Saving Seafood

Vineyard Wind And GE Vernova Respond To Community Questions After Blade Failure

August 26, 2024 — After weeks of avoiding questions from the community, GE Vernova and Vineyard Wind have responded to a list of inquiries from the Town of Nantucket. Those answers are included below, along with relevant context. Some questions and answers have been abbreviated or omitted for brevity or edited for grammatical correctness.

  • Question: Has this incident occurred elsewhere?

Answer: A Haliade 220-X blade incident has not occurred elsewhere due to a manufacturing deviation. There was an offshore blade event in the UK, but it was due to an unrelated installation issue. Answered by GE Vernova.

Context: While this answer is factually correct, it is worded to avoid mentioning similar issues that have occurred with a series of GE Vernova blades other than the Haliade 220-X.

  • Question: How long do we expect debris to wash up?

Answer: On August 14, 2024, the companies safely completed the removal of the hanging pieces of the affected blade through a safe controlled cutting operation. They also removed the debris that settled on the turbine platform. They are now advancing to the next step of the action plan by preparing for the removal of the blade root and addressing debris on the seafloor. The companies maintain teams at sea, by air, and on the shore in Nantucket and surrounding areas to address any additional debris that may be found. Answered by Vineyard Wind and GE Vernova.

Read the full article at the Nantucket Current

Fishing Flotilla Protests at Still-Damaged Vineyard Wind Turbine As Debris Continues to Wash Ashore

August 26, 2024 — A flotilla of fishermen from across the East Coast gathered yesterday near the site of a damaged Vineyard Wind turbine to protest the perceived risks posed by offshore wind projects to the ocean and maritime communities. The protest, which also included a “Hands Across the Beach” demonstration on shore, highlighted growing concerns among fishermen about the impact of large-scale wind farms on their livelihoods and the environment.

Vineyard Wind, which has been constructing towering turbine structures off the coast, has faced increasing criticism from local fishing communities. The concerns have escalated following a turbine blade failure in July that left fiberglass debris in the surrounding waters. Fishermen fear that the turbines, which are taller than the Statue of Liberty, may not withstand the harsh winter conditions and powerful storms of the North Atlantic.

Read the full article at Shore News Network

New turbine blade failure in North Sea, as fishermen protest at Vineyard Wind

August 26, 2024 — AGE Venova Haliade turbine suffered a blade failure Aug. 22 on the Dogger Bank A offshore wind project in the North Sea, about six weeks after a fractured blade shut down the Vineyard Wind project off southern New England.

The Dogger Bank incident is the second blade failure on that project after one in May. All three involve Haliade 13-megawatt generators, marketed by GE Vernova as an industry standard as wind developers go big in a quest for efficiency.

Read the full article at National Fisherman

MASSACHUSETTS: Debris from broken Vineyard Wind blade confirmed on Hyannis beach

August 26, 2024 — Vineyard Wind has confirmed that debris from its broken GE Vernova-made turbine blade was recently recovered from the shore in Hyannisport.

The town of Barnstable on Thursday released an advisory about pieces of foam debris “which were reported through the Vineyard Wind debris reporting hotline.”

Vineyard Wind spokesperson Craig Gilvarg on Friday noted that “in the initial report, roughly five small pieces were found by a resident and reported to the town of Barnstable.”

“As part of its debris recovery efforts, Vineyard Wind dispatched a crew to patrol the area, and no additional debris was found,” he said in an email. “We are coordinating with local officials, including any required shorebird monitoring personnel, to respond to any additional reports we receive.”

Read the full article at Yahoo! News

MASSACHUSETTS: Vineyard Wind debris confirmed on Hyannisport beaches

August 23, 2024 — The following was released by Town of Barnstable:

On Wednesday, August 21, 2024, Vineyard Wind confirmed that pieces of foam collected on Hyannisport beaches, and which were reported through the Vineyard Wind Debris Reporting Hotline, are from the damaged Vineyard Wind turbine blade.

The Town of Barnstable would like to remind the public that Vineyard Wind is responsible for collecting and removing any/all related debris, and only trained Vineyard Wind employees and/or Vineyard Wind contractors should handle debris.

• DO NOT put any debris in your home garbage for collection.

• DO NOT bring the debris to the Barnstable Transfer Station.

• DO notify the Vineyard Wind Reporting Hotline directly and immediately if you identify debris so they can remove it for analysis and proper disposal.

Any debris identified in the water or along Barnstable shorelines should be reported directly to Vineyard Wind’s Debris Reporting Hotline at 781-831-1134 to allow assigned crews to manage the proper recovery and clean-up of debris. This phone number is intended to provide improved and quicker service.

You can also report debris online: https://vineyardwind1.ethicspoint.com.

