August 7, 2024 — The massive blade that broke off a windmill tower, splashed down into the ocean and had pieces wash up on Nantucket beaches a few weeks ago is having repercussions here today in Connecticut.
The joint venture project being developed by a division of Orange-based Avangrid and a Dutch renewable energy company is under scrutiny, even as construction of the 806-megawatt offshore wind farm came to halt in mid-July when a 300-foot section of a 360-foot c The project, which is a joint venture of Avangrid Renewables and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, is being developed about 15 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket, and 35 miles from mainland Massachusetts.
The project began producing 5 megawatts of electricity at the start of 2024 and has gradually been increasing its power production, but that energy production has also been halted as the investigation into what caused the turbine blade to break off is still underway. The joint venture partners are also still scrambling to clean up the shards of fiberglass from the turbine that smashed into pieces and washed ashore beaches on both islands during the height of the summer tourist season.