July 30, 2024 — The federal Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement extended its order suspending electrical generation and construction at the Vineyard Wind offshore project, as investigations continue into the July 13 turbine blade failure.
BSEE issued a new suspension order July 26 to Vineyard Wind 1 “clarifying operational requirements and listing actions the company must take prior to personnel boarding any wind turbines,” the agency said.
July 29, 2024 — Congressman Bill Keating wants answers and better protocols from the federal government following the Vineyard Wind blade failure that sent countless pieces of foam and fiberglass debris — both tiny and large — to Nantucket shores.
“Numerous state and local officials have contacted my office to express their concerns regarding the lack of communication from the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) in the aftermath of this incident,” wrote Keating in a letter this week to the U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement.
BSEE has been regulating the oil and gas industry for more than a decade, and offshore wind is a new and developing industry in its portfolio. The agency cooperates with federal partner BOEM in the leasing of the expansive outer continental shelf for energy.
Per a government site, BOEM “studies the environment and leases resources,” while BSEE “provides regulatory oversight and enforcement” for environmental compliance, inspections and investigations.
“When debris is washing up on the beach, the first call a resident makes is to their town government, and [BSEE’s] delay in notifying local stakeholders is unfair to those impacted most by this incident,” Keating said in a press release Friday.
July 29, 2024 — After initially signaling plans for an “independent assessment,” federal regulators told the News Service on Thursday that they are conducting a “comprehensive and independent investigation” into an incident that sent part of a Vineyard Wind turbine blade tumbling into the Atlantic Ocean and scattered debris across area beaches.
A spokesperson for the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement said Thursday that the agency’s work will take a close look at the root cause of the July 13 incident at a turbine that was undergoing testing off the coast of Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard.
“BSEE is conducting its own comprehensive and independent investigation into the causes and factors contributing to the incident and will evaluate all information provided to us,” the spokesperson said in a statement to the News Service. “BSEE’s policy is to release its findings to the public once our investigation is complete. Currently, there is no specific timeframe for the completion of the investigation.”
After the incident, BSEE ordered Vineyard Wind to stop generating power and to halt installation of new turbines, and issued a “preservation order” that a spokesperson previously said would “safeguard any evidence that may be relevant to determining the cause of the incident.”
July 29, 2024 — Federal judges appeared skeptical Thursday of a legal challenge by fishing industry groups against Vineyard Wind, the nation’s first large-scale offshore wind project.
In back-to-back oral arguments before the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Seafreeze Shoreside and the Responsible Offshore Development Alliance respectively urged a three-judge panel to reverse lower court rulings upholding approvals for the project.
A lower court “misread the law,” said Theodore Hadzi-Antich, a senior attorney for the Texas Public Policy Foundation representing Seafreeze Shoreside, referring to a 2023 ruling from the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts in favor of Vineyard Wind.
July 25, 2024 — The New England Fishermen’s Stewardship Association (NEFSA) has called for the First U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to reconsider the dismissal of a lawsuit against the Department of the Interior regarding the safety of Vineyard Wind’s turbines. The case, RODA v. Department of the Interior, is scheduled for oral arguments on Thursday.
Jerry Leeman, CEO of NEFSA, highlighted recent issues related to the Vineyard Wind project, particularly a blade malfunction that resulted in debris being scattered across important fishing areas. “The Responsible Offshore Development Alliance (RODA) put the government on notice over two years ago that Vineyard Wind’s turbines aren’t safe. The recent blade disaster has scattered debris over a huge swath of historic fishing grounds, creating serious hazards for mariners and marine life,” Leeman stated.
Leeman raised concerns over the safety testing of the Haliade-X turbines used in the project. “As RODA’s lawsuit explains, there is no evidence Vineyard Wind’s Haliade-X turbines were ever safety tested. Fishermen are gravely concerned that they cannot withstand the volatile marine conditions of the north Atlantic. Now New England fishermen are paying a steep price for this criminal lack of oversight.”
July 24, 2024 — As additional debris from a damaged offshore wind turbine washes ashore on Nantucket, the town is considering other methods of dealing with the aftermath, including litigation.
Last weekend, a damaged Vineyard Wind turbine sent floating debris and sharp fiberglass across the south shore of Nantucket, angering residents.
In response to the ongoing crisis on the island, the Nantucket Select Board will meet in executive session on Tuesday to discuss “potential litigation in connection with Vineyard Wind” regarding recovery costs associated with the blade failure, according to an online meeting notice.
