Weeks After Reaching "Preliminary Consensus," Still No Agreement By Vineyard Wind To Meet Nantucket's Demands

Over seven weeks since the town of Nantucket announced it had reached a “preliminary consensus” with Vineyard Wind on a series of 15 demands, the town has not issued any further updates, and it is unclear how negotiations with the offshore wind developer have progressed.

The town told the Current late last week that “negotiations are continuing and we will provide an update at the appropriate time,” but did not provide any further information.

Representatives of the town have been meeting with Vineyard Wind in closed-door conferences since late August after the town accused Vineyard Wind of violating the so-called “Good Neighbor Agreement” during a press conference in July and issued a series of demands.

After their August meeting, the town wrote that “the parties reached preliminary consensus in each of the three substantive areas addressed by the demands” and “are putting to paper the specific language of each protocol to achieve these outcomes.”

The parties have continued to negotiate, but no further updates have been forthcoming.

The town’s demands fall into three broad categories: adequate communication, lighting, and emergency response planning. They include the immediate communication of all emergencies to town officials, regular project updates, the implementation of a public emergency response planning process within two months, and the establishment of a $10 million escrow fund to cover any potential future cleanup costs. The town demanded that violations of the communication protocols come with a $250,000 payment.

At this point, it is unclear how many of those demands will be met, or what the alternatives might look like.

In the meantime, despite the federal government shuttering and suspending several offshore wind farms along the East Coast, Vineyard Wind’s completed turbines have continued to generate power, while others remain under construction.

From the town’s earlier comments, it seems that Vineyard Wind has acquiesced on some points.

“Vineyard Wind will improve how it communicates with the Town and public through a series of protocols that require regular, detailed reports, timely responses to questions, sharing of regulatory documents, and prompt emergency notifications, among other obligations,” the town’s August statement reads in part. “The Town and Nantucket residents will play a direct role in shaping Vineyard Wind’s updated emergency response plans.”

Discussions between the town and Vineyard Wind come in the wake of a $10.5 million settlement with GE Vernova that explicitly excluded Vineyard Wind, but did protect them from future lawsuits related specifically to the blade collapse that littered Nantucket’s beaches with debris last summer.