The manufacturer of the damaged wind turbine sent debris to nearby Nantucket Island, where recovery efforts began Sunday to remove blade fragments from the seafloor. [emphasis, links added]
The turbine blade, manufactured by GE Vernova as part of the Vineyard Wind program, broke in July, affecting Nantucket beaches with shards of fiberglass and floating debris.
Debris even reached multiple beaches in Falmouth, Cape Cod.
GE said a preliminary investigation found the blades fell into the ocean due to “manufacturing deviations.”
Vineyard Wind is the nation's first large-scale offshore wind farm, located approximately 15 miles south of Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard.
Cambridge-based GE Vernova told the chairman of the Nantucket Select Board that it sent two ships to recover debris from the seafloor on Sunday.
A ship, HOS Mystiquegrabbing the larger pieces, the other is sent to recover any smaller pieces that may have broken off in the process.
The first piece of debris was recovered without any “interruption” and work resumed on Tuesday, Vernova said. While the first ship does not break, the second ship will continue to follow Mystique.
Debris from the damaged turbine prompted an outcry from Nantucket residents. In August, vineyard winds severed what remained of the damaged leaves to prevent more debris from falling into the ocean.
“We are the guinea pigs of this industry,” resident Vallorie Oliver said at a July meeting where residents raised concerns about the wind farm plan.
The photo above shows fragments of a 370-foot-long wind turbine blade that began washing up on Nantucket beaches in July. Courtesy of Nantucket Town Harbor Master.
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