The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement ordered a suspension of power production and construction at the Vineyard Wind offshore wind site off the coast of Massachusetts following a turbine blade break that sent debris into the water and prompted the brief closure of beaches.
The suspension order issued Wednesday ceases power production from all of the project’s wind turbine generators until it can be determined whether the blade failure affects any other turbines.
Context: Vineyard Wind — a joint venture between Avangrid and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners — reported Saturday that there was blade damage on one of its wind turbines. The turbine was in its commissioning phase and was still undergoing testing. GE, the project’s turbine and blade manufacturer, will conduct analysis into the root cause of the damage, Vineyard Wind said.
But the incident required debris recovery efforts off Nantucket, Massachusetts. The debris included nontoxic fiberglass fragments, including sharp fragments that the town said could be observed floating in the water or hidden beneath the surface.
