“The government documents for ALL the Atlantic projects make it clear that there will be no benefit to climate change from implementing wide scale offshore wind.”
“And how is it possible that an attorney representing an island that is receiving the full brunt of the environmental impacts from this massive industrial project is lecturing the press that historic preservation can co-exist with offshore wind? The sight of just the first 40 towers from Vineyard Wind makes it clear they can’t.”
“Blindly following public relations statements about offshore wind as a critical solution to climate change that must be implemented immediately is how we got here in the first place. It has become clear that Nantucket receives no benefits from, but is significantly harmed by, Vineyard Wind. Our Select Board’s role should not be to advocate for any energy source that harms Nantucket.”
“Dawn Hill, a signatory to the Good Neighbor Agreement and the current Select Board Chair, was a bright spot in the meeting. Her acknowledgment that the project is way more impactful than communicated at the time the Good Neighbor Agreement was signed gives hope that more rational thinking and action is on the way.“
MV Times: “The recent site visit raised questions on the production of the wind farm. The Times has been able to neither verify the report independently nor confirm disparities between visuals on the ground and the Iberdrola report.”
Avangrid, an Iberdrola subsidiary and one of Vineyard Wind’s developers, reported that 17 out of 62 turbines were currently sending power to the Massachusetts grid.
The MV Times counted between five and nine turbines spinning at different points, and for different intervals, in their two hour visit.
BOE comment: Although there are many possible reasons for this discrepancy, it’s reasonable to question the absence of turbine output data. Developers assert that generator specific data are sensitive and could have market implications. However, these turbines are operating on public lands and were in part publicly funded. Output data and other performance metrics clearly have policy implications.
Note that Iberdrola “expect[s] no impact from new federal budget legislation, as it doesn’t impact 1,000 megawatts under construction.”
An MV Times photo of a Vineyard Wind substation is pasted below. These substations are large structures. Per the Construction and Operations Plan (COP) for Vineyard Wind, the topsides for a conventional electrical service platform (ESP) (also known as an offshore substation or OSS) are 45 x 70 x 38 m, which is larger in surface area than a typical 6-pile oil and gas platform (~30 x 30 m), and is comparable in size to a large jackup drilling rig.
On Tuesday morning, the Nantucket Select Board blasted Vineyard Wind and gave the company 2 weeks to respond to their 15 demands. The Nantucket Current provides good coverage of the press conference. The specific demands are listed below.
Text emergency notifications to designated Town officials within 1 hour.
Alert the same officials when blade monitors detect anomalies.
Share with Nantucket the content of any written communications with or from federal agencies regarding project failures that have impacts on Nantucket.
Email detailed monthly project updates to the Select Board and Town Manager.
Present updates and take public questions at Select Board meetings upon request and no less than quarterly.
Respond to written questions from the Select Board within three business days.
Provide relevant project reports within 1 week of submission to any agency.
Share all studies or data reports on adverse effects within five business days of receipt.
Disclose correspondence with regulatory agencies within 15 business days.
Notify the Town if the company is asserting any confidentiality claims to shield public disclosure of reports or data in regulatory filings.
Pay liquidated damages ($250,000) per violation of the above communication protocols.
Pay liquidated damages ($25,000) per turbine per day) for each day that turbine lights are on without the Aircraft Detection and Lighting System (ADLS) being active.
Within 2 months, initiate a process to seek public input on new emergency response plans—including blade failure scenarios.
Establish and maintain a $10 million escrow fund to ensure coverage of cleanup costs from future failures.
Permanently suspend new projects if any future incident forces beach closures or shellfish harvesting bans for seven consecutive days or 14 total days in any 6-month period.
I observed the press conference on the Town’s YouTube channel, and my sense is that this may be Vineyard Wind’s last chance to amicably resolve these issues. Board member Dawn Hill, who now regrets signing the increasingly unpopular Good Neighbor Agreement with Vineyard Wind, didn’t hold back when she said:
“These wind turbines are bigger, brighter, and much more impactful than we ever thought, and not to mention the environmental hazard from failures. But my choice would be with our new, federal administration to really wake up and try and put an end to these things, because they’re not worth it to the coast of the United States.”
Vineyard Wind is now sending power from 17 turbines to the Massachusetts grid, up from four in May.
According to satellite images, it appears at least 40 of the project’s 62 turbines are in the water as of this month.
Can’t tell how many blades are from the Canadian plant that manufactured the blade that failed, and therefore need to be removed and replaced.
A cross-examination of past detailed maps from Vineyard Wind and new satellite images suggests that about 22 of the 40 seemingly installed turbines are likely complete.
A second turbine installation vessel, the new Danish jack-up Wind Pace, has arrived and is assisting the Sea Installer, the primary installation vessel.
Given the absence of updates from Vineyard Wind and its regulators, the excellent reporting by local media like the New Bedford Light and Nantucket Current is much appreciated.
