Vineyard Wind Allowed To Resume Some Construction Work As "Controlled Cutting" Of Blade Begins
Jason Graziadei •
The federal agency that suspended the Vineyard Wind project last month after its turbine blade failure is allowing the company to resume some construction activities even as it begins "controlled cutting" to remove the damaged blade.
While its investigation into the incident is not yet complete, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) on Tuesday updated its suspension order for Vineyard Wind, allowing it to resume the installation of turbine towers and nacelles. The company is still prohibited from installing additional blades - all of which are in the process of being reinspected - or power production from the 24 turbines that have been completed since last October.
"The order continues to prohibit Vineyard Wind 1 from generating electricity from any of its wind turbine generators or installing blades on any turbine and requires risk analysis and mitigation approved by BSEE prior to being able to conduct any activities on the damaged turbine," the agency said in a statement provided to the Current. "This new order acknowledges that Vineyard Wind 1 and GE Vernova have satisfied the safety and risk assessment conditions to continue activities other than blade installation and power production on other Vineyard Wind 1 WTGs, including resuming installation of towers and nacelles. Vineyard Wind 1 is also still permitted to install inter-array cables and conduct surveys outside of the damaged turbine’s safety exclusion zone."
On Tuesday, the Foss Prevailing Wind barge departed from the Port of New Bedford carrying turbine components - including several tower sections and one nacelle - for transportation to the Vineyard Wind lease area. The barge was also carrying three of the 350-foot, 55-ton blades, but they will not be installed, Vineyard Wind stated. They remained on the barge "for the purpose of ensuring safe and balanced composition for the transport." Following the installation of the turbine towers and nacelle, the blades will be returned to the New Bedford Marine Commerce Terminal.
News of the revised suspension order also comes on the same day Vineyard announced that it had begun "controlled cutting activities" on the damaged turbine blade 15 miles southwest of Nantucket. Those operations took place on Sunday, August 11, and Monday, August 12, and "removed a substantial amount of the remaining portions of the damaged blade that pose a risk for further debris falling into the ocean," Vineyard Wind stated in a press release. As the cutting was taking place, Vineyard Wind and GE Vernova had maritime crews on several vessels around the turbine in an effort to recover as much debris as possible.
It was one of the first steps outlined in Vineyard Wind's action plan released late last week to remove the remaining portions of the blade still hanging from the turbine.
The news regarding both developments - the revised suspension order and the "controlled cutting - was announced exactly one month to the day of the original turbine blade failure on July 13, and island residents continue to discover pieces of fiberglass and styrofoam from the blade on island beaches.
On Tuesday morning, Laurie Killen Patterson and Lauren Soverino both reported finding additional turbine blade debris at 40th Pole beach, along Nantucket's north shore.
