By Sherri Lange
July 29 2024
Perfectly benign, they say. But stay off the beach.
The US plans for ocean industrialization (industrial wind turbines) are “staggering,” according to the North American Platform Against Wind Power. Coupled with denial of biodiversity harm including possible or even likely complete loss of the endangered North Atlantic Right Whale, there are now glaring “defects” in planning and execution. Defects and omissions of such a nature that a revisit of the entire developing and planned US offshore “fleet” should be undertaken. It is nothing short of ludicrous, says the Platform.
“The pieces of a broken Vineyard Wind turbine blade that are washing up on Nantucket beaches are not toxic to the surrounding area, according to an initial environmental assessment from Boston-based GE Vernova, the company that made the blade and was in charge of overseeing its installation.
A 107-meter-long (351 feet) blade from the offshore wind farm near Martha’s Vineyard was damaged last week, dropping pieces of debris into the ocean.”
Size of the turbine: Vineyard Wind’s GE Haliade-X 13MW turbines are 853 feet tall, including the blades. The blades are 351 feet long. “After modeling currents and wind direction, Vineyard Wind does not currently anticipate the presence of debris on Martha’s Vineyard,” Gilvarg said.Jul 15, 2024
Images of the broken bits and chunks of the wind turbine blade are circulating internationally and documented by Nantucket and other community residents daily.
https://blog.response.restoration.noaa.gov/orr-modeling-tracks-path-broken-offshore-wind-turbine
“The Northeast Region Scientific Support Coordinator with OR&R’s (