Vineyard Wind Addresses Turbine Failure, Company Looking Forward

HYANNIS – Vineyard Wind published an update on Friday about its operational status.

The company released a public overview of their action plan designed to safely remove the remainder of a damaged turbine blade which failed on July 13th, resulting in hazardous debris washing ashore on the Cape and Islands over the last month.

Vineyard Wind said they will continue to collect any debris, and plans to resume turbine installations and flip the switch back on for Vineyard Wind 1.

The company said their plan was developed in consultation with federal agencies including the U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement and the U.S. Coast Guard.

The blade removal operation is in partnership with Resolve Marine, one of the world’s leading salvage companies.

Vineyard Wind says it has been preliminarily determined that a “manufacturing deviation” is considered the “primary root cause” of the incident.

Before power production can restart, VW says there will be a re-review of ultrasound photos and drone inspections inside the blades.

Also, GE Vernova is deploying a new algorithm to provide advanced warnings or an automatic, safe turbine shutdown when required.

 “Vineyard Wind is a critically important project for the region’s energy future, and delivering this project safely is our highest priority,” said Vineyard Wind CEO Klaus Møller.

“We believe we have the right plan in place to recover the rest of the blade, secure any debris offshore and onshore, and safely and responsibly resume the installation program so we can put this project back on track to deliver needed clean power to the New England region.”