NANTUCKET, MASS. (WHDH) - Nantucket residents expressed their frustration Wednesday after an offshore wind turbine broke apart and forced authorities to temporarily close local beaches.
Officials said a turbine blade failed on Saturday. By Tuesday, fiberglass shards were washing ashore on Nantucket’s south shore.
Beaches opened Wednesday after an extensive cleanup effort. But residents at a Select Board meeting still had sharp criticism for the developers behind the turbine project.
“You’re kind of good at saying nothing in a whole lot of words,” one woman said.
Vineyard Wind, which currently operates 10 turbines off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket, is planning to expand its wind farm to include 62 turbines, according to its website.
“Clearly, Vineyard Wind is not a good neighbor,” another Select Board meeting attendee said.
Vineyard Wind CEO Klaus Moeller appeared before the Nantucket Select Board alongside other company officials to answer questions and provide an update on the status of the damaged wind turbine, which sits roughly 20 miles off Nantucket’s shores.
Four days after the turbine blade failed, developers said more debris was still falling into the ocean.
With debris in mind, even as Vineyard Wind faced continued questions, Moeller had to leave the meeting early.
“There’s a development on the integrity of the rest of the blade that is on there and I need to respond to that,” he said, announcing his departure.
“While the blade remains attached to the turbine, we believe there is an increased possibility it could detach soon,” said Vineyard Wind’s Jennifer Cullen later in the meeting.
In a statement Thursday morning, Vineyard Wind confirmed “a significant part” of the remaining blade fell into the ocean.
Vineyard Wind’s turbine blades are the size of a football field.
With more debris entering the water and potentially drifting toward land, people on Nantucket said they are concerned about the impact on the island and the potential consequences for marine life.
Among complaints, public officials pushed back on an assertion from Moeller that the wind turbine debris is not toxic.
“The whole thing upsets me,” Select Board member Malcolm MacNab told Vineyard Wind officials. “But I don’t like your presentation saying it was a nontoxic event. It was, it is toxic material.”
“They knew where it was going to go,” said Nantucket charter boat captain Bobby DeCosta. “They were hoping it wasn’t gonna go on the beaches so they wouldn’t have to deal with it as much.”
DeCosta continued, saying “There’s nobody in this room that has been to that site, I guarantee it.”
“We got a bunch of suits here trying to cover their tracks,” he said.
A spokesperson for the federal Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement said regulators ordered Vineyard Wind to stop operations at all its windmills while investigators determine whether the issue that caused this weekend’s turbine failure impacted any other turbines.
In addition to the suspension order, the bureau spokesperson said regulators ordered Vineyard Wind to safeguard any evidence “that may be relevant to determining the cause of the incident.”
Moeller on Wednesday apologized to Nantucket community members and said Vineyard Wind has a team on standby in case it needs to begin additional cleanup options on beaches.
“I’m really, truly sorry that this impacted your beautiful beaches here,” Moeller said.
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