November 2, 2024
It's a story that environmental groups would ordinarily be all over: a greedy energy-producer has an accident, and a beach is strewn with debris. The habitat is spoiled. The company's local operations are shut down. But they're not -- and it's because it's not an oil spill. It's debris from...

It’s a story that environmental groups would ordinarily be all over: a greedy energy-producer has an accident, and a beach is strewn with debris. The habitat is spoiled. The company’s local operations are shut down.

But they’re not — and it’s because it’s not an oil spill. It’s debris from a broken wind turbine that washed up on the south shore of Nantucket in Massachusetts.

Now, the water is closed to swimmer and the offshore wind farm it came from is being shut down by the feds “until further notice.”

Where’s Greenpeace when you really need them?

According to the Nantucket Current, the debris from the turbine blade began washing up on the shore on July 16, days after it had apparently suffered damage.

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Vineyard Wind, the operator, said that one of the blades was involved in an “offshore incident” on July 13 but declined to elaborate further as to what it was.

“The blade experienced a breakage approximately 20 meters out from the root,” said company spokesman Craig Gilvarg.

“The turbine was in its commissioning phase and was still undergoing testing. Nearly the entirety of the blade remains affixed to the turbine and has not fallen into the water.”

A few days later, though, residents could clearly see the effects of the blade’s disintegration:

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“Residents began reporting pieces of green and white foam, along with larger pieces of what appears to fiberglass, along southern Nantucket beaches at daybreak, stretching from Madaket out to Nobadeer,” the Current reported.

Almost a week after the report, residents were still documenting the debris washing up on the island:

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The town closed the beaches for swimming after 11 a.m. on the day the wind turbine debris was found.

“The water is closed to swimming on all south shore beaches, due to large floating debris and sharp fiberglass shards,” said Nantucket Harbormaster Sheila Lucey.

“You can walk on the beaches, however we strongly recommend you wear footwear due to sharp, fiberglass shards and debris on the beaches.”

The federal Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement also announced that afternoon that Vineyard Wind’s offshore turbines had been shut down.

The company said via a statement that it was “mobilizing debris recovery teams on Nantucket to survey the southern-facing beaches of the island for the recovery of debris following the blade damage incident that took place on Saturday, July 13, 2024.

“In addition, Vineyard Wind remains focused on ensuring the safety of personnel and mariners in the offshore area, and continues to work with the U.S. Coast Guard to maintain a safety zone of 500 meters around the impacted turbine offshore.”

“Vineyard Wind is fully committed to a swift and safe recovery of all debris, with an unwavering focus on community safety and environmental protection,” the company said.

“As part of its immediate action plan, Vineyard Wind communicated with officials on Nantucket to inform them of the presence of debris and recovery efforts on the southern-facing beaches of the island.”

However, the day afterward, the CEO of Vineyard Wind had to leave a meeting of the Town of Nantucket Select Board because the remainder of the broken blade may have fallen off:

The company issued a statement later saying there was an “observed compromise” to the blade and “We believe there is an increased possibility it could detach soon … We have mobilized our response team and have also witnessed new debris enter the water.”

At the same meeting, a local lobsterman testified to the toxicity of the fiberglass the blades are made out of — noting that if you breathe the fumes as it’s being bonded, “you’ll get higher than a rat” — and saying that disasters like this could be “the end of my business.”

But, watch. Five years from now, Vineyard Wind will be picking up award after award from environmentalist groups and everyone will try to forget this.

This is hardly the only problem with wind turbines, which require toxic lubricants and also kill birds, among many other problems with the form of alternative energy. It’s almost as if, somehow, there’s no such thing as a free lunch when it comes to getting electricity. Amazing, that.

C. Douglas Golden is a writer who splits his time between the United States and Southeast Asia. Specializing in political commentary and world affairs, he’s written for Conservative Tribune and The Western Journal since 2014.

C. Douglas Golden is a writer who splits his time between the United States and Southeast Asia. Specializing in political commentary and world affairs, he’s written for Conservative Tribune and The Western Journal since 2014. Aside from politics, he enjoys spending time with his wife, literature (especially British comic novels and modern Japanese lit), indie rock, coffee, Formula One and football (of both American and world varieties).

Birthplace

Morristown, New Jersey

Education

Catholic University of America

Languages Spoken

English, Spanish

Topics of Expertise

American Politics, World Politics, Culture