Vineyard Wind One
An FRP section of a wind turbine blade from the Vineyard Wind One project that had washed ashoreTown of Nantucket

Settlement reached over offshore wind turbine blade failure off Massachusetts

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The Town and County of Nantucket in Massachusetts has reached what it called a definitive settlement agreement with GE Vernova for US$10.5 million to compensate the town and local businesses for losses resulting from the July 13, 2024 failure of an offshore wind turbine blade on the Vineyard Wind One project.

The incident scattered foam and other debris along Nantucket's shores during the height of the summer tourist season.

Under the agreement, the town council will establish a community claims fund to provide compensation for "economic harm." The council will engage a professional, independent third-party administrator to evaluate claims from local businesses and issue payments.

Nantucket has published a detailed set of “answers to key questions” explaining the settlement and the claims process.

When the blade failed, debris settled on the ocean floor, entered the water table, and littered Nantucket’s beaches for months, requiring an extensive cleanup effort.

GE Vernova’s investigation attributed the failure to a manufacturing deviation. The company subsequently removed other Vineyard Wind blades produced in the same Quebec facility.

"Federal law limits localities’ influence in the design and approval of offshore wind projects," said Greg Werkheiser of Cultural Heritage Partners, legal counsel to the Town of Nantucket for offshore wind matters, "but communities have rights when it comes to safe operations of the farms."

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