October 17, 2024 — The federal agency that suspended the Vineyard Wind project following the July 13 blade failure is now requiring the company to complete a new study evaluating the “environmental harm” caused by the incident in the waters southwest of Nantucket, according to a document obtained by Nantucket Current.
In a Sept. 27 letter from the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) addressed to Vineyard Wind CEO Klaus Moeller, the agency ordered the offshore wind energy company to “conduct a site-specific study that evaluates the environmental harm and other potential damage flowing from” the blade failure, and to identify potential mitigation measures for that damage.
The order was obtained by Nantucket Current through a Freedom of Information Act request to the U.S. Department of the Interior.
The Vineyard Wind project remains under a suspension order from BSEE following the disastrous turbine blade failure on July 13 that left Nantucket’s beaches littered with foam and fiberglass debris. That order was modified in August to allow Vineyard Wind to continue installing turbine towers and nacelles, but it is forbidden from producing power or installing blades.
According to the BSEE order signed Kathryn Kovacs, the deputy assistant secretary for land and minerals management at the U.S. Department of the Interior who is exercising the delegated authorities of the BSEE Director, Vineyard Wind was required to submit a plan for the study on Oct. 11, but was eligible to appeal the order. It’s not yet clear if the company appealed the order or not.
Both Vineyard Wind and BSEE officials did not immediately return requests for comment on Wednesday.
The required study “should characterize the subsea debris field resulting from the blade failure and the potential impacts or damage to onshore, coastal, and offshore resources from the blade debris.”