Community Claims Fund Opens For Vineyard Wind Blade Failure Damages

The community claims fund for damages stemming from the 2024 Vineyard Wind blade failure is now accepting submissions. It will remain open until June 26th.

“The launch of this process represents a meaningful step forward in addressing the impacts of this event and underscores our continued commitment to accountability and resolution for those affected,” Select Board chair Dawn Hill said in a statement.

Information about how to apply is available on the town’s website. The fund is intended to reimburse individuals and business owners who sustained financial losses as a result of the August 2024 Vineyard Wind offshore turbine blade collapse that littered Nantucket’s beaches with debris.

The money in the fund comes from a settlement between the town of Nantucket and GE Vernova, the manufacturer of the defective blade. GE Vernova agreed to pay the town $10.5 million last July, of which roughly $8.5 remains to be distributed through the fund after payments to the town’s attorneys and the fund’s administrator.

Applicants can provide evidence of direct costs resulting from the blade failure, or proof of a reduction in profit.

Verus, the administrator, has previously said that if valid claims exceed available funding, they will be fulfilled proportionally, without special interest for certain applications over others. There will also be an appeals period if applicants disagree with Verus’s determination.

Vineyard Wind is not a party to the settlement, and later reached a separate agreement with the town that does not include any financial compensation, and none of the money in the claims fund comes from them. The offshore wind farm is currently embroiled in a separate legal battle with the Trump administration over a stop-work order that froze all offshore wind construction along the east coast of the United States.