Vineyard Wind resumes construction amid investigation

Company and government representatives also met before the Nantucket community again. 

By
Eunki Seonwoo
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45

It’s been a month since a turbine blade within the Vineyard Wind lease area fractured, littering foam, fiberglass, and other debris into local waters, and raising concerns over the nascent offshore wind industry. 

While a full picture of what happened has yet to be made public, the federal government has given permission to resume some construction on the 62-turbine wind farm. 

Vineyard Wind and GE Vernova announced on Tuesday, August 13, that the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) gave permission to allow “certain limited additional activities” to resume — including the installation of towers and nacelles; nacelles house the gearbox and other components. Installing new blades is not part of the recent approved construction plan.

Meanwhile, the federal government is not allowing Vineyard Wind to generate power. 

The offshore wind company plans to transport several tower sections from the New Bedford Marine Commerce Terminal to the construction site on Tuesday aboard a Foss Prevailing Wind barge. The vessel will also carry a rack of three blades “solely for the purpose of ensuring safe and balanced composition for the transport;” the blades will be returned to New Bedford later this week. 

The U.S. Coast Guard is maintaining the 500-meter safety zone around the broken turbine. 

The two companies on Tuesday also started a “controlled cutting” of the damaged turbine blade, according to a press release, “substantially reducing the amount of the damaged blade that presents a risk for additional debris falling into the ocean.”

Late last week, Vineyard Wind also issued a “response and action plan.” The plan states that a “preliminary root cause” analysis has been completed, which is being assessed by Gulf Wind Technology, a Louisiana-based wind turbine engineering consulting firm. 

BSEE is conducting its own investigation into the root cause of the incident as well. 

The action plan was announced two days after representatives from Vineyard Wind and GE Vernova were again grilled by the Nantucket community at a recent select board meeting, with the town expecting more debris to land on their shores. The latest debris is from a “controlled detachment” of a portion of the damaged blade — the southernmost of the 24 turbine towers erected. 

An overview of the action plan states that removing the damaged blade “entails four tasks,” including rotating the blade and possibly doing “controlled cutting,” removing the blade root from the turbine hub, removing the fallen debris from the platform, and getting debris that sank to the seabed. 

Vineyard Wind is also looking to resume constructing turbines and resume power production, with “in-depth coordination with government officials and local stakeholders.” 

It is uncertain when the Vineyard Wind project will return to full operation. A spokesperson for BSEE, the federal agency overseeing the incident response, did not immediately have an answer when reached by The Times.

However, it will not start until a “three-point approach” underway by GE Vernova is completed. That includes re-examining more than 8,300 ultrasound images taken per blade to measure the bonding widths in the blades, using a remote-controlled “crawler” robot to take videos and photos inside manufactured blades, and using a new algorithm to monitor the blades’ health in real time. 

Last month, GE Vernova revealed at a shareholders meeting that a manufacturing issue — or “insufficient bonding” — within a Canadian factory was the cause of the blade fracturing. 

 

Root cause remains submerged 

GE Vernova’s preliminary analysis of the root cause behind the fractured turbine blade is under review by BSEE. Federal officials and company representatives have not shared details of the preliminary report. 

“BSEE is currently assessing GE’s preliminary root-cause analysis, and cannot comment on that report right now until we have done our own thorough investigation and assessment,” Cheri Hunter, the bureau’s director of renewable energy operations, said to the Nantucket select board during a Wednesday, August 7, evening meeting. 

Hunter said there is currently no timeline available of when the agency’s investigation will be completed. She also said the agency may require a marine debris recovery plan as a part of GE Vernova’s safety management system.

Roger Martella, GE Vernova chief sustainability officer, did not provide details on the analysis during Nantucket’s select board meeting. However, he did say inspections of the blades are underway, like using ultrasound scans to look for stress points and using a rover to roll through the blades to take photographs. Additionally, Martella said using fiber optic sensors and algorithms will give the company hours to days of notice if a similar incident were to occur again. 

Martella also said while they’ve conducted an initial environmental assessment — completed by a third party — they will also look to focus on the debris’ impact on shellfish and marine life. 

 

Impacts to shellfish?

Government officials are also looking at what the long-term impacts from the incident could have on the marine ecosystem.

Wendy Heiger-Bernays, chief of research at the Department of Environmental Protection’s Office of Research and Standards, said during the Nantucket meeting that while debris like sharp fiberglass can be harmful to beachgoers or boaters, it was unlikely that any hazardous materials from the turbine would be detectable in the ocean, as they would have dissolved in the current and tides. 

