Updated March 4
The same Vineyard Wind turbine that fractured last summer appears to have been struck by lightning on Thursday, though it’s unclear how much of the turbine was damaged.
Vineyard Wind officials said they have inspected the turbine, and confirmed that it appeared to have been struck; they are still assessing the damage with its construction contractor, GE Vernova.
“This was contained to the damaged blade, and based on current information, there is no impact to the nacelle or turbine structure,” the statement reads. “Vineyard Wind deployed both aerial and maritime resources, and based on current observations, there is no indication of debris from this event.”
Vineyard Wind and GE Vernova announced plans in August to remove debris and the damaged blade root. However, the New Bedford Light reported that “the root remained attached to the turbine hub,” for unclear reasons. Vineyard Wind officials said GE Vernova plans to remove and replace the damaged blade in May.
E&E News, a Politico publication, reported that Vineyard Wind is expected to be completed this year despite the Trump administration’s moves to disrupt the offshore wind industry.
The U.S. Coast Guard is aware of the situation, but is not investigating the incident.
“The U.S. Coast Guard has no active involvement in response efforts,” Diolanda Caballero, Coast Guard spokesperson, said. “We remain in contact with Vineyard Wind, and as of Sunday afternoon, there are no reported navigational hazards or Coast Guard enforcement actions related to this incident.”
There have also been no warnings to mariners from the U.S. Coast Guard Navigation Center regarding debris from an offshore wind turbine last week in the southeastern New England sector as of Monday morning.
Meanwhile, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, the agency that investigated Vineyard Wind’s broken blade incident, did not respond to a request for comment.
Vineyard Wind noted in its construction and operations plan that “lightning protection” would be installed on all of its electrical systems, including wind turbine generators.
Damage from lightning strikes is “the single largest cause of unplanned downtime in wind turbines, and the most common insurance claim filed by wind farm owners,” according to DNV, an international assurance and risk management company based in Norway.
While lightning striking wind turbines can be a common occurrence, German technology company Schunk Group notes that if the lightning protection in a wind turbine fails, it can cause damage in the electrical control system, and even cause the rotor blades to snap off. And a fire can “easily start.”
The Nantucket Current quoted an email from U.S. Coast Guard Command Duty Officer Meghan Manship that said that the turbine “was struck by lightning on 27FEB25, caught fire, and detached … F/V Madison Kate is o/s, and reported no signs of debris.”
Whether there was an actual fire remains uncertain. Caballero confirmed that while there was a report of a fire, she couldn’t confirm if it actually happened, since no one from the Coast Guard was in the area.
Updated with additional comments from Diolanda Caballero regarding reports of a fire and more information about the Vineyard Wind project.
Why wasn’t the still attached part of the broken blade removed long ago? It’s been 8+ months since the incident.
Also, where is the detached blade that lay on the ocean floor around AW-38?
Vineyard Wind 1 never responded to my emails regarding the recovery efforts and if they were successful.
Vineyard Wind could do a lot better in the PR department in my opinion.
Jason, Vineyard Wind’s PR department has successfully shielded bad news from the state, local governments and residents by not reporting on this disaster for over 8 months. Here are some serious questions:
1. Why is it taking so long to get a status on this damage?
2. Where is the bottleneck, Vineyard Wind, the government agencies? “The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, the agency that investigated Vineyard Wind’s broken blade incident, did not respond to a request for comment.”
3. Here is detail from Schunk-group regarding damage to windmills from “Lightning strikes to wind turbines are not uncommon. According to the industry portal Windbranche, each wind turbine is struck by lightning 0.6 to once a year on average – usually on a rotor blade. The risk is even higher for multi-megawatt turbines. Studies show that these are exposed to direct lightning strikes at least ten times a year. No wonder, due to their exposed location on hills or off coasts, wind turbines attract lightning particularly strongly. Strikes can have serious consequences – from repair-related failures to the destruction of the entire plant.”
4. Go to this link to click below Bureau of Ocean Management for many more incidents regarding Vineyard Wind.
https://www.boem.gov/renewable-energy
5. When will VW go on site to examine and report on this lighting strike damage?
Why should the broken blade stub be removed?
How much abandoned fishing gear is around AW-38?
Did you email the owners of the gear?
Wind turbine Crew Transfer Vessels drivers make a 120K a year.
Did you apply?
