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Vineyard Wind meets one 2024 deadline, misses another

January 3, 2024 — Vineyard Wind made mixed progress on its wind farm at the end of the year, meeting one deadline while missing another. It installed the last of 62 foundations for its wind turbines, a new map shows, pounding the remaining pieces into the seafloor before a New Year deadline, when pile driving is restricted through May. But the project missed its former goal of being fully operational by 2024, and has quite a bit of work ahead in 2025.

With the foundations finished, all but three are now connected to yellow transition pieces, which will allow tower installation to proceed, according to the Dec. 30 map. But the same map shows the project still has to install 30 towers and generators, and about 120 blades. That means dozens more barge transits in and out of the Port of New Bedford with the major turbine components on board.

Read the full article at The New Bedford Light

2024 in review: Major milestones and epic failures mark offshore wind industry

January 2, 2024 — 2024 was going to be the year when the U.S. made a small but significant dent in reaching its goals of bringing offshore wind power to the nation’s electric grid.

Offshore wind did reach major milestones in 2024, with “steel in the water” at four projects. But due to an unexpected failure at sea off the Massachusetts coast, the country remains under one gigawatt of operating offshore wind power — a long way from its 2030 goal.

The expected 800-megawatt contribution from Vineyard Wind 1 didn’t happen, in large part due to a catastrophic blade failure over the summer that made headlines and brought the 62-turbine project and its partial power generation to a halt.

Despite this incident — and the re-election of Donald Trump, a vocal critic of offshore wind — the industry celebrated breakthroughs and earned significant investments this year, both locally and nationally. In Massachusetts, officials remain bullish.

Vineyard Wind turbine blade fails

Months after celebrating first power, Vineyard Wind 1 came to a halt in July when a blade that was undergoing testing snapped offshore, sending foam and debris to coastal towns.

The federal government for months suspended most construction and operations, significantly stalling construction at the site, which was supposed to be completed in 2024. The Light visited Vineyard Wind by boat on Nov. 20 and found that only a third of the planned turbines were completed. Vineyard Wind removed blades from at least two turbines, but was permitted to install one set of blades in December.

The federal Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), continues to investigate the incident and has yet to release its findings to the public. It has not yet allowed Vineyard Wind 1 to resume generating power.

Read the full article at The New Bedford Light

The winds of change: Offshore wind’s role in a future Trump administration

December 30, 2024 — While offshore wind has faced the ire of Donald Trump for years, culminating with expected rollbacks of federal support in just a few weeks’ time, the industry remains surprisingly optimistic that the renewable power source will play a key role in the president-elect’s energy strategy.

Trump has repeatedly vowed to target offshore wind, blocking new projects and federal funding for the industry in his new administration. During a May campaign rally in New Jersey, the Republican promised to take action on this during his first day in office through an executive order.

Read the full article at the The Washington Examiner

“We Deserve Answers.” Town Hosting Offshore Wind Regulators For Public Forum

December 27, 2024 — Federal regulators will attend a public forum hosted by the Nantucket Select Board on January 14 to answer questions about their role in the Vineyard Wind blade failure.

Representatives from the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), which has regulatory authority over offshore wind developments, will attend the Zoom webinar and answer questions from island residents.

There are some ground rules, however, as BSEE officials will only respond to questions provided to them in advance, and the date to submit any inquiries is quickly approaching: Dec. 30.

The public is invited to email questions to bseepublicaffairs@bsee.gov by that date.

“It will not be a back-and-forth situation,” Select Board chair Brooke Mohr stated. “They agreed to come only if we submitted questions in writing. Those are the parameters of their willingness to come and meet with the public.”

Read the full article at the Nantucket Current

Vineyard Wind 2 project in jeopardy with Connecticut withdrawal

December 23, 2024 — Connecticut state officials withdrew their planned offtake purchase of 400 megawatts from the future Vineyard Wind 2 expansion Dec. 20, threatening the 1,200 MW project that was based on plans for Massachusetts and Connecticut to split its energy production.

