An offshore wind farm located 15 miles off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, remains shut down Monday after debris from a massive turbine blade that broke last week continued washing ashore in Nantucket over the weekend.
The wind farm, known as Vineyard Wind, is being developed by Orange-based energy company Avangrid and Danish investment firm Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners. When finished, it will be the second-largest offshore wind farm in the country.
On Sunday, Vineyard Wind announced that debris from the damaged, 351-foot long GE Vernova wind turbine blade was located offshore at Madequecham Beach.
The company said beach crews were dispatched to the area, along with a helicopter, in an effort to keep swimmers and beachgoers safe. No injuries have been reported.
The fiberglass debris can be sharp and should not be handled by the public or by anyone not wearing proper gloves.
Anyone who finds debris is asked to call Vineyard Wind’s reporting hotline at 833-609-5768.
When completed, Vineyard Wind will produce 806 megawatts of electricity, enough to power more than 400,000 homes.
The first five wind turbines were powered up in February. All 62 turbines are expected to be running by the end of the year.
Last week, the federal Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement shut down all Vineyard Wind operations “until further notice” as the cause of the incident was investigated.
Avangrid, which owns United Illuminating in Connecticut, is a subsidiary of Spanish energy giant Iberdrola.
