Vineyard Wind Reaches Settlement With Turbine Manufacturer In Wind Farm Dispute

Vineyard Wind has reached an agreement resolving its legal dispute with turbine manufacturer GE Vernova over the company's effort to pull out of the offshore wind farm southwest of Nantucket. As part of the agreement, GE Vernova has withdrawn its notice of termination, and both companies have dismissed their legal claims.

“Vineyard Wind and GE Vernova today announced that the parties have reached an amicable settlement to resolve all outstanding litigation regarding the Vineyard Wind offshore wind project,” the companies wrote in a statement. “As part of this agreement, GE Vernova has withdrawn its notice of termination, and both parties have agreed to dismiss all pending legal claims.”

The terms of the agreement are confidential.

GE Vernova had tried to leave the project, claiming that Vineyard Wind owed them over $300 million in unpaid fees. Vineyard Wind sued to stop their exit and countered that GE Vernova actually owed the wind farm $500 million stemming from the collapse of a GE-manufactured turbine blade in July of 2024, which littered Nantucket’s beaches with debris and forced the wind farm to temporarily shut down while the cause of the break was identified. Ultimately, more than 60 blades had to be replaced due to a manufacturing defect that originated at a GE Vernova plant in Canada.

Vineyard Wind has also said that GE Renewables’ exit would endanger the very existence of the project, possibly leaving behind a “dormant wind farm graveyard.”

Vineyard Wind seemed to have the upper hand in the legal dispute. A judge twice delivered preliminary rulings in the wind farm’s favor, preventing GE Vernova from exiting the project while litigation continued and appearing sympathetic to Vineyard Wind’s arguments. Those legal proceedings are moot now.