On July 13, 2024, a Vineyard Wind (VW) turbine blade shattered and spread debris on Nantucket beaches and throughout the region.
“As was widely reported in national and local news, in July 2024, one of the GER offshore blades collapsed and fell into the waters off Nantucket, necessitating a massive environmental cleanup, and a six-month construction hiatus during which GER performed a “root cause” analysis. That analysis concluded that 68 of the 72 GER blades installed at the Project (nearly all manufactured by GER in Gaspé, Canada) were also defective because they were inadequately bonded together, and were so poorly made that they were beyond repair. GER’s remediation plan required it to remove all of the blades and to replace all Gaspé blades with others manufactured at a different facility in Cherbourg, France.“
Unsurprisingly, VW has found their contractor GE Renewables to be solely responsible for this troubling incident. However, as lessee and operator VW bears ultimate responsibility for all lease activities including the work of contractors, project design and management, fabrication and installation oversight, selection of the certified verification agent, and incident response.
Meanwhile, the Federal ( BSEE) investigation report has still not been issued. That report should provide an independent assessment of concerns discussed on this blog including quality control, regulatory departures, debris recovery, and environmental impacts. The investigation is significant, not only for VW, but for other offshore wind projects planned or under construction, in the US and worldwide.
Keep in mind that the lengthy and complex National Commission, BOEMRE, Chief Counsel, and NAE reports on the 2010 Macondo blowout were published 6 to 17 months after the well was shut-in.
Bud's Offshore Energy (BOE) 