This page has updated information on GE blade debris recovery: https://static1.squarespace.com/…/1724075…/Updated_Blade Incident – Guidance for Communities_Final.pdf

MASSACHUSETTS: Vineyard Wind Removes Final Pieces Of Damaged Blade Hanging From Turbine

August 16, 2024 — Vineyard Wind announced Thursday that it had removed the remaining pieces of the damaged blade that had been hanging from one of its turbines since the failure event on July 13.

The hanging pieces of the blade – which once measured 351 feet and weighed 55 tons before it folded and shattered last month – were removed through a “controlled cutting operation” which Vineyard Wind had previewed in its action plan released on August 11.

“While most of the debris was collected during the operation, some entered the water column before it could be recovered,” the town of Nantucket announced on Thursday following an update from Vineyard Wind officials. “Vineyard Wind has assured the town that they will maintain teams at sea, by air, and onshore on Nantucket and surrounding areas to monitor and address any additional debris that may be found.”

Read the full article at the Nantucket Current

Vineyard Wind construction resumes one month after turbine blade failure. What we know.

August 15, 2024 — Even as investigations continue into what caused the blade on Vineyard Wind turbine AW-38 to collapse last month, sending splintered fiberglass, rigid foam and balsa wood into the ocean, limited construction is resuming on the 806-megawatt offshore project.

On Tuesday, Foss Maritime‘s Prevailing Wind barge — one of only two vessels in the world capable of transporting Vineyard Wind’s massive turbine components in an upright position — left the New Bedford Marine Commerce terminal loaded with tower sections and a nacelle and headed for the project area south of Martha’s Vineyard.

Also on board was a rack of three blades, though according to the wind developer this was “solely for the purpose of ensuring safe and balanced composition for the transport,” not for installation. The company said the blades will be returned to the commerce terminal later this week.

Read the full article at The Herald News

Feds allow Vineyard Wind to resume partial installation

August 14, 2024 –A fully loaded feeder barge with turbine components, which for weeks has been sitting in New Bedford, left port and headed out to the Vineyard Wind site Tuesday morning. There, a vessel will offload the nacelle and tower components, but the blades will stay on and return to port.

The federal government this week updated its suspension order, allowing the project-on-pause to resume partial installation of new turbines as the parties continue to analyze the blade failure, which happened one month ago.

The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE)’s latest suspension order continues to prohibit further blade installation or power production at this time.

In response to a request for comment, a BSEE spokesperson said the agency issued the latest suspension order on August 10. The order requires “risk analysis and mitigation approved by BSEE prior to being able to conduct any activities on the damaged turbine.”

Read the full article at The New Bedford Light

High-Tech “Crawlers” Deployed to Survey Vineyard Wind’s Turbine Blades

August 13, 2024 — A month after an embarrassing incident in which one of the turbine blades broke at the Vineyard Wind offshore wind farm, the developer presented its recovery plan. It is working with the U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, as well as the U.S. Coast Guard, and has retained Resolve Marine to assist Vineyard Wind and GE Vernova in the recovery effort. At the same time, residents continue to report finding fragments washed up on the shoreline of Massachusetts.

The project continues to repeat the preliminary assessment that is now completed by GE Vernova which cites a “manufacturing deviation” in the bonding of the composite material used to make the blades. The companies had said it was an identifiable issue with the adhesion that should have been discovered during quality control.

The blade initially broke on July 13 while one of the turbines not in service was undergoing testing. The automated safety controls stopped the individual turbine. Parts of the blade remained attached, while some sections were caught on the base and the remainder fell into the water. Elements of the composite material and the lightweight foam began washing up before the blade broke further in the following days. Work at the wind farm both on the turbines in service and construction was suspended and remains under a stop work order from BSEE.

Read the full article at The Maritime Executive

MASSACHUSETTS: More Vineyard Wind turbine pieces fall in ‘controlled detachment,’ debris could hit Nantucket beaches

August 13, 2024 — More pieces of the faulty Vineyard Wind turbine blade fell in a controlled detachment early Sunday morning, and Nantucket beaches remain at risk of seeing more debris wash up in the coming days, town officials reported.

“The controlled detachment follows a series of exercises conducted late last week to pitch the blade, which, in combination with storm winds, led to the safe separation of the sections below the root of the blade,” Nantucket officials stated Sunday night.

Following the July 13 initial malfunction and collapse of the wind turbine, Vineyard Wind and GE Vernova said they’ve developed a “comprehensive plan to recover the remaining AW-38 blade in incremental steps” in a presentation released Friday.

As of Sunday night, teams from the companies are assessing whether the remaining sections “pose a risk of detachment,” Nantucket officials said. The root of the blade, which has a plan in place for its removal, is still attached and being monitored.

Read the full article at The Boston Herald