Feds Order Vineyard Wind To Complete Study On "Environmental Harm" Of Blade Failure

The federal agency that suspended the Vineyard Wind project following the July 13 blade failure is now requiring the company to complete a new study evaluating the "environmental harm" caused by the incident in the waters southwest of Nantucket, according to a document obtained by Nantucket Current.

In a Sept. 27 letter from the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) addressed to Vineyard Wind CEO Klaus Moeller, the agency ordered the offshore wind energy company to "conduct a site-specific study that evaluates the environmental harm and other potential damage flowing from" the blade failure, and to identify potential mitigation measures for that damage. 

The order was obtained by Nantucket Current through a Freedom of Information Act request to the U.S. Department of the Interior.

The Vineyard Wind project remains under a suspension order from BSEE following the disastrous turbine blade failure on July 13 that left Nantucket's beaches littered with foam and fiberglass debris. That order was modified in August to allow Vineyard Wind to continue installing turbine towers and nacelles, but it is forbidden from producing power or installing blades.

According to the BSEE order signed Kathryn Kovacs, the deputy assistant secretary for land and minerals management at the U.S. Department of the Interior who is exercising the delegated authorities of the BSEE Director, Vineyard Wind was required to submit a plan for the study on Oct. 11, but was eligible to appeal the order. It's not yet clear if the company appealed the order or not.

Both Vineyard Wind and BSEE officials did not immediately return requests for comment on Wednesday.

The required study "should characterize the subsea debris field resulting from the blade failure and the potential impacts or damage to onshore, coastal, and offshore resources from the blade debris."

The minimum requirements of the study include:

• Clearly stated, specific objectives for the study and a technically sound basis for the timing, location, and frequency of all proposed sampling activities included in the study.
• A detailed sampling plan, including methods, media, biota to sample, sample numbers, data analysis plans, quality assurance and quality control, potential indicator compounds, etc. This sampling plan must also include the environmental sampling Vineyard Wind 1 is undertaking in response to requests from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the Town of Nantucket.
• A characterization of the subsea marine debris field that clearly identifies the location and the amount of debris on the seafloor and in coastal areas where debris was retrieved.
• The mass balance of unrecovered debris material based on the weight of debris recovered to date and the weight of the subsea debris once retrieved.

Vineyard Wind and GE Vernova have just begun the retrieval of the blade debris from the sea floor around the damaged turbine, an effort that is being led by the contracted salvage company Resolve Marine.

While the order imposes another hurdle on Vineyard Wind in the aftermath of the blade failure, it may not represent a further delay in resuming construction activities. In the order sent to Vineyard Wind, BSEE stated that the required study is "separate and distinct" from its suspension order, and that construction activities currently prohibited may resume prior to the completion of the study if the suspension order is modified or lifted.

"BSEE may use the results of this study to determine if Vineyard Wind 1 must take any actions to mitigate or avoid damage to natural resources; life; property; the marine, coastal, and human environment; or sites, structures, or objects of historical or archaeological significance," the order states.

The study would also be distinct from the environmental assessment paid for by GE Vernova and drafted by Arcadis US, Inc., an engineering and environmental consulting firm.

GE Vernova and Vineyard Wind announced in August that all 150 turbine blades manufactured for the project so far - including those already installed on the 24 turbines constructed to date - would be re-inspected by reviewing the radiography testing records. The companies stated that the plan would include reviewing 8,300 ultrasound images, visual inspection of the blades with remote-controlled wheeled drones known as "crawlers" equipped with video cameras that can be inserted into the blades, and a new algorithm using existing sensors within the blades to monitor their health and provide warnings if trouble is detected.

Meanwhile, the heavy lift vessel Rolldock Sun that left New Bedford last week carrying at least two Vineyard Wind blades will soon arrive in Cherbourg, France, where GE Vernova has one of its two plants that manufacture blades for the Haliade-X turbines.

Officials for both Vineyard Wind and GE Vernova have remained silent on the matter. Despite speculation that the shipment may indicate the discovery of additional defective blades, both companies have declined to comment.

The turbine blade failure at Vineyard Wind was blamed on a “manufacturing deviation” - specifically insufficient bonding of the blade materials - that occurred at the LM Wind Power factory in Gaspé, Canada, the other location where the Haliade-X turbine blades are manufactured. LM Wind Power was acquired by GE Vernova for $1.65 billion in 2017.

GE Vernova has previously stated that the "vast majority" of Vineyard Wind blades were sourced from the LM Wind Power plant in Canada. But an unknown number of blades were also manufactured at the plant in Cherbourg, France, where an “operational incident” in April 2024 reduced production capacity and resulted in damage to one of the moulds used to produce components for the Haliade-X turbines.