Nantucket residents outraged after debris from turbine washes ashore

After a damaged Vineyard wind turbine sent floating debris and sharp fiberglass across the south shore of Nantucket, residents aired their concerns at a public meeting Wednesday evening, railing against the turbine manufacturer and owner. 

Residents lined up in person and online during a live-streamed Nantucket Select Board meeting to criticize the developers and manufacturers behind the turbine. 

“What is the plan?” asked Vallorie Oliver, a resident of Nantucket. “You’re kind of good at saying nothing in a whole lot of words.”

She said the incident is a forewarning as to what could come. 

“We are the guinea pigs of this industry,” said Oliver. 

Vineyard Wind, the country’s first large-scale offshore wind farm, began delivering energy from five of the planned 62 wind turbines in February. The farm is about 15 miles south of Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard.

On Wednesday, the company said about 17 cubic yards of debris, more than six truckloads, and several larger pieces had been collected. The damaged blade is 107 meters long. How much of the blade is left in the water remains unclear. 

The town closed the beaches to swimming as a precautionary measure, but they have since reopened. 

Representatives of GE Vernova and Vineyard Wind at Wednesday’s meeting faced many questions, including around their description of the debris as non-toxic. 

“The whole thing upsets me,” Select Board member Malcolm MacNab told Vineyard Wind officials. “But I don’t like your presentation saying it was a nontoxic event. It is toxic material.” 

Other questions swirled and went unanswered, such as: Has an incident like this happened before? How much plastic is now in the ocean due to the debris? Will local wildlife be harmed, and is it safe to eat locally caught fish? 

“We will review our options,” said Select Board Chair Brooke Mohr. “We will do everything in our power to hold Vineyard Wind responsible for this disaster.”

Rob Frame, who has lived on the island for 52 years, said he’s “never witnessed an environmental disaster as I have in the past three days” and worries about what will happen to the local fisheries. 

“When the first dead fish washes up on the beach of our shores, you’re going to understand that this disaster has had a great impact on Nantucket,” he said. 

The Select Board also criticized Vineyard Wind for its faulty models of where the debris would turn up. Despite Vineyard Wind saying the debris is “contained,” Board member Matt Fee said debris was spread across not only the south shore but also the north shore. 

“This is a very serious situation,” said Klaus Moeller, the CEO of Vineyard Wind, at the meeting. “I am truly sorry that this impacted your beautiful beaches here. Especially on a good day in July. So we are taking this very, very seriously.”

Moeller said that the company has a team on standby in case additional clean-up is needed. 

Debris continuing to fall from damaged wind turbine

Shortly after the meeting, Vineyard Wind said more debris from the damaged blade is falling into the ocean, and what is left may soon fall, too.

“While part of the blade remains attached to the turbine, we believe there is an increased possibility it could detach soon. There has been a 500-meter safety zone implemented around the turbine and GE Vernova blade since Saturday night, and it has been under constant surveillance,” the company said in a statement. “We have mobilized our response team and have also witnessed new debris enter the water.”

The turbine, manufactured by GE Vernova, is part of the Vineyard Wind project, a joint venture between Avangrid and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners. 

Roger Martella, the chief sustainability officer and head of government affairs at GE Vernoa, said the company is conducting a root cause analysis to determine what happened. 

Due to the “blade failure incident,” the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement ordered Vineyard Wind to cease power production until it can determine if other turbines could be affected. 

One resident at Wednesday’s meeting said the wind farms may be “the saddest thing” he’s ever seen and maybe the “dumbest thing to happen to the people of Nantucket.”