A Massachusetts judge ruled Friday that GE Renewables cannot walk away from a major offshore wind project as a dispute over payments related to a 2024 blade accident is ongoing.
Vineyard Wind sued GE Renewables in Massachusetts Superior Court last week after the turbine-maker threatened to walk away from the $4.5 billion project at the end of April. GE Renewables said it was owed $300 million in outstanding payments by Vineyard Wind, a joint venture of Iberdrola and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners. But the wind project said it was withholding payments due to $545 million in damages caused by an accident in 2024, when a blade detached from a turbine and crashed into the ocean.
In a five-page decision granting Vineyard Wind’s request for a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction, Massachusetts Superior Court Judge Peter B. Krupp sided with Vineyard Wind. He noted that an independent project engineer assigned to oversee disputes between the parties had found GE Renewables was liable for $545 million in damages, entitling Vineyard Wind to withhold payment. GE Renewables has not formally contested the engineer’s findings, Krupp noted.
“In this context, GER’s remedy was not to issue a termination notice, but to challenge the Engineer’s determination that it owes VW such considerable sums. But at least as of this time, GER has not proceeded down that path,” Krupp wrote.
