ACK For Whales Files New Challenge Of Vineyard Wind Permit

The Nantucket-based group ACK For Whales has launched a new challenge to Vineyard Wind, filing a petition with the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to revoke the offshore wind developer's Clean Air Act permit for the project.

The permit, which was issued by the EPA on June 21, 2021, outlines the air pollution control requirements for Vineyard Wind, ensuring that it complies with federal and state regulations. However, ACK For Whales has asserted that the agency failed to consider the additional emissions resulting from blade failure events like the one that occurred at Vineyard Wind on July 13, 2024, as well as the cumulative effects of emissions from vessels and pile driving associated with the project.

"When the Vineyard Wind 1 blade failed on July 13, 2024, it became clear that such an event had not been adequately forestalled," the non-profit group stated in its petition. "The resultant vessel traffic to search for and collect debris, the removal of 66 installed blades including international transport of damaged and replacement blades, and re-installment of new blades is not accounted for. In addition, the emissions from likely pollution events such as blade failures is not considered as there is not even a pollution plan in the permitting documents."

Vineyard Wind officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment on ACK For Whales' petition.

While its previous legal challenges have all been rejected, ACK For Whales' latest effort to stymie Vineyard Wind comes amid a completely changed political landscape under President Donald Trump's administration. Trump's executive order signed on his inauguration day in January immediately halted any new federal leases for offshore wind projects. It also sets the stage for his administration to terminate or amend existing wind energy leases - including for projects such as Vineyard Wind and SouthCoast Wind off Nantucket - following a review by the Secretary of the Department of the Interior. That review will focus on "the ecological, economic, and environmental necessity of terminating or amending any existing wind energy leases, identifying any legal bases for such removal."

The drastic shift from the Biden administration and Trump's open hostility toward offshore wind projects gives the members of ACK For Whales hope that their petition filed with the EPA could gain traction.

Earlier this month, an administrative appeals board remanded the EPA air pollution permit issued for the Atlantic Shores South wind farm off the New Jersey shore, just six months after the federal agency had signed off on the permit. The challenge was brought by area residents who opposed the project.

ACK For Whales' petition is following in the footsteps of that playbook.

"ACK for Whales has been steadfast in its mission trying to protect the ocean and marine life, as well as Nantucket, from the environmental damage caused by offshore wind projects like Vineyard Wind," said ACK For Whales president Val Oliver in a statement. "We are pleased that the Trump administration is taking the concerns of groups like ours seriously. For way too long the 'all of government approach' advancing offshore wind has been reckless, and the blade explosion we suffered last summer is just one example of how 'not green' these projects are."

While Vineyard Wind had hoped to have its 62-turbine wind farm fully operational by now, the July 2024 blade failure led to the suspension of the project by the federal Bureau of Safety & Environmental Enforcement (BSEE). A subsequent analysis by Vineyard Wind's turbine manufacturer GE Vernova determined the blade failure was the result of a manufacturing deviation - specifically insufficient bonding - traced back to its plant in Gaspe, Canada.

While BSEE has lifted its suspension order, it is requiring Vineyard Wind to remove and replace 66 blades manufactured at the Canada plant that have already been installed at the wind farm. That process is underway and is expected to last well into 2025.

While the new administration has had a chilling effect on planned offshore wind developments, including those that are permitted but not yet under construction, Trump's nominee to lead the Department of the Interior, Doug Burgum, said during his confirmation hearing in January that existing offshore wind projects that make sense and are already in law will continue.

“I’m not familiar with every project that the Interior has underway, but I’ll certainly be taking a look at all of those. And if they make sense, and they’re already in law, then they’ll continue,” Burgum stated. “I think the key is — and I think President Trump’s been very clear in his statements — that he’s concerned about the significant amount of tax incentives that have gone towards some forms of energy that have helped exacerbate this imbalance that we’re seeing right now.”

ACK For Whales has continued to suggest that the development of offshore wind projects on the East Coast is among the causes of the increased whale mortality events in recent years, an assertion that has been hotly debated as scientists and federal agencies, including NOAA, have stated there is no evidence that offshore wind development is harming whales or other marine mammals.

"We have seen years of whale deaths that correlate perfectly with the survey work and construction of offshore wind happening off our shores," Oliver said. "And yet, when this correlation is presented? The response was always 'There’s nothing to see here!' The desire by the former administration, our governor, and many others to get 'steel in the ground' at all costs has been astounding and incredibly irresponsible. The opportunity ACK for Whales has now to provide information to a new administration that is willing to investigate and review the permits and processes that have advanced these projects so aggressively is one we are taking very seriously. It’s high time the curtain is pulled back on the realities of offshore wind. The negative environmental and economic impacts are real."