Turbine tower components stand tall at the New Bedford Marine Commerce Terminal in April 2025. Credit: Eleonora Bianchi / The New Bedford Light
Nantucket Current:Nantucket officials and attorneys will hold a press conference next Tuesday, July 29th, at 9:30 a.m. regarding “Vineyard Wind’s failure to meet its legal and public commitments to the community.”
“BSEE’s comprehensive and independent investigation is ongoing,” an agency spokesperson wrote in an email to the Current on Tuesday. “There is no timetable for the completion of the investigation, as BSEE focuses on ensuring that the investigation is thorough and complete.”
Debris from the failed Vineyard Wind blade littering the south shore of Nantucket in July 2024. Nantucket Current photo.
Nantucket reached a settlement agreement (attached) with turbine manufacturer GE Vernova (GEV), praising that company while criticizing Vineyard Wind (VW), the lessee and operator:
“The Town of Nantucket commends GE Vernova for its leadership in reaching this agreement. By contrast, the Town has found Vineyard Wind wanting in terms of its leadership, accountability, transparency, and stewardship in the aftermath of the blade failure and determined that it would not accept Vineyard Wind as a signatory to the settlement,”the town stated Friday morning.
Comments:
For a relatively modest sum ($10.5 million) paid by the contractor (GEV), the agreement further limits the Town’s ability to hold Vineyard Wind, the lessee and operating company, accountable. See sections 4, 5(a), and 9 of the agreement.
The Town’s ability to challenge the project was already compromised by their unpopular “Good Neighbor Agreement.”
What ever happened to operator responsibility? This fundamental tenet of the OCS oil and gas program also applies to offshore wind. Vineyard Wind should be the party that is fully accountable for the damages associated with their project. VW can seek compensation from GEV, but VW is the accountable party.
Can you imagine if BP had attempted to stay on the sidelines while Transocean and other contractors settled claims associated with the Macondo blowout? Unthinkable!
Nantucket should have insisted on VW’s participation, rather than excluding them.
What does the lessor, the Federal govt, have to say about damage compensation? Are civil penalties forthcoming? When will we finally see the BSEE investigation report!
Given the investigation’s significance, not only for Vineyard Wind, but for other offshore wind projects planned or under construction, how is the delay in issuing the report acceptable?
Keep in mind that the lengthy and complex National Commission, BOEMRE, Chief Counsel, and NAE reports on the Macondo blowout were published 6 to to 17 months after the well was shut-in.
Bidding at the February 2022 Atlantic (NY/NJ) wind saleseemed incomprehensible given the economic and political uncertainties associated with offshore wind development.The 6 leases garnered bids ranging from $285 million to an astounding $1.1 billion, with total high bids of $4.37 billion! The Administration’s victory message correctly boasted that this was the “nation’s highest grossing competitive energy lease sale in history.”
The intense bidding was driven by the lure of subsidies, guaranteed power sales, unprecedented Federal and State promotion, peak climate activism, inattention to mounting public opposition, and irrational expectations regarding the role of offshore wind in powering the regional economy.
The table below summarizes the sale results and the current status for the 6 leasesissued following the 2/2022 sale. One lease has been essentially terminated by the partners and the State. The other leases are in holding patterns in the planning phases.
high bidder
lease #
acres
bid ($millions)
status
Bluepoint Wind (EDP, ENGIE, Global Infrastructure Partners)
The first US commercial offshore project, Vineyard Wind, has proven to be a major step backward for the wind industry. After being granted questionable financial and quality assurance waivers to reduce costs and “allow Vineyard Wind to adhere to its construction schedule,” the July 2024 turbine blade failure and subsequent lightning strike have raised new questions about the technology, industry, and regulatory regime. The report on the blade failure, which should arguably be a precursor to the resumption of Atlantic wind development, has yet to be released.
The one shining light, relatively speaking, for Atlantic wind development, has been Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind. That large project is on track to be completed at the end of 2026. Although the cost has risen about nine per cent, to $10.7 billion, that increase is understandable given the higher than anticipated costs for upgrading the onshore network.
Seafreeze Shoreside, Inc., Petitioner, Amicus briefs submitted by Green Oceans, Protect Our Coast NJ, America First Policy Institute, and the Save Right Whales Coalition
Given that the SCOTUS declined to hear a Vineyard Wind challenge by the Nantucket-based ACK for Whales group, the odds of the new challenges being heard would seem to be low. However, it’s noteworthy that both Vineyard Wind and the Federal Government have waived their right to respond to these petitions. The Government’s waiver to respond to the RODA petition is pasted below.
Below are interesting pictures of Vineyard Wind’s repair and installation activity taken today by Nantucket pilot Doug Lindley. He commented that only of the turbines was spinning.
Also note the vessel transporting replacement blades.
It’s a bit difficult to rationalize all of this, but the Administration of Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey sees these projects as being critical to the Commonwealth’s energy future.