Representatives from GE and Vineyard Wind will give an update at Wednesday’s regularly scheduled Select Board meeting. The engineering firm Aracadis is also expected to complete an environmental assessment soon, which they will present at the Wednesday meeting.
Read the full article at Boston.com
July 22, 2024 — The 300-foot blade section that detached from a Vineyard Wind turbine this week sank to the ocean floor, Nantucket officials said Friday. Nautical charts show waters are about 150 feet deep in the area (or roughly half as deep as the blade is long).
Meanwhile, a federal official said they have no time estimate on when the project shutdown might end because the investigation is in its early stages. While officials try to determine the cause of the blade failure, turbine components will continue to arrive at the New Bedford staging terminal, but won’t be heading back out to sea for installation.
Vineyard Wind and GE Vernova have not shared their plans for retrieving the major blade piece as of Friday afternoon. About half of the fiberglass shell remains attached to the nacelle, and most of the foam core was released during the initial failure on July 13, according to Nantucket officials.
Amid concerns about health and economic impacts, town officials said Vineyard Wind is developing a water quality testing plan for the island and setting up a process in which affected people can file claims.
“Vineyard Wind is fully responsible for the repercussions on Nantucket, and Town Administration and the Select Board will ensure they are held accountable,” said the town in a statement Friday. Per a meeting agenda filed the same day, the Select Board and county commissioners are scheduled to meet next week to discuss possible litigation against the company over the incident.
Also on Friday, BSEE and Vineyard Wind representatives delivered limited updates during a previously scheduled meeting of state officials and fishing industry members. The group meets regularly to discuss offshore wind developments; the turbine incident was added to the top of the agenda and discussed for just under an hour.
July 19, 2024 — A broken turbine blade on one of the Vineyard Wind generators shed more fiberglass material into the water 15 miles off Nantucket, Mass., prompting project CEO Klaus Skoust Møller to abruptly leave a tense meeting with the island community Wednesday evening.
In the midst of the meeting with the Nantucket Select Board carried online via Zoom, Møller apologized that he had to leave to deal with “a development to the integrity of the blade” that had been hanging off turbine AW38 since its initial failure July 13.
“Folks this is the definition of crisis management,” said board chair Brooke Mohr, instructing Møller to report back to the board later. “Things change by the minute.”
Vineyard Wind officials issued a statement soon after.
“This evening there was an observed compromise to the integrity of the GE Vernova blade. While part of the blade remains attached to the turbine, we believe there is an increased possibility it could detach soon. There has been a 500-meter safety zone implemented around the turbine and GE Vernova blade since Saturday night, and it has been under constant surveillance.”
July 18, 2024 — As Vineyard Wind CEO Klaus Skoust Møller apologized to the Nantucket community Wednesday night for his company’s damaged offshore turbine blade that has scattered debris across the island’s south shore beaches, more trouble was brewing at the wind farm 15 miles southwest of Nantucket.
After getting grilled by island residents for more than an hour about the unfolding disaster, Møller abruptly left the building after being informed that “there was a development to the integrity of the blade.”
He departed the island aboard a Leonardo helicopter to attend to the situation while those in attendance waited in suspense for an update.
An hour later it came: the integrity of the blade – which was hanging parallel to the turbine after last Saturday’s incident – had become further compromised, and more debris had been observed falling into the water. By Thursday morning, the remaining portion of the blade had plummeted into the waves.
July 17, 2024 — Debris from a broken Vineyard Wind turbine blade washed up all over Nantucket’s south shore Tuesday morning, prompting the offshore energy company to mount a cleanup effort and the federal government to shut down the wind farm “until further notice.”
Residents began reporting pieces of green and white foam, along with larger pieces of what appears to fiberglass, along southern Nantucket beaches at daybreak, stretching from Madaket out to Nobadeer.
The federal Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement announced Tuesday afternoon that Vineyard Wind’s “operations are shut down until further notice.”
All south shore beaches were closed to swimming by the town just after 11 a.m. as a result of the debris. There is no estimate for when they will be reopened.
“The water is closed to swimming on all south shore beaches, due to large floating debris and sharp fiberglass shards,” Nantucket Harbormaster Sheila Lucey said. “You can walk on the beaches, however we strongly recommend you wear footwear due to sharp, fiberglass shards and debris on the beaches.”
Vineyard Wind disclosed Monday that one of its turbine blades suffered damage Saturday during an “offshore incident.” The exact nature of the incident is not yet known, but there were no injuries to any Vineyard Wind personnel or other mariners.