Massachusetts offshore wind developer runs into more problems off Nantucket

Vineyard Wind is continuing to unravel off the shore of Nantucket, with the wind turbine manufacturer removing blades and an island nonprofit pulling back its support.

GE Vernova, the designer, manufacturer and installer of the turbines, has announced that it intends to remove “some blades” from the wind farm after re-examining “more than 8,300 ultrasound images per blade and physical blade inspections with ‘crawler’ drones.”

The company broke the development on Wednesday, nearly three-and-a-half months after a blade snapped off a turbine, sending debris – shards of fiberglass and foam – into the ocean and washing ashore in mid-July.

Officials also confirmed Wednesday that the failure stemmed from a “manufacturing deviation” at one of the company’s factories in Canada. The error was described as “insufficient bonding” in late July.

The Maria Mitchell Association, an island nonprofit focused on environmental education and research, has withdrawn from the Good Neighbor Agreement. The pact agreed to in August 2020, established a “long-term relationship” between Vineyard Wind and the organization, town and the Nantucket Preservation Trust.

MMA Executive Director Joanna Roche connected the withdrawal to “Vineyard Wind’s failure to meet its obligations.”

“This decision was not made lightly,” Roche said in a statement. “For the past several years, as more information became available regarding additional wind turbine projects, the aggregate impact of the lighting from each turbine, and the recent blade failure, it became increasingly clear to us that the impact on our night skies and our island community was not something we could support.”

While an unknown number of blades are slated to be removed, GE Vernova said it will also be “strengthening other blades as needed to support the safety and operational readiness of this project.”

The anticipated 62-turbine, 806-megawatt wind farm has gained eight new towers and nacelles since mid-August after the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement gave the green light to resume “certain limited additional activities.”

Vineyard Wind and GE Vernova received approval on Tuesday to start installing new blades “once stringent safety and operational conditions are met.”

BSEE emphasized Wednesday that power production and blade installation on the damaged turbine remain prohibited. Project officials said they expect to complete the final task of removing the faulty 351-foot-long blade “in the coming weeks.”

GE Vernova is looking at a $3 billion order backlog, but company CEO Scott Stazik said during a third-quarter earnings call early Wednesday that he’s “confident that we will return the Wind segment to profitability in the fourth quarter.”

“We do not foresee adding to this backlog without substantially different industry economics than what we see in the marketplace today,” Strazik said.

Wind farm critics say developers and advocates need to slow down as the state goes all-in on offshore energy. The Healey administration last month secured 2,678 megawatts from three projects, the largest procurement in Bay State history.

“Vineyard Wind is a slow-rolling disaster,” said Jerry Leeman, founder & CEO of the New England Fishermen’s Stewardship Association. “It is now obvious that foreign mega developers and their political allies cut corners to bring their flagship project online.”

Paul Diego Craney, spokesman for Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance, said that the latest Vineyard Wind developments “should worry everyone.”

“It proves that this industry is not tested,” Craney told the Herald. “These are essentially massive giant test tubes in our ocean water, and they are very expensive mistakes that will ultimately be paid for by the taxpayers.”

Nantucket Select Board Chairwoman Brooke Mohr sees it two-fold as “deeply concerning and reassuring.” She encouraged residents, business owners and visitors to “stay informed” on the offshore wind development industry.

The town is collecting information on the impacts of the failure, urging residents and business owners to fill out a form to provide an estimated loss and description of the loss incurred by Nov. 15.

“It is concerning because it confirms that the GE Haliade X blades are not yet reliable for safe use in offshore wind farms,” Mohr said in a statement posted on the town website. “The announcement is reassuring in that it affirms that the (feds are) doing (their) job on behalf of the American people.”

Nantucket residents filed a petition last month asking the Supreme Court to hear its appeal of a lower court decision allowing the feds to rush its approval of offshore wind projects without considering impacts to the ocean ecosystem.

“No one should be shocked that these blades are proving to be more of a problem than Vineyard Wind has let on,” said Mark Herr, spokesperson for the group, ACK For Whales.