Beaches on the southern side of Massachusetts’ Nantucket island were forced to close after large chunks of a damaged wind turbine began washing ashore.
Federal regulators have ordered the offshore wind farm Vineyard Wind to shut down until further notice due to a turbine blade failure that occurred on Saturday evening, CBS News reported.
Nantucket’s south shore beaches were closed on Tuesday while clean-up crews worked to clear the “large floating debris and fiberglass shards,” the Nantucket Harbormaster said in a statement that the outlet obtained.
“All south shore beaches are closed to swimming due to large floating debris and sharp fiberglass shards. Please go to the North shore to swim; there are lifeguards there ready to help,” officials stated.
“You can walk on the beaches; however, we strongly recommend you wear footwear due to sharp fiberglass shards and debris on the beaches.”
The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) said all Vineyard Wind operations will be shut down until further notice:
Following the July 13, 2024, blade failure incident at Vineyard Wind, BSEE has issued a Suspension Order to Vineyard Wind to cease power production from all its wind turbine generators until it can be determined whether the blade failure affects any other VW turbines. The Suspension Order suspends power production on the lease area and suspends installation of new wind turbine generator construction: Those operations will remain shut down until the suspension is lifted. BSEE has also issued a Preservation Order to safeguard any evidence that may be relevant to determining the cause of the incident.
As of Wednesday, the BSEE said there were “no reported injuries or harm to any marine resources or mammals from the incident.”
Investigations are underway at the site of Vineyard Wind, which is about 13 nautical miles south of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket.
“BSEE will conduct an independent assessment to ensure the safety of future offshore renewable energy operations,” officials added.
Vineyard Wind announced that its crews, along with local authorities, had removed “approximately 17 cubic yards of debris, enough to fill more than six truckloads, and several larger pieces that washed ashore” by Wednesday morning.
“Cleanup efforts will continue Wednesday and throughout the week as necessary until all debris is removed,” the company stated.
Beaches were reopened later on Wednesday, with the Nantucket Harbormaster recommending that swimmers wear footwear and that pets remain off of the south shore “out of caution”:
“We’re grateful to the Town of Nantucket, the Nantucket Police Department, the Nantucket Land Bank, the Nantucket Harbormaster, and the entire island community as we work to clean up Nantucket’s beaches as quickly as possible,” said Vineyard Wind CEO Klaus Moeller. “We’re making progress in the debris recovery efforts and mobilizing even more resources on the island to hasten the cleanup as quickly as possible.”
“We continue to ask that members of the public avoid handling any of the debris but report any debris sightings to Vineyard Wind or town officials for recovery,” Moeller added. “The public can have confidence that we will be here as long as it takes to get the job done and make sure the beaches are cleaned up.”
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