February 25, 2025 — The constantly blinking lights atop the Vineyard Wind offshore wind energy turbines could soon be turned off for most of the night.
Vineyard Wind is set to test its aircraft detection lighting system this week on 12 turbines, Nantucket select board chair Brooke Mohr said in a meeting last week. The lights have remained blinking at night, becoming a hot topic on the sister island and a nuisance for Vineyarders who say the lights stand out against the dark sky.
The system is designed to have the lights off unless an aircraft is approaching. When a plane comes near, the lights on the turbine start to flash red. The system was approved for the project by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, but hasn’t been in use as the project is being built.
At the Nantucket select board meeting Wednesday, Ms. Mohr said she talked to Vineyard Wind CEO Klaus Moeller, and he said the first 12 turbines would go dark at night starting this week.
“What they’re doing is they’re sending a helicopter over next week to test that,” Ms. Mohr said. “They expect to roll out another tranche of them the following month.”