Offshore windmill blade length of football field breaks off into ocean off the coast of Nantucket

One part of a windmill blade, nearly 300 feet long, broke off and fell into the ocean, with debris washed up ashore along Nantucket Island .

The Coast Guard spotted the debris on July 13 and notified mariners of the 300-foot debris floating in the ocean on July 18.

The turbine, which is a part of Vineyard Wind, was undergoing testing when it was damaged.

“Approximately half of the fiberglass shell of the blade remains attached, while most of the foam fill dislodged during the initial failure last Saturday,” Nantucket, Massachusetts, officials said in an update posted on the town’s website. “Monitoring of the remaining attached piece is ongoing, and a plan is being developed for its removal.”

Wind power operations have been suspended in the meantime. The company has taken responsibility for the cleanup, and so far, six truckloads of debris have been removed from South Shore beaches.

Vineyard Wind is working with the Coast Guard to maintain a safety zone of 500 meters around the affected offshore turbine.

“Vineyard Wind will continue to coordinate closely with its state, federal, local, and tribal partners to respond to this evolving situation while continuing to prioritize the safety of its personnel, its contractors, and the environment," the company said.

The blade, known as the GE Vernova blade, is made out of nontoxic fiberglass, and it was washing up onshore in pieces that were 1 square foot or less.

“While part of the blade remains attached to the turbine, we believe there is an increased possibility it could detach soon,” the company said in a statement.

This is the second time this year that a GE Vernova blade has broken apart. Earlier this year, a GE Vernova offshore wind turbine came apart at the Dogger Bank A project off the coast of the United Kingdom.

While the beaches have since been reopened, the incident raises concerns about whether the company will be able to remove all the fiberglass particles from the beach successfully.

Vineyard Wind said the fiberglass may not be hazardous, but Bob Stern of Save Long Beach Island, a group dedicated to fighting offshore wind projects in New Jersey, questioned the potential toxicity of the glues used in the turbine blades.

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The Vineyard Wind project, a joint venture between Avangrid Renewables and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, is the country’s second large-scale offshore wind farm with a planned 62 turbines, each over 800 feet tall.

Construction of Vineyard Wind began in January 2023, and the project has been generating electricity since February 2024.