In New Statement On Offshore Wind, President Biden Does Not Address Vineyard Wind Blade Failure

In President Joe Biden's first remarks on his administration's push for offshore wind energy developments since Vineyard Wind's turbine blade failure on July 13, he renewed the commitment to one of the pillars of his climate change agenda but declined to mention the incident off Nantucket or the fact that the signature project remains suspended by the federal government.

"When I came into office, the United States had zero approved offshore wind projects in federal waters, and the industry was struggling to gain a foothold," Biden said in the statement released Thursday morning. "But now, following my Administration’s investments in our clean energy future, the private sector has mobilized and the federal government has approved 10 offshore wind projects – enough to power more than five million homes and equivalent to half of the capacity needed to achieve our goal of 30 gigawatts of offshore wind by 2030. From manufacturing and shipbuilding to port operations and construction, this industry will support tens of thousands of good-paying and union jobs, provide reliable clean power to homes and businesses, strengthen our power grid against outages, and help reduce pollution – all while protecting biodiversity and marine ecosystems. We will continue to partner with industry, Tribes, ocean users, and other stakeholders to support supply chains that are Made in America, incentivize union-built projects, and continue seizing opportunities for additional clean energy technologies."

Vineyard Wind is the nation's first large-scale offshore wind farm, but the project remains suspended by the federal Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, which is conducting a "comprehensive and independent investigation into the causes and factors contributing to the incident."

While Biden mentioned "Made In America" in his statement, the manufacturer of Vineyard Wind's 62 turbines is GE Vernova. The company is indeed based in Cambridge, Mass., but its turbine components - including the blades - are manufactured in Canada and France.

President Biden also mentioned partnering with Native American "Tribes" in his statement, but the one located closest to the Vineyard Wind project - the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) on Martha's Vineyard - has called for a moratorium on all offshore wind development in the United States until further research can be done on the impact of wind farm construction.

In reaction to Biden's statement Thursday morning, the Nantucket-based opposition group ACK For Whales posted the following message on its X account: "This entire offshore wind endeavor needs a 'do over'. Our government has been recklessly aggressive from the start and unwilling to consider the major environmental and economic negatives. It’s not responsible or rational and one day we/they will look back at this with incredible regret."