STATEMENT: Offshore wind turbine debris closes beaches

Media Contacts
Johanna Neumann

Senior Director, Campaign for 100% Renewable Energy, Environment America Research & Policy Center

Jon Maunder

Media Relations Specialist, The Public Interest Network

BOSTON — Large floating debris and sharp fiberglass shards from a damaged offshore wind turbine blade is washing up on Nantucket beaches, prompting officials to close all beaches on the south side of the island. The damaged wind turbine was part of the Vineyard Wind project, the country’s second utility-scale offshore wind farm, located 14 miles off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard. Although the wind farm is still under construction, the first turbines began generating electricity in February 2024. Avangrid, the developer of the wind farm, has temporarily stopped operations and opened an investigation into what caused the damage.

In response, Johanna Neumann, senior director of Environment America Research & Policy Center’s Campaign for 100% Renewable Energy, issued the following statement:

“Those who are responsible for the problems with the wind turbine should obviously fix it, clean up their mess, and make sure it doesn’t happen again. But it’s a heckuva lot better than an oil spill. The 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill was catastrophic for marine life and coastal communities and took 11 lives. The contrast of an offshore drilling accident with the Vineyard Wind debris could not be more stark.” 

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