Feds shut down Vineyard Wind project following turbine blade failure

Bruce Beaubouef * Managing Editor

A turbine in the Vineyard Wind offshore wind farm suffered an apparent blade failure on July 13, leaving debris in the water and washing up on Nantucket Island, offshore Massachusetts. 

Following the failure, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) issued a suspension order that directs Vineyard Wind to halt any power production operations or new construction activity. 

Joint venture developers Avangrid and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners say that they have placed two recovery teams on Nantucket Island to survey southern-facing beaches of the island for the recovery of debris. 

The stricken turbine was reportedly undergoing testing and one blade fractured about 65 feet from the hub. There, “large pieces” were recovered near the site 26 miles offshore, according to Vineyard Wind officials.

Vineyard Wind and the Coast Guard have created a safety zone of 500 meters around the turbine, where investigators with the developers and turbine manufacturer GE Vernova are investigating the failure. Surveys continued offshore for floating debris, with aerial overflights and vessel patrols and daily foot patrols on the island beaches.

BSEE’s suspension order directs Vineyard Wind to cease power production from all its wind turbine generators until it can be determined whether the blade failure affects any other turbines on the project. The order also suspended installation of new wind turbine generator facilities. Those operations will remain shut down until the suspension is lifted. BSEE has also issued a preservation order to safeguard any evidence that may be relevant to determining the cause of the incident.

As of this date, there are no reported injuries or harm to any marine resources or mammals from the incident. BSEE officials say that the agency will conduct an independent assessment to ensure the safety of future offshore renewable energy operations.

The Vineyard Wind 1 project is the first large-scale offshore wind farm in the United States to begin initial operations. As of February, it had five turbines of the 62 planned operating at full capacity, capable of generating 68 megawatts (MW) of power.

Prior to the incident and suspension order, it was also still under construction with only about a third of its planned turbines in the water. Vineyard Wind’s plan had been to install 62 turbines this year with a maximum potential power rating of 806 megawatts.

The Vineyard Wind incident is not the first failure of a wind turbine built by GE Vernova, according to a recent Reuters report. At least one other GE Vernova offshore wind turbine came apart this year, says Reuters, at the Dogger Bank A project off the UK coast.

In addition to these incidents, several onshore wind turbines in Germany and Sweden have also broken in recent years, according to Reuters. 

The Reuters report commented that: “[these] turbine blade incidents have been a setback for projects at a time when the US and other governments are relying on wind power in the transition away from fossil fuels to fight climate change. The mishaps have raised questions about the quality of GE’s turbines which are widely used across the industry.” 

It is not yet known if the failure was the result of a faulty installation or a problem resulting from the blade quality itself. 

Vineyard Wind has been installing GE Vernova’s Haliade-X 13-megawatt turbines, which have 107-meter-long blades. The blade broke about 20 meters (65.62 ft) out from the root, Vineyard Wind said.

In May, a single blade on the same model of GE turbine at the Dogger Bank A offshore wind farm also sustained damage, leading its operator SSE Renewables to restrict access to the waters around the project and investigate the cause. The result of the investigation has not publicly announced. An official from GE Vernova told Reuters that the two incidents were unrelated but did not elaborate.

Vineyard Wind officials say that they have removed about 17 cubic yards, or more than six truckloads, of debris from the damaged wind turbine off Massachusetts.

Fellow Endeavor Business Media brand, EnergyTech, also covered this news in their detailed report: Damaged Turbine Blade Fully Detaches at Vineyard Wind: Emergency Crews Responding to Clean Up Fiberglass Debris from Ocean and Coastline | EnergyTech.