NANTUCKET, MASS. (WHDH) - The failure off Nantucket is just the latest incident involving wind turbines, with the mishaps now renewing talks about safety.
Earlier this year, 7 Investigates uncovered a number of concerns about the safety of these wind turbines in local neighborhoods. The incident off the coast of Nantucket is now raising new questions about how safe the towering machines really are.
In May 2023, video captured a piece of a turbine blade snap off and launch into the air over Winthrop. An investigation revealed that a brake failure caused the blades to spin our of control.
Glenn Trenholm witnessed a turbine fail in Gloucester on a July night in 2022. One of the turbines’ towering blades came crumbling down in an industrial park.
“It was bangs. It was a few pops, bangs,” said Trenholm said. “It sounded like lumber falling out of the sky.”
7 Investigates found that the state does not require routine inspections of private turbines. To this day, no one knows why the Gloucester turbine failed.
The incident led Gloucester’s push to become one of the first communities to require inspections.
“There’s a preschool nearby and there’s houses nearby and there’s a highway nearby, so the idea that a blade could fall is a little scary,” said Gloucester City Councilor Jeff Worthley. “It’s critically important that they operate but it’s critically important they operate safely.”
People who live in the shadows of the blades hope that more communities consider routine inspections before the next disaster.
Vineyard Wind has stopped the operation of their 10 turbines off Nantucket, while the federal investigation into what went wrong continues.
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