BSEE extends suspension of Vineyard Wind

The U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BEE) has extended its order suspending power generation and construction at the Vineyard Wind offshore project while investigations into the July 13 turbine rotor failure continue.

On July 26, BSEE issued a new suspension order for Vineyard Wind 1, “clarifying operating requirements and listing actions the company must take before personnel enter a wind turbine,” the agency said.

The renewed order came amid enormous pressure on federal agencies and developers over the blade failure, which sent fiberglass and foam debris into the ocean and washed up on beaches from Nantucket to Cape Cod at the height of the New England tourist season.

In an update on Monday at 7 p.m., Nantucket city officials said the turbine manufacturer GE Vernova reported that several pieces of the damaged rotor blade of turbine AW38 had detached from the turbine hub, with some large pieces entering the water column and smaller pieces floating on the sea surface and landing on the turbine tower platform.

“According to GE Vernova, this detachment was not unexpected, even though several days have passed since the last observation of debris detachment,” Nantucket officials wrote. “GE Vernova and Marine solve are working on a plan to remove the remaining parts of the rotor blade in a safe and controlled manner. This plan is currently under development.”

Meanwhile, the BSEE shutdown order requires Vineyard Wind, a joint venture between Avangrid And Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, delaying power generation or the construction or installation of new turbine towers, nacelles and rotor blades. The agency required Vineyard Wind to “provide BSEE with an analysis of the risk to personnel and the mitigation measures developed before personnel enter a facility.”

However, developers could carry out other work outside a safety zone around the damaged Haliade turbine, such as laying cables and conducting surveys, the agency said.

Scott Strazik, CEO of GE Vernova said the blade failure was caused by a manufacturing defect in LM Wind Power in Gaspé, Canada, a supplier acquired by GE in 2017. Strazik said 150 blades built at the factory would be re-inspected and their test records reviewed.

That includes blades already installed on other Vineyard wind turbines. The July 13 failure drew attention to a blade failure in May 2024 on a GE Vernova turbine at the Doggerbank A wind farm in the North Sea, which Strazik said was due to an installation error.

“As our investigation continues, we are serving as a liaison between the responsible party, Vineyard Wind 1, GE Vernova and other federal, state, local and tribal agencies,” said BSEE Director Kevin Sligh. “We are continuously engaging with all responders to ensure that response efforts are well coordinated and safely conducted through information sharing, planning and analysis of planned responses.”

“BSEE’s highest priority is the safety of offshore workers and environmental protection. We will use all available means to ensure compliance with safety and environmental regulations on the Outer Continental Shelf,” said Sligh.

The agency had just carried out its first inspection of an operational turbine in US federal waters on June 12 in the South Fork Wind project with 14 machines off New York and Rhode Island.

Less than a month later, BSEE and the Bureau of Offshore Energy Management are grappling with a potential crisis for the Biden administration’s offshore wind efforts. Opponents of East Coast offshore wind projects, like elected officials in Cape May, New Jersey, are claiming their new advantage in the public debate.

“We were right to oppose offshore wind power,” said Leonard C. Desiderio, director of the Cape May County Board of Commissioners, which fought against wind developers. Orsted before abandoning its Ocean Wind 1 proposal in fall 2023. “This is an environmental disaster comparable to an oil spill… Nantucket’s vital tourism economy has taken a devastating blow.”

“This was a section of a turbine blade. Had Orsted If we had succeeded in building the Ocean Wind One and Two wind turbines and the Skipjack, we would have almost 1,000 of these rotor blades in operation just a few kilometers off our beaches.”