Broken Vineyard Wind turbine blade sinks to ocean floor 

bostonglobe.com

A massive section of a damaged 350-foot turbine blade from a wind farm off the coast of Nantucket that detached Thursday morning has sunk to the ocean floor, town officials said Friday.

The large piece of fiberglass “will be recovered in due course,” they said.

“Approximately half of the fiberglass shell of the blade remains attached, while most of the foam fill dislodged during the initial failure last Saturday,” Nantucket officials said in an update posted on the town’s website. “Monitoring of the remaining attached piece is ongoing, and a plan is being developed for its removal.”

The turbine, part of the Vineyard Wind project, was damaged Saturday evening. In the following days, large amounts of fiberglass debris washed onto the shores of Nantucket, raising concerns among residents and local officials. Governor Maura Healey’s office said it is monitoring the situation.

Brooke Mohr, chair of the Nantucket Select Board, said Thursday that Vineyard Wind was planning to retrieve the remaining section of the blade, nearly 300 feet long. For comparison, a regulation football field is approximately 360 feet in length.

caption id=”attachment_107293″ align=”aligncenter” width=”600″] The magnitude of off-shore wind turbines. Compare how these giant wind turbines stack up against famous buildings and landmarks. Building measurements do not include antennas or flagpoles. Ryan Huddle/Globe staff[/caption]

The Select Board said it will meet in executive session at noon Tuesday to discuss “potential litigation in connection with Vineyard Wind,” according to an online meeting notice. At its regularly scheduled meeting on Wednesday, the town manager is due to give an update on Vineyard Wind, according to the agenda posted online.

Town officials said Friday that debris had been found on Nobadeer Beach, which is located on the island’s South Shore. Vineyard Wind crews were sent to remove it. The town also said crews were removing debris from Jettie’s Beach – a popular spot near the ferry terminal – ahead of Saturday’s Nantucket Triathlon.

“Crews are also collecting debris from harder to reach areas like Tuckernuck and from the water via offshore vessels,” officials said.

The turbine was undergoing testing when it was damaged, Vineyard Wind said.

[The turbine was manufactured by GE Vernova, and the Vineyard Wind project is a joint venture between Avangrid and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners. Operations have been suspended while GE Vernova investigates what caused the turbine to break.

No town employees are involved in the cleanup. “A few staff members are acting in advisory roles in specialty areas such as shorebird management,” officials said in Friday’s update.

Town officials closed the beaches to swimming when the debris washed to shore. After more than six truckloads of fiberglass debris were removed, they were reopened Wednesday, but debris continues to be found.
The blade of a wind turbine off Nantucket was damaged about 65 feet from its root over the weekend.
The blade of a wind turbine off Nantucket was damaged about 65 feet from its root over the weekend.Ryan Huddle

The debris floating offshore is a “mix of foam and fiberglass pieces of varying sizes,” and crews “will continue efforts to collect debris offshore to lessen the amount of debris landing on Nantucket beaches,” town officials said.

Most of the debris appears to be staying south of the island, town officials said.

Vineyard Wind has informed the town it is developing a “plan to test water quality around the island,” and the company is also working on “setting up a process for financial claims,” town officials said.

“Vineyard Wind is fully responsible for the repercussions on Nantucket, and Town Administration and the Select Board will ensure they are held accountable,” they said.

Several residents expressed anger and dismay over the blade’s failure during Wednesday’s select board meeting. They peppered GE Vernova and Vineyard Wind officials with questions about how much debris had been collected, how often turbines break and its communication with local officials.

A GE Vernova and Vineyard Wind officials who attended the meeting said an analysis is underway to determine the “root cause” of the failure. They apologized for the incident and reiterated that safety is a top priority, the Globe reported.

In Friday’s update, town officials said the federal Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, which regulates production of offshore renewable energy, has been onsite in New Bedford “monitoring Vineyard Wind’s plans and actions.”