Saving Seafood

Vineyard Wind shut down after turbine failure, “sharp fiberglass shards” wash ashore on Nantucket beaches

Matt Schooley, CBS News

July 17, 2024 — The federal government has ordered the Vineyard Wind farm to shut down until further notice because of a turbine blade failure this weekend.

Several beaches were closed on Tuesday while crews worked to clean up “large floating debris and fiberglass shards” from the broken wind turbine blade off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard. A total of six south shore Nantucket beaches were closed to swimming due to debris that washed ashore.

“You can walk on the beaches, however we strongly recommend you wear footwear due to sharp, fiberglass shards and debris on the beaches,” the Nantucket Harbormaster said.

Vineyard Wind operations shut down

Late Tuesday afternoon, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement said all operations are shut down until further notice.

“A team of BSEE experts is onsite to work closely with Vineyard Wind on an analysis of the cause of the incident and next steps,” the agency said in a statement.

Read the full article at CBS News