The same Vineyard Wind turbine whose blade malfunctioned last summer, sending debris into nearby waters, was struck by lightning late last week. However, the offshore wind developer didn’t publicly comment on the incident until Sunday.
Lightning hit the broken turbine on either Thursday or Friday, according to conflicting reports of the timing. As of Sunday afternoon, Vineyard Wind said no blade debris has been spotted and the company is assessing the extent of the damage.
“As part of a continuous effort to manage the damaged GE Vernova blade on turbine AW-38, a rigorous action plan has been put into place which includes debris recovery resources, recurrent flyovers to observe the turbine, and ultimately GE Vernova’s planned removal and replacement of the blade in May 2025,” a Vineyard Wind spokesperson said in a statement.
“Based on a visual inspection of the damaged blade, preliminary evidence indicates that the blade may have been impacted by a lightning strike, though we continue to assess in coordination with GE Vernova. This was contained to the damaged blade, and based on current information there is no impact to the nacelle or turbine structure. Vineyard Wind deployed both aerial and maritime resources and based on current observations, there is no indication of debris from this event.”
The Coast Guard said the incident occurred on “Friday, February 27,” which still leaves the timing in question. That date was last Thursday, not Friday. The military branch added it “has no active involvement in response efforts” and its personnel “remain in contact with Vineyard Wind” regarding the latest developments.
Vineyard Wind declined to comment on whether any debris has been found.
Vineyard Wind is an offshore wind farm located south of the coasts of Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard, Mass. The lease area’s blades measure 351 feet long, about the same length as a football field, and the turbines themselves reach 853 feet high, nearly three times the height of the Statue of Liberty.
The wind project is currently under development and expected to be completed this year, although the recent blade failures have delayed construction.
In July, one of the three blades of the turbine broke apart due to a manufacturing defect in the blade’s fiberglass structure. The new Haliade-X blades were manufactured by GE Vernova, which also saw similar failures in its design at Dogger Bank Wind Farm off the northeast coast of England in May and August.
The damaged blade dropped fiberglass shards and microplastics debris, which then drifted to Nantucket’s shoreline and traveled as far as Cape Cod in Massachusetts and Long Island in New York. Nantucket’s beaches were closed to swimming for one day before they were reopened.
The incident sparked concerns among local residents and New England fishermen about the impact on marine life and the food chain.
At the time, Vineyard Wind failed to notify Nantucket’s government of the incident until two days later. According to the Nantucket Current, the offshore wind developer contacted the Nantucket board’s chairwoman Sunday afternoon before the public statement to the media. Like the July incident, that notification came a few days after the lightning strike inflicted damage on the AW-38 turbine.
Nantucket’s government said it is “closely monitoring the potential effects” of the latest damage and will continue to hold the company accountable as the situation develops.
Anti-offshore wind activists, who have been protesting Vineyard Wind with increasing outrage since last summer, slammed the developer.
“The coverup blows on. Vineyard Wind’s lack of transparency around the structural integrity of its mammoth wind turbines is deeply frustrating to fishermen,” New England Fishermen’s Stewardship Association CEO Jerry Leeman said in a statement Monday morning. “Reports indicate that the lightning strike occurred on Feb. 27, yet Vineyard Wind said nothing about the incident for at least four days.”
“This [came] after Vineyard Wind waited a day and a half before acknowledging last summer’s devastating blade detachment. In fact, Vineyard Wind officials met in February with officials from the Bureau of Safety and Environment Enforcement to discuss improving communications over safety issues. Foreign offshore wind developers seem breezily dismissive of commercial fishermen.”