Albert, VW promised to “ultimately GE Vernova’s planned removal and replacement of the blade in May 2025,”. First, why will it take 10 months for VW to remove this blade stub? Lightening strikes are common, may cause fires and cause the two remaining blades to break apart.
Wind power turbines (broken blades, pollution, etc.) are of immediate concern because they create significant environmental, fishing and navigation harm. Abandoned fishing gear not as important.
Whataboutism, Just because one issue happens it doesn’t justify another….
Are you on the Vineyard Wind weekly email update? It would answer many of the questions you regularly ask.
Lightning strike on Coxes Ledge?
Look around at all the rooftops; they all have lightning rods.
The average New Englander knew this was coming and many more will come.
As very tall objects that are also very well grounded, we can expect lightning strikes to be a very common event. Weather organizations must have historical records of frequency, intensity and duration. Were the stats factored into turbine uptime and maintenance analysis?
Perhaps the people collecting those stats were let go in the recent round of NOAA firings . . .
I’m astonished that some fishermen are so willing to attack wind energy generation, but don’t seem to care at all about plans to dispose of radioactive waste water from the old nuclear power plant in our oceans.
Which is more harmful, windmills or radiation?
Pull out your Geiger counters so you can measure for yourself how much radiation is escaping into our air.
Mary, stop deflecting. No one has disposed radioactive waste in the ocean.
Stay on point, this conversation is about wind power.
Imagine that– an 850 ft tall structure standing in the open ocean ocean gets hit by lightning.. Who would have ever imagined that could happen ? I would imagine that they won’t remove the stump until they have the new blade to replace it. Why would they get all the necessary equipment up there just to remove it ? And for those who apparently don’t read this paper, or don’t want to know when something is done correctly — https://www.mvtimes.com/2024/10/15/cleanup-underway-submerged-turbine-blade/
Would they not be better off spending their time and effort installing new, match-weight blades and nacelles to get them operational before backtracking to remove all three of the remaining blades on that tower and installing three matching replacements? It is turning out to be that the same wind that spins the turbines to create power also delays their installation due to the need for human safety as the blades are attached.
Don- the article states that a clean up effort was in progress, No press release on whether the efforts were successful or not.
If you have that information, please share the link or details.
Surely raising that size blade from the ocean floor would make some sort of news or social media headlines. Also, that kind of news would benefit VW1 as showing their efforts for recovery and transparency.
Their PR department needs work!
They’re not windmills, they’re wind turbines. Big difference. Let’s call them what they are, because words matter. A fracture or failure can result in spilled diesel, oil, fiberglass and plastic. Pounding these columns into the ocean floor harms whales. To boot, the Vineyard is not receiving any energy from the turbines. It’s called Vineyard Wind but the foreign corporation is just using the Vineyard for staging. Trump ceased off-shore turbine installations due to the Save the Whales coalitions along the east coast who presented evidence and lobbied the Federal Administration. On the Vineyard, a combination of hating Trump and wishing to save the world supports the Vineyard Wind corporation, a distraction from truly caring for our environment. Our East coast shoreline needs to be preserved and protected. Why is it called “Vineyard Wind” when the Vineyard gets no energy from this project? I hear the wind energy goes to “our partners” in RI and CT. It looks like “Vineyard Wind” is a scam. It’s just industrialization that is using more energy to build and maintain than it puts out. Save the Whales is a much better cause.
Kay, I was sort of hoping that after years of debate, that the misinformation based on rumors, lies, and ignorance were starting to subside. Unfortunately, your comment shows us that is not so. I could once again link to hundreds of studies that show the the turbines energy consumption for construction and maintenance vs output cross after about 18 months of operations. I could once again talk about the physical impossibility of electricity coming ashore in Barnstable, and somehow bypassing the Vineyard on its way to R.I or CT. I could again explain the laws and contracts governing the distribution of that electricity. I could again put up the name and address of the U.S based company that owns this. But at what point does one stop beating their head against a wall ? Or for that matter, trying to convince those who refuse to believe the truth. I won’t give up, but I respectfully ask that you actually do a little digging into the things that you assert here, and learn for yourself. There are facts out there about all your concerns. You don’t have to rely on what you hear. Thanks..
Were does VineyardWind power go?
Cape Cod.
Where does the Vineyard’s electricity come from?
Cape Cod.
Just like everything else on the Island.
What happened to the one-comment-per-story rule?
It is one comment per day
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