''Threat to our fishing industry': New England flotilla rallies against wind farm following turbine mishap'

On Sunday, 25 fishing boats in Nantucket, Massachusetts, gathered in protest against Vineyard Wind, an offshore wind turbine project that has faced criticism after a blade broke off and sent fiberglass shards into the ocean.

The wind project, Vineyard Wind, poses a threat to our fisheries, according to Jerry Leeman, CEO of the New England Fishermen's Stewardship Association (NEFSA), who joined the group of New England fishermen protesting the project.

"Over a month after the blade disaster, floating fiberglass shards continue to pose a navigation and safety risk for mariners. The long-term effects of this industrial litter on local food chains are unknown. Even more concerning is the possibility that this could happen again," Leeman stated.

"No one knows the North Atlantic's volatility better than fishermen, and we are not certain these turbines and blade components will withstand a winter squall or a hurricane, given the events of July," he said.

He stated that the Vineyard Wind project demonstrates the detrimental impact of offshore wind on fishermen and maritime communities.

Boats that catch lobster, tuna, squid, and scallops were part of the fleet. The fishermen were from Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New Jersey.

Vineyard Wind did not respond to Planet Chronicle Digital's request for comment.

The Nantucket harbormaster recently declared that six of the town's beaches will be temporarily closed due to fiberglass debris that washed ashore. It is advised that beachgoers wear protective footwear to avoid injury from the sharp debris.

On July 18, Vineyard Wind, a joint venture between Avangrid and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, announced that a blade from a turbine had snapped and that power production from the turbines was immediately stopped.

In October, Vineyard Wind announced a $1.2 billion "first-of-its-kind tax equity package" for commercial-scale offshore wind with three U.S.-based banks, claiming it to be "the largest single asset tax equity financing and the first for a commercial-scale offshore wind project."

The first commercial-scale offshore wind project in the US, Vineyard Wind 1, commenced construction on-site in late 2021 and completed its nation's first offshore substation in July 2023. This 800 megawatts project is situated 15 miles off the coast of Martha's Vineyard.

Last month, when the blade fell, Leeman stated that the "scariest thing" was the possibility of it happening again.

At present, the reason for the breakdown is unclear. GE, the manufacturer and installer of the turbine and blades for the project, will now investigate the root cause of the incident, as stated by Vineyard Wind.

The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) issued a work suspension order upon Vineyard Wind's cease of power production.

Vineyard Wind is fully compliant with the order and is collaborating with BSEE to support its assessment and advance critical safety response and debris recovery efforts, according to the company.

"GE Vernova chief sustainability officer Roger Martella stated on Aug. 13 that the company's main priority remains removing any parts of the blade that could potentially contribute to further debris in the ocean. He expressed gratitude to stakeholders, partners, and the skilled professionals at the site and behind the scenes for their unwavering dedication to ensuring the safe execution of the plans and the progress and risk reduction achieved in recent days."

The Biden administration's push for offshore wind farming has been met with criticism, as agencies within the administration have been accused of rushing to approve wind projects at the expense of the environment and marine life in order to meet their green energy goals by 2030.

In March 2020, Cindy Zipf, the executive director of Clean Ocean Action, testified before a House Committee that offshore wind may hold promise, but federal and state levels have moved forward without transparency, robust and sound science, or good governance.

According to Zipf, the NMFS previously discovered that offshore wind can have detrimental effects on whales, including increasing ocean noise, which can alter their behaviors; introducing electromagnetic fields that affect their navigation, predator detection, and communication; and altering species composition and survival rates.

""Where is the substantial review? Where is the commitment to the precautionary principle?" Zipf testified, as the NMFS concluded that offshore wind is a new use of marine waters that requires scientific and regulatory review."

The group noted that the unprecedented number of whale deaths in the Northeast in the last half century is solely due to the excessive scope, scale, and magnitude of offshore wind power plant activity in the region.

Zipf highlighted that "climate change is real" and "living resources on the planet are in crisis," but he recommended that offshore wind projects should only be approved after pilot-scale projects have been proven successful and when science supports industrial-scale plants.

In April, NEFSA, a fishing advocacy group representing wild harvesters in New England fisheries, criticized the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management's (BOEM) plans to lease 2 million acres of ocean in Maine for offshore wind development, which would allow for the construction of enough wind turbines to produce 32 gigawatts of energy.

The administration is "hurriedly" finalizing a green energy plan to avoid being impacted by a potential change in leadership in November, according to NEFSA and Responsible Offshore Development Alliance.

BOEM has announced that it will adopt a phased leasing approach for the final WEA (wind energy area) and will not lease the entire area. Instead, BOEM will evaluate proposed lease areas within the final WEA based on specific criteria.

The WEA was finalized after extensive engagement with lobster fishermen in fishing communities, but it avoids several other important fishing areas and habitats, including important groundfish areas.