Wind Turbine Debris Recovered Off Chatham

CHATHAM – Pieces of the blades of a failed wind turbine were recovered in Chatham waters on Friday, raising concerns for boaters and beachgoers.

Craig Hicks and Scott Lussier of Harwich Port were on a recreational fishing trip Friday when they came upon a debris field in a slack tide area of seaweed about two-and-a-half to three miles east-southeast of Monomoy Point.

“It was many dozens of pieces” of white and green fiberglass, Hicks said, with the largest one measuring roughly eight or nine feet square. “It was too big to get in the boat, so I tied a rope to it,” he said. The two collected a few dozen smaller pieces with a net, and called the Harwich harbormaster for advice. He referred them to the Chatham harbormaster, who notified Vineyard Wind.

Hicks said the contractor working for Vineyard Wind arrived very quickly and retrieved the debris. “Start to finish it wasn’t even two hours,” he said. “The response from Vineyard Wind was very good.”

Happily, Hicks said his boat was traveling at a slow speed when they spotted the debris, which wasn’t easy to do because the pieces were lying flat on the surface of the water, and the visible side of the large piece was green in color. That piece was extremely heavy and would have posed a serious hazard to navigation for boaters traveling at speed.

“It would’ve broken your motor off,” he said. “That’s why I wasn’t going to leave it there. I was worried about the fleet headed out to the tuna grounds the next morning.”

A news release from Vineyard Wind indicates the company dispatched nine boats to recover the debris, and the recovery took place throughout Friday evening and during the day Saturday.

“Vineyard Wind is focused on assisting in the recovery of debris caused by GE Vernova’s damaged wind blade,” the statement reads.

A helicopter was used to scan the area around Chatham and Monomoy Island for additional debris, but none was found.

“I’m very happy we found debris out to sea instead of [in Nantucket] Sound,” Hicks said. “It would have ended up on our beaches like Nantucket.”

As of Monday, no debris had washed up on Monomoy Island, which is a national wildlife refuge. Refuge staff are keeping an eye out for material, said Refuge Manager Rick Nye.

Nantucket made national headlines after large pieces of debris washed up on its very popular south-facing beaches, prompting outcry from local residents, business owners and political leaders.

On July 13, one of the blades in the wind farm southwest of Nantucket broke apart during a test operation and a large section fell into the water. Regulators shut down the operation and the Coast Guard issued a warning to mariners in the area. Three days later, debris began appearing on Nantucket beaches, and the town closed certain beaches to swimming. On July 18, another large section of the blade fell into the water. A safety zone remains in place around the wind farm, located about 15 miles south of Chappaquiddick Island.

“G.E., as the project’s turbine and blade manufacturer and installation contractor, will now be conducting the analysis into the root cause of the incident,” a Vineyard Wind statement reads.

Anyone encountering debris on the beach or in the water is asked to immediately call 833-609-5768.

“Members of the public should avoid handling debris as the fiber-glass pieces can be sharp and lead to cuts if handled without proper gloves,” a Vineyard Wind news release reads.

It’s not clear what hazard, if any, the debris poses to marine life. Some have expressed concern that filter-feeding shellfish may ingest and retain the fiberglass pieces. So far, debris has not been identified near any shellfish flats.

Vineyard Wind, approved in 2019, will have 62 turbines when complete, generating an estimated 800 megawatts of power. Construction began in 2021, and power from the first turbine started flowing in January. Construction is expected to be complete by the end of the year. A joint project of Avangrid and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, the wind farm currently has about 10 turbines operating.

The turbine blade failure has renewed discussion about the requirements the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) places on wind farm developers. Currently, the government is preparing to lease eight proposed wind farm sites in the Gulf of Maine, including ones that are about 25 nautical miles due east of the Lower and Outer Cape.

The Cape and Islands Municipal Leaders Association sent a letter to the BOEM urging more careful oversight, and the requirement that all wind farm proposals undergo a socioeconomic impact study.

“The loss of a turbine blade and subsequent beach closures in Nantucket highlight the potential for unforeseen incidents that can have immediate and significant impacts on local communities and economies,” the letter reads. Understanding those risks ahead of time is key, they wrote.

“An aftermath clean-up fund doesn’t satisfy or address risks. Cape Cod communities are heavily dependent on tourism and recreational activities,” the association wrote. “Any disruptions, such as those caused by offshore wind incidents, could have a substantial economic impact on these industries and our towns.” The Gulf of Maine is also a key commercial fishing area, and the impacts to fisheries and navigation routes must also be well understood before plans are approved, they argued.