohr, at the end of a rowdy meeting this past Wednesday, made the town’s stance clear: Transparency is a must from Vineyard Wind. The company’s CEO, Klaus Moeller, left that meeting abruptly to address the “integrity” of the already damaged wind turbine blade.

Town officials, residents and local mariners have all said they didn’t learn of the incident until Monday evening, roughly 48 hours after the fact and just hours before debris started to wash ashore, prompting beaches to close Tuesday.

Beaches have since reopened.

“We will continue to monitor this closely and do everything in our power to hold Vineyard Wind accountable for the impacts of this disaster, really,” Mohr said. “I’ve been calling it an incident, but it feels like more than that in terms of how it’s impacting the feelings of safety in this community.”

“I will reiterate one last time,” she added, “as soon as you know something, share it with us so we can plan and reassure our community that we are in the know on this.”

This all comes as the blade failure, which popped up last Saturday about 21 miles south of Nantucket, continues to wreak havoc on the island.

The “significant portion” of the 107-meter blade that detached from the turbine Thursday morning sunk to the ocean floor. Crews were slated to recover the fiberglass “in due course,” town officials wrote in a Friday update.

“Approximately half of the fiberglass shell of the blade remains attached, while most of the foam fill dislodged during the initial failure last Saturday,” officials wrote. “Monitoring of the remaining attached piece is ongoing, and a plan is being developed for its removal.”

ACK for Whales – a group of Nantucket residents concerned about the impacts of offshore wind development – voiced concern after the update came out.

“Is this supposed to make us feel better?” the group posted on X. “Now the big piece of debris is on the sea floor and pieces of fiberglass, adhesive materials and foam board will be seeping into the ocean until, when? TOXIC situation. UNACCEPTABLE.

Residents are not taking kindly to Vineyard Wind’s assertion that the debris – fiberglass fragments ranging in size from small pieces to larger sections, typically green or white – is not toxic.

Vineyard Wind has deployed a crew of 56 contractors to assist in the cleanup of the island’s beaches, and town officials said Friday that no town staff are actively engaged in removing the debris.

The wind energy company reported Wednesday that crews had removed 17 cubic yards of debris, enough to fill more than six truckloads. On Friday, crews continued debris collection efforts across south shore beaches, along with Jetties Beach ahead of a triathlon on Saturday.

“The components of the debris observed to be floating offshore are a mix of foam and fiberglass pieces of varying sizes,” town officials wrote Friday. “Vessels crews will continue efforts to collect debris offshore to lessen the amount of debris landing on Nantucket beaches.”

At least some of the debris has started washing ashore on Martha’s Vineyard, according to trustees on the neighboring island.

“IMPORTANT NOTICE! We are working with Vineyard Wind to locate and remove any potential debris,” The Trustees – Martha’s Vineyard posted on Facebook Friday morning. “Please report any debris to a ranger immediately and proceed with caution. Rangers will continue to patrol for debris. Your safety is our utmost concern.”

Vineyard Wind has ceased power production from all its wind turbine generators per a suspension order that the feds issued earlier this week.

The joint venture of Connecticut-based Avangrid and Denmark-based Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners is developing a plan to test water quality around the island while working on a process for financial claims.

Island lobsterman Dan Pronk, who fishes 800 traps near Vineyard Wind 1, told the Select Board on Wednesday that the company is offering 2 to 4% of a fisherman’s annual income if they can “prove” they conduct business in the area.

That equates to about $2,000 to $4,000, a figure Pronk called “insulting.”

“The reason they’re offering that is they know they’re displacing us,” he said, “they know they’re putting us out of business.”

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Originally Published: July 19, 2024 at 4:56 p.m.

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