“It is very unlikely that there is any significant risk to … people or aquatic organisms from direct exposure from chemicals from that debris [attributed] to that incident,” Heiger-Bernays said. The determination was made after evaluating the incident, a report made by engineering and environmental consultancy firm Arcadis, and the materials list of the turbine. She said the state agency has also spoken with Nantucket officials regarding water quality studies. 

Chrissy Petitpas, assistant deputy and shellfish program leader at the Division of Marine Fisheries, said the risks to Nantucket’s harbor were uncertain. However, shellfish seemed to be safe to harvest and consume. 

Petitpas pointed out that microplastics and PFAS have been studied in relation to shellfish health. She said these contaminants have been found in shellfish before, particularly around active boatyards, where fiberglass can be found. She said it was difficult to assess the impact of any additional contaminants from the incident, or whether there is an increased risk. 

However, Petitpas did say weather conditions breaking down the debris into smaller pieces may raise the risks in the food chain. “That’s where the long-term monitoring comes in,” she said. 

Still, further studies will be needed, and the agency will request guidance from other government entities, like the Food and Drug Administration and the state’s Department of Public Health. 

“Should we believe there is a critical public health risk in the future, we have the mechanisms in place to close down the shellfish harvest,” Petitpas said.

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45 COMMENTS

  1. So our tax funds commission the US Coast Guard to protect the broken turbine blade.
    The Federal Government does not know exactly what went wrong with the 350 foot 70 Ton blade that crashed into the sea. The response of the Federal Governmebt to Vineyard Wind is to keep on building and drilling! Does anyone see this as a major problem?

    • Susan, if you really believe that wind turbines are so horrible, then why is China building them ten times faster than the US?

    • Susan– the coast guard responds to all marine accidents.
      That’s what they do.
      Vineyard Wind is drilling ?
      I hope they don’t have a disaster like the deep water
      horizon disaster. That would be a major problem.
      I wonder if the coast guard responded to that one and spent
      our tax dollars. I think we both know that the federal
      government’s’ response to that was to keep on building
      and drilling.
      I also think the coast guard spent some of our tax funds back in april of 2003
      when a barge ran aground and spilled 98,000 gallons of fuel destined for
      an energy generating plant.
      Perhaps you didn’t hear about that.
      https://darrp.noaa.gov/oil-spills/celebrating-our-restoration-successes-20-years-after-b-120-buzzards-bay-oil-spill
      it took 20 years to clean that one up. And you know, another barge loaded up
      with the same stuff went right by there a week after that incident.

    • How many 200 foot, 300 ton aircraft, with 90 Tons of jet fuel and 300 people on board have crashed sea/
      Should all aircraft be grounded like Vineyard Wind?
      I do not see a major problem.
      I see that one blade of nearly thousand in this class of blade has suffered infant mortality.
      Composite lay up is an inexact science.
      Boeing and General Motors (Corvette) can tell you all about it.
      I do see a knee jerk/immature reaction to seeing the means of production of power being visible to the Island.

  2. “Should we believe there is a critical public health risk in the future, we have the mechanisms in place to close down the shellfish harvest,” Petitpas said.
    Does anyone believe these people? If so , I have a island tunnel permit I’m willing to sell dirt cheap.

    • John–I’m not clear who I shouldn’t believe.
      Do you think there is a risk to public health
      from shellfish as a result of this incident ?
      I am interested in purchasing your tunnel
      permit by the way. I have a lot of people who
      have some extra capital to spend since they aren’t
      investing in their favorite political grifter, since it
      seems he is going to lose the 2024 election and
      there won’t be any kickbacks. A pretty poor ROI
      scenario with that one. The tunnel would have a great ROI.

  3. The sky is falling?
    How many thousands of blades of this type are in service?
    How many have failed?
    Jet engine turbine blades?

    • It is a reasonable concern that if one blade broke on a bluebird day, there may be much more dire consequences in severe weather. Who will pay if 20 blades break in a hurricane? Wind turbines belong on land where they can be serviced easily, but east coast nimbyism will never let that happen here. If wind turbines are a proven technology that can free us from carbon emissions , they should be everywhere the wind blows. This is a money grab.

      • Scott, it’s interesting that you call it a money grab. Have you ever talked to anyone who was involved in selecting this particular site for wind turbines? Have you looked at the world-wide wind maps? Do you realize that shallow water is an ideal location for windmills? Are you aware oil billionaires around the world are telling you lies about windmills so you will keep buying oil? Tell me again who is doing the money 💰 grabbing. That would be the robber oil barons.

