Vineyard Wind releases update on blade failure incident response

Blade failure incident isaw fragements wash ashore on Nantucket beaches, [Photo: Town of Nantucket]

Continuing their response to the July 13 blade failure incident that saw shattered pieces of a giant wind turbine blade wash ashore on Nantucket beaches, wind farm developer Vineyard Wind and turbine manufacturer GE Vernova have undertaken controlled cutting on remaining portion of the shattered blade

“The controlled cutting operations, which took place on Sunday, August 11 and Monday, August 12, 2024, have removed a substantial amount of the remaining portions of the damaged blade that pose a risk for further debris falling into the ocean,” said the companies in a statement. “During the operations, Vineyard Wind and GE Vernova mobilized maritime crews on multiple vessels nearby to secure as much debris as possible for immediate containment and removal as well as land-based crews managing debris recovery.”

The companies noted that they “are currently assessing next steps to complete any additional cutting necessary at the earliest opportunity, secure and remove the debris on the turbine platform, remove the blade root, and address the debris on the seabed.”

Vineyard Wind and GE Vernova are carrying out these activities under the terms of a new, revised, suspension order from BSEE (the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement) that continues to prohibit Vineyard Wind 1 from generating electricity from any of the facilities or building any additional wind turbine generator towers, nacelles, or blades. It also requires Vineyard Wind 1 to submit to BSEE an analysis of the risk to personnel and mitigation measures developed prior to personnel boarding any facility. Vineyard Wind 1 is not restricted from performing other activities besides those specifically directed for suspension or additional analysis. For example, Vineyard Wind 1 is still permitted to install inter-array cables and conduct surveys outside of the damaged turbine’s safety exclusion zone.

The updated suspension order is the result of extensive consultation with Federal interagency and third-party experts to ensure these future steps uphold the highest safety and engineering standards. The order, says BSEE, follows thousands of hours devoted to the plan’s development, review, and testing, including evaluation against all other alternatives to arrive at the best, safest approach for a successful operation.

“The updated order issued by the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement reflects the unity of effort, extensive planning, independent third-party validation, and relentless focus on safety that went into developing our action plan to secure the remainder of the damaged blade and get this critical project back on track,” said Vineyard Wind CEO Klaus S. Møller. “As we take these important steps to resume installation activities, starting with towers and nacelles during GE Vernova’s ongoing blade inspection process, the safety of personnel and the environment remains our highest priority.”

”Our primary focus continues to be removing the parts of the blade that pose any risk of contributing further debris into the ocean,” said GE Vernova chief sustainability officer Roger Martella. “We are thankful for our stakeholders, partners, and the skilled professionals at the site and behind the scenes for their unrelenting commitment to safe execution of these plans and the progress and risk mitigation of the last few days.”

In advance of issuing the updated Order, BSEE examined relevant records and information, including an independent structural load analysis by DNV.

Tuesday morning, the Foss Prevailing Wind barge was scheduled to depart the New Bedford Marine Commerce Terminal carrying turbine components including several tower sections and one nacelle for transportation to the Vineyard Wind offshore site, with a rack of three blades on board solely for the purpose of ensuring safe and balanced composition for the transport.

“The blades will not be installed offshore at this time, and will be returned by the Foss Prevailing Wind to the New Bedford Marine Commerce Terminal later in the week,” said Vineyard Wind and GE Vernova.

In the wake of the blade failure, the U.S. Coast Guard maintains a 500-meter safety exclusion zone around the AW-38 turbine. Vineyard Wind and GE Vernova will continue utilizing a fleet of vessels, aerial surveys, and U.S. Coast Guard modeling to assess potential debris movement and deploy already mobilized resources as necessary to assist in the containment and collection of debris.

Vineyard Wind remains under a federal preservation order to retain all blade failure debris and requests that only its employees, contractors, or those appointed by coordinating town officials handle and recover debris materials. Members of the public should avoid handling debris. Vineyard Wind says that it will bag, track, and transport all debris to proper storage as soon as possible.

Since the blade failure occurred, Vineyard Wind has been following its federally approved emergency response plan, tailoring it as needed for the specific situationOn completion, Vineyard Wind is expected to generate electricity for the equivalent of powering roughly 400,000 homes and businesses in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, create approximately 3,600 full time equivalent (FTE) job years, save customers approximately $1.4 billion over the first 20 years of operation, and reduce carbon emissions by more than 1.6 million tonnes per year.

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