Rotor blade breakage leads to suspension of production and construction of Vineyard Wind

The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement ordered a suspension of power production and construction at the Vineyard Wind offshore wind farm off the coast of Massachusetts after a turbine blade broke, sending debris into the water and briefly closing beaches.

The suspension order issued on Wednesday calls for all of the project’s wind turbines to cease power production until it can be determined whether the blade failure will affect other turbines.

Context: Vineyard Wind – a joint venture between Avangrid and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners – reported on Saturday that blades on one of its wind turbines were damaged. The turbine was in the commissioning phase and was still being tested. GE, the project’s turbine and blade manufacturer, will analyze the root cause of the damage, Vineyard Wind said.

However, the incident required salvage operations off Nantucket, Massachusetts. Among the debris were nontoxic fiberglass fragments, including sharp fragments that the town said were floating in the water or hidden beneath the surface.