  4. The hysteria over one broken blade is hysterical!

    I haven’t heard of one case where some person, fish, or clam has either been pricked, poked, or skewered from this one broken blade. If someone is looking for something to get hysterical about, the amount of plastic, garbage, and sewage dumped into the ocean on a daily basis might be just the thing for you, Or maybe this account of the astronomical amount of oil spilled into the ocean over the decades:

    The number of oil spills have decreased over the decades (but wait, you oil lovers, don’t get all excited. Read on), with an average of 1.3 large oil spills per year from tankers since 2020.

    Tanker spills
    In 2023, there was one large oil spill from a tanker that leaked more than 700 metric tons of oil, as well as nine medium spills that ranged from 7–700 tons. The large spill occurred in Asia in February and involved heavy fuel oil, while the medium spills involved crude, gasoline, and very low sulfur fuel oil. The average number of large oil spills from tankers per year since 2020 is 1.3, which is a significant decrease from the more than 20 large spills per year in the 1970s.

    U.S. pipeline spills:

    In 2020, there were 578 pipeline incidents in the U.S. that resulted in 43,157 barrels of oil being spilled. This was a decrease from 2016, when more than 60,000 barrels were spilled.

    U.S. waters:

    The Office of Response and Restoration responds to more than 150 oil and chemical spills in U.S. waters each year. The South Central states have experienced the most spills since 2010, with Texas accounting for about 40% of all spills.
    Oil spills can happen in many ways and threaten life, property, and natural resources. They can occur during the drilling and transportation of oil, which involves extracting oil from the ocean floor, pumping it out, and transporting it to refineries by ships, trains, trucks, or pipes.

    REMEMBER the purposed building of the Round-a-bout and the hysteria it sparked!
    Off shore wind farm have been effective and efficient for the last 30 years in Europe, so don’t let one broken blade drive you to hysteria.

    Have patience with the exploration of clean, alternative energies, and our planet will prosper.

  5. Finally! What I’ve been saying forever about the oil barons is being reported!

    Selwin Hart, the assistant secretary general of the UN, said that the “backlash” against climate action was being stoked by the fossil fuel industry in a massive DISINFORMATION Campaign.

    “Ordinary people are having to pay the price of a climate crisis while the fossil fuel industry continues to reap excess profits and still receives massive government subsidies.”

    Let’s stop buying fossil fuels.
    Vote against the CONSERVATIVE oil barons!

    • Ms. Hansen. Are you aware that more than 50 percent of Exxon as just one oil company are owned by retail investors including widows and orphans. Other owners are public companies who sell mutual funds to also retail investors. There are no “”oil barons”. Yes there are employees and a few highly paid executives who are given the mandate by the Board to operate a company and make profits as a decent return for investors. You are free to dislike fossil fuels and so called excess profits whatever that is but many investors owe their livelihood on stocks that they own. As for accidents, I dont know how one can live in a global universe and not have accidents of some kind regardless of care and regulations. Do you have accidents around your home occasionally. Imperfect man will have accidents and you have them in fossil fuels and solar and green and nuclear and wind.

      • Andrew, we established that there ARE oil barons: Putin, a bunch of Russian oligarchs, Tim Dunn, the Wilks brothers, and more. Cry me a river for the “widows and orphans.” Really? Orphans own stock? You’re funny! 🤣

      • Andrew, just to be clear, you’re saying the accident with the windmill blade is a human mistake, and we are all human? We all have accidents? Therefore, full steam ahead for windmills.

      • Andrew, I concede that there are retail investors (a regular person’s 401k for example), invested in oil companies. So, we should just keep buying oil because it’s embedded in our society? Hogwash!
        We HAVE to figure out how to make this transition! Every roof in the world needs to be covered in solar panels. When the average person figures out they will save about 10,000 dollars per year, they will make the switch to renewables. Companies like Exxon have been telling lies in the media about renewables for a very long time to maintain their iron hold on the money 💰 in people’s pockets. No investor deserves to be maintained because “that’s the way it has always been.”
        If you own oil stocks, take a page out of oil baron Tim Dunn’s book and dump them before they are worthless.
        And to the people out there who don’t have solar: break free from the slavery of oil. Install solar panels and have free electricity for the rest of your life!

