Nantucket Braces For More Debris As Damaged Vineyard Wind Turbine Blade Comes Down

As Vineyard Wind CEO Klaus Skoust Møller apologized to the Nantucket community Wednesday night for his company's damaged offshore turbine blade that has scattered debris across the island's south shore beaches, more trouble was brewing at the wind farm 15 miles southwest of Nantucket.

After getting grilled by island residents for more than an hour about the unfolding disaster, Møller abruptly left the building after being informed that "there was a development to the integrity of the blade."

He departed the island aboard a Leonardo helicopter to attend to the situation while those in attendance waited in suspense for an update.

It came an hour later: the integrity of the blade - which was hanging parallel to the turbine after last Saturday's incident - had become further compromised, and more debris had been observed falling into the water, a Vineyard Wind rep told the audience. By Thursday morning, the remaining portion of the blade had plummeted into the waves.

“This morning, a significant part of the remaining GE Vernova blade detached from the turbine," Vineyard Wind stated on Thursday. "Maritime crews were onsite overnight preparing to respond to this development, though current weather conditions create a difficult working environment. Despite these challenging weather conditions, a fleet of vessels remains at sea managing the situation and working to remove bulk debris. We have deployed additional crews to Nantucket Island in anticipation that more debris could wash ashore tonight and tomorrow as we continue to monitor additional coastal communities."

It is impossible to say at this stage when or where the debris may arrive, and Vineyard Wind’s models have proven unreliable.

In the aftermath of the turbine failure last Saturday, the Vineyard Wind project was shut down by the federal government "until further notice."

The latest developments came as island residents expressed their outrage over the situation that left island beaches strewn with fiberglass shards and green/white foam - more than six truckloads worth. Vineyard Wind has described the debris as non-toxic, a characterization the Select Board rejects.

Without Møller, a short-handed Vineyard Wind team struggled to offer any information to the Select Board and the public.

Before his departure, Møller confirmed that there was a single boom ship, similar to those used in oil spill cleanups, in the vicinity of the turbine, but Møller admitted that he did not know if it would be able to prevent debris from escaping the perimeter and reaching Nantucket.

Following the collapse of the blade into the water at 6:40 a.m. on Thursday, the town of Nantucket began referring to the situation as a "crisis" and acknowledged that additional debris could begin washing shore by Thursday night or Friday. It also shared the following information about the developing situation:

• Vineyard Wind vessels are collecting fiberglass pieces on the site.
• A "very large" piece of debris is below the surface, in the water
  column. Vineyard Wind is monitoring the location and status of that piece and hopes to retrieve it while it remains offshore.
• Vessels are also collecting smaller fiberglass pieces of debris at the turbine site. Vineyard Wind has stated that the majority of the interior foam from the entire blade was released on Saturday.
• The cleanup efforts on Nantucket continue with coordination between Vineyard Wind, the town of Nantucket administration, Nantucket Police, and Harbormaster Sheila Lucey.
• Debris reported on Tuckernuck and Muskeget islands is expected to be removed Friday morning by Vineyard Wind.
  

Meanwhile, the Coast Guard has issued a warning to mariners for the waters south and east of Nantucket: