After one of the blades on a Vineyard Wind turbine broke and fell into the ocean this summer, more are planned to be removed from the project.
GE Vernova, the manufacturer of the blades for the wind farm south of the Island, said Wednesday that it intends to remove more turbine blades as a precautionary measure, while taking steps to strengthen others.
The company, which has been under scrutiny since the turbine blade snapped in July, did not specify how many blades needed to be removed or how many were going to be bolstered. A spokesperson for GE Vernova also declined to state the specific number of blades to be removed. But in an earnings call with investors Wednesday, GE Vernova CEO Scott Strazik said the number is small, in the single digits.
Following the failure, GE Vernova has reexamined more than 8,300 ultrasound images per blade in the last few months and performed physical inspections. The blade that broke was due to insufficient bonding, according to the company.
Other blades that are being removed had similar problems due to defects during the manufacturing process at the company’s Canadian factory, Mr. Strazik told investors.
The news that more blades will be removed comes after the company started recovery efforts earlier this month for portions of the 107-meter blade that sank to the seafloor about 20 miles away from the Island. In a lengthy statement Wednesday, GE Vernova said it expected to be able wrap up the removal of the seabed debris this week.
An environmental consultant hired by GE Vernova is also planning a study to sample the water column, sediment and shellfish. The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement has required Vineyard Wind to undertake a study that evaluates any environmental harm and “other damage” in the area to determine if the offshore wind farm needs to take further action to mitigate damages.
Meanwhile, as blade recovery and research efforts remain ongoing, Vineyard Wind has built eight new towers. The bureau has disallowed any blade work and power production from the wind farm, which had about 10 turbines in operation when the blade broke. In all, the project is expected to have 62 turbines.
In a new order this week, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement confirmed Wednesday it would allow work related to power production, blade installation and activity on the broken turbine on a case-by-case basis, once sufficient safety and mitigation measures had been adopted.
While the GE Vernova continues to take hits from the blade failure, including facing large-scale layoffs and significant delays on power production, Mr. Strazik said the company is commited to moving forward.
“I think this blade chapter, we’ve learned a lot from the last three or four months,” he told investors. “And now this is back to project execution.”
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