      • andy– I am always amazed at the things you believe.
        “There are no oil barons” is a pretty good one.
        I typed “oil barons” into google and got this
        https://search.yahoo.com/yhs/search;_ylt=AwrFPgTfX79m1wgILDoPxQt.;_ylc=X1MDMjExNDcwMDU1OQRfcgMyBGZyA3locy1zei0wMDIEZnIyA3NiLXRvcARncHJpZANkTTFYNFkwa1RnQ1JtU19fOHkydkJBBG5fcnNsdAMwBG5fc3VnZwMxBG9yaWdpbgNzZWFyY2gueWFob28uY29tBHBvcwMwBHBxc3RyAwRwcXN0cmwDMARxc3RybAMyMQRxdWVyeQN3aGF0JTIwaXMlMjBhbiUyMG9pbCUyMGJhcnJvbgR0X3N0bXADMTcyMzgxNzk4Mw–?p=what+is+an+oil+barron&fr2=sb-top&hspart=sz&hsimp=yhs-002&param1=2659222180&type=type80271-1069898077 I wish I could agree with you that they don’t exist
        I think the world would be much better off if the Koch brothers
        didn’t exist. “widows and orphans” ? Ohhhh boo hooo– I’m going
        to let my car idle more now to support those poor widows and orphans.
        I certainly hope that none of the husbands of those widows
        of the fathers of those orphans died from
        cancer caused by irresponsible chemical companies
        illegally disposing
        of highly toxic chemicals as directed by a few highly paid
        executives who are given the mandate by the Board to operate a company and make profits as a decent return for investors. I am sure there are widows and orphans who are
        invested in those companies that died from accidents at oil companies.
        Better to build whirligigs.

        • Continue to be amazed Keller and continue to make illogical juxtapositions and extreme examples to prove a point you cannot prove. You seem woefully ignorant of economics and believe companies are purposefully endangering people in order to make a profit. Accidents happen and will always happen whether fossil fuels or nuclear or windmills or solar. Your comments are puerile and most people know it.

    • Mike, the oil barons are trying to cancel renewable energy any way they can. We are soooo lucky 🍀 to have windmills!!

  7. Widows and orphans is an expression. You must be young Mary. Yes full steam ahead for windmills. I dont object even though they wont do much
    Mary, I admire your passion but fossil fuels have lifted hundreds of millions of people out of poverty and continue to do so. I do not share your apocalyptic view of climate change. . If you want a world with fewer people and fewer births, that is your right. Any decreases in global warming wont occur as long as China and India keep building Coal. You also dont seem to dial in increases in technology that will mitigate the effects of warming. In year 1900 average lifespan was 47 and life was miserable. Technology advances are extraordinary. Dont worry, relax and kick back and stop your anxiety about climate or go on a date with Keller. lol

      • Andrew, considering that most people who talk about securing dates for other people, they really mean themselves, “I’m asking for a friend…”
        So the answer for going on a date with you–the answer is “Ewww! NO!”
        By your own admission, I’m too young for you.
        And how DISRESPECTFUL to your sweet wife!!! She deserves better than that. How embarrassing for her!

    • Andy–I’m not sure that if Mary went on a date with
      me that would ease her anxiety about climate change.
      How would that happen ?
      I’m pretty sure Jackie is single.
      Perhaps you could go on a date with her to ease her
      anxiety about anti-semetism . lol

    • andy– oil may have lifted many people out of poverty — I will
      give you that, but that seems like it may be a temporary
      sugar high, as more severe weather events are increasingly taking wealth
      away from the poorest people in the world, driving them back into poverty
      In fact the poverty rate increased in 2020
      https://www.macrotrends.net/global-metrics/countries/WLD/world/poverty-rate
      I think I know who was president that year. Of course U.S president is as responsible
      for an increase in the world wide poverty rate as they are for a worldwide
      increase in the price of oil– Right ?
      But let me point out that the “world community” thinks anything above $5.50 us
      dollars a day is above the poverty level. It’s around 45 % .
      Think about that– 45% of the global population lives on an income of
      less than $5.50 a day– and you think that’s great.
      I doubt many of the people who are living on even $10 a day had much of a say
      in where the official poverty lines were drawn.
      wind power has the potential to lift billions out of poverty without
      destroying the planet.
      Think about it.

      • Keller you are lying again. I did not say 5.50 dollars per day is great. I said fossil fuels lifted millions out of poverty. You are projecting.

    • Andrew, it’s interesting that you continue to talk about India and China using coal.
      California has a bigger GDP than India.
      Let’s talk about what California is doing:
      California has over 11,200 MW of battery storage.
      California has over 1772.27 MW of geothermal power.
      California has over 13955.391 MW of hydroelectric power.

      https://www.caiso.com/documents/2023-special-report-on-battery-storage-jul-16-2024.pdf
      https://view.officeapps.live.com/op/view.aspx?src=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.energy.ca.gov%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2F2019-05%2Fgeothermal_list.xls&wdOrigin=BROWSELINK
      https://view.officeapps.live.com/op/view.aspx?src=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.energy.ca.gov%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2F2019-05%2Fhydro_list.xls&wdOrigin=BROWSELINK

      It’s also interesting that you bring up smokescreens
      (cute pun, don’t you think?)
      regarding fossil fuels. One of the most important
      things that we (the US) have to consider is that
      China is using renewable energy as a way
      to disrupt the balance of power in the world.
      We can keep up (we aren’t) or we can try to get
      ahead of the Chinese (we’re so far behind it is
      almost inconceivable how we can catch up).
      Why are letting a broken blade or the tiny, tiny visual
      disruption that windmills cause, to be the reason
      we don’t address the national security risks
      of renewable energy in relation to China?
      It’s time for Americans to wake up and
      put the money that we are putting toward
      fossil fuels, buy electric cars instead,
      put solar panels on every roof instead,
      and build desalination plants by the hundreds!
      NOW.

  8. Renewable wind is an expensive, inefficient, intermittent form of energy. Dangerous to birds and marine life. Noisy sound pollution and visual pollution. Apparently not durable due to manufacturing defects, design flaws and high velocity storms leading to high cost clean ups and water contamination. Hazardous to navigation.
    Higher demand for electric vehicles and AI will create higher electric prices for residential, commercial and industry. Wind and solar are not viable to expand to manage this increased demand. Unfortunately our current administration has stalled investment in oil and natural gas. In addition, the administration has delayed construction of pipelines and LNG export facilities. These issues will lead to higher inflation for everything.

  9. Mary, what does California GDP bigger than India have to do with India building coal plants to serve their 1.3 billion people. California has 39 million people. or 0.03 of India. California has huge debt and deficits and is in decline and financial trouble. I am not against windmills by the way. Go ahead and build them with subsidies. They are not economic without subsidies and oil and gas is.

    • Andrew, if a windmill pays for itself in 2 to 6 months, and they consume NO fuel, then how is oil and gas better? Obviously, fossil fuels are NOT better than windmills, geothermal, hydroelectric, or solar.

    • andy– if oil and gas are economically feasible without subsidies
      why does the government subsidize them ?
      “In 2022, fossil fuel subsidies in the United States totaled $757 billion, according to the International Monetary Fund. This includes $3 billion in explicit subsidies and $754 billion in implicit subsidies,”
      https://www.eesi.org/papers/view/fact-sheet-proposals-to-reduce-fossil-fuel-subsidies-january-2024

      Wind power subsidies went from about 17 billion when trump took office to about 36 billion by the time he lost the 2020 election . 70% of that was research and development.
      They have been dropping since Biden took office and were down to about 30 billion
      in fy 2022

    • Andrew, I ‘m surprised that you seem to be unaware that the oil and gas industry has received nearly a trillion dollars in subsidies since the 1950’s while reaping huge, often windfall profits under what is known as the “depletion allowance”.
      The very nature of subsidies is to help level the playing field, especially for emerging technologies. Continually supplying subsidies to industry giants that are already hugely profitable should warrant some inquiry.

    • Andrew, the conservative state of Florida is in a crisis: few people can absorb the massive insurance increases in Florida. Flooding is continuing to get worse. Hurricanes are getting stronger because of Global Warming. And because not everyone has solar panels on their roof, citizens of Florida suffer from power outages during severe weather. People should buy their own solar panels (do not lease!) and exit the grid. Be sure to purchase bifacial panels so that you collect power from both sides of the solar panels.
      Exit conservative Florida. Massachusetts is a nice place to live.

  10. Mary—The materials used to build your house. The roof tiles, the PVC for your water pipes. The medicines you use, the clothes you wear, the sunscreen, the glass windows, the rubber tires on you bicycle or on your EV . The jets you travel on if you travel. The sheets and pillow cases, how about carpets? the furniture, the mattress? Food containers, the energy needed to build solar panels. Every facet of your life has fossil fuels in it and has made life easy for you. But you could go back to 1900 and live miserably.

  11. Mary you remind me of the story of the person who complained that they had to pay the gas station to put air in the tires. Air is free they said. The gas station guy then retorted. ok if its free blow up your tires with your mouth. You think everything is free but you dont study the subsidies, the intermittent nature of wind, the cost of fossil fuels as a backstop to wind and every other market force that affects prices and costs. inflation was caused by Biden making the FED print money–1.9 trillion for covid that never went for its intended use. LNG prices below zero is a temporary phenomenon based on over production, mild winter and lower demand. That can change in an instant. Wind and solar are government subsidized by the Federal Production Tax credit and couldnt make it on their own. You are paying for it in taxes as our deficit and debt continues larger.

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