Broken Vineyard wind turbine struck by lightning

Credit: Ethan Genter · Sunday, March 2, 2025 · vineyardgazette.com ~~

The same Vineyard Wind turbine blade that snapped in half last summer now appears to have been struck by lightning, according to the company and the U.S. Coast Guard.

On Sunday, officials confirmed that the turbine at the southernmost end of the Vineyard Wind lease off Martha’s Vineyard was apparently hit by lightning late last week, damaging the already broken blade.

The Coast Guard reported a strike occurred on Feb. 27, and it was working with Vineyard Wind to ensure there were no navigational hazards in the area.

Vineyard Wind, in a statement Sunday afternoon, said a preliminary inspection indicated that the blade had been hit by lightning, and the company was continuing to assess the damage.

“This was contained to the damaged blade and based on current information there is no impact to the nacelle or turbine structure,” the company wrote. “Vineyard Wind deployed both aerial and maritime resources and based on current observations, there is no indication of debris from this event.”

The strike comes as Vineyard Wind was working to get back on track after the blade broke in July, scattering thousands of pieces of fiberglass into the ocean. The turbine, one of 62 planned for a 166,886-acre area of ocean about 14 miles south of the Island, had a defect that was not caught in the manufacturing process and had since been turned off.

The company is under orders from the federal government to remove 66 blades that were built at the same Canadian factory as the defective one.

Vineyard Wind on Sunday said it was already continuously monitoring the broken turbine due to the previous blade failure, and its manufacturer, GE Vernova, planned to remove the remaining portion of the blade and replace it in May.

The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, the federal agency charged with overseeing offshore wind energy projects, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Sunday.

Standing more than 800-feet tall, the turbines have been a point of controversy in the region and nationally. Vineyard Wind was the first commercial-scale project to get all of its permitting when it was approved by the federal government in 2021, and last summer, before the break, it was the largest operating offshore wind farm in the country.

As of January, only one turbine was back up and running, and the company last week was supposed to start testing its light system for aircraft flying over. Officials on Nantucket said the company was also getting a new vessel that could help with taking down the defective turbine blades.

According to Vineyard Wind’s construction plans filed with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, the turbines and service platforms would have lightning protections installed on their electrical systems.

The plan doesn’t go into greater detail on what that would entail.

Source: Ethan Genter · Sunday, March 2, 2025 · vineyardgazette.com

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