That news came hours after the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management announced its approval of the SouthCoast Wind project, on an adjoining lease to Vineyard Wind. 

Nantucket municipal officials said last week that turbine blade installations had resumed on the Vineyard Wind 1 lease Dec. 14, after five months of oversight by the federal Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, lengthy inspections and removal of some blades stemming from a catastrophic failure on one turbine July 13.

Read the full article at WorkBoat

MASSACHUSETTS: Biden team OKs another wind project off Martha’s Vineyard

December 23, 2024 — In the 11th hour, the Biden administration approved its 11th offshore wind project, SouthCoast Wind, greenlighting the installation of up to 141 turbines south of Martha’s Vineyard.

The project approval comes just ahead of the second Trump presidency, which, at worst, is expected to be hostile to offshore wind, and, at best, to slow progress and permitting that accelerated during the last four years.

The record of decision issued Friday is a joint decision by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, NOAA Fisheries, and the Army Corps of Engineers.

Read the full article at The New Bedford Light

MASSACHUSETTS: A shifting wind

December 20, 2024 —  Public sentiment on offshore wind developments in southerly waters off Martha’s Vineyard is shifting, with challenges mounting against the industry and controversy hitting home for Islanders.

The Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) have been outspoken critics of the offshore wind industry, and amplified those calls last week by supporting a lawsuit against Revolution Wind brought by a Rhode Island group.

Nantucket officials over the past several months have been dealing with the aftermath of a turbine blade fracturing and washing debris onto their shores, and town leaders have considered legal action against Vineyard Wind.

The latest to raise a concern: Martha’s Vineyard Commission Executive Director Adam Turner is calling on the state’s highest elected official to help the Island shoulder the burden from offshore wind developments, noting both visual and environmental impacts.

“There are approximately 1,000 turbines permitted currently,” reads a letter written by Turner on Dec. 12 to Gov. Maura Healey. “The vast majority are proposed to be located directly off the southern and western shores of our Island. Already, with only a small fraction constructed, they have affected the visual quality of our shores. Already we have absorbed environmental impacts.”

Turner voices a solid consensus on the Island that pursuing alternative energy sources is essential for fighting climate change, but he also told The Times in a follow-up interview he strongly felt Martha’s Vineyard should be better compensated for having to deal with projects that will power not only the rest of Massachusetts, but other states, including Connecticut and Rhode Island.

Read the full article at MV Times

DELAWARE: Delaware council rejects permit critical to development of wind farm off Ocean City coast

December 19, 2024 — In a dramatic move, members of Sussex County Council in Delaware rejected an application crucial to the completion of a new wind farm off the Atlantic coast. The proposal, which was rejected Tuesday in a 4-1 vote, was at the center of a monthslong debate in Sussex County.

If approved, it would have allowed Renewable Development, a subsidiary of US Wind, to connect high-voltage cables from the Indian River to a new substation adjacent to the Indian River Power Plant in Dagsboro.

US Wind, a Maryland energy company owned in part by an Italian infrastructure firm, said in a statement that it will appeal the decision.

Now with the future of the project uncertain, Sussex County taxpayers will likely be on the hook to fund the county’s opposition to US Wind’s appeal and a potential future lawsuit.

Even with the rejection, the US Wind project is not dead, but significantly hampered and likely looking at further delays. It can still find another way to bring its cables ashore if it should lose its appeal.

Read the full article at Maryland Matters

Vineyard Wind resumes work to install turbine blades to towers off Nantucket

December 19, 2024 — Construction crews have resumed attaching blades to Vineyard Wind’s turbines off the coast of Nantucket.

The work comes months after a blade broke off and sent debris and fiberglass into the water and onto beaches along the Cape and Islands.

The federal agency overseeing the safety of the offshore wind farm said it’s allowing turbine manufacturer GE Vernova and Vineyard Wind to install three more blades.

Read the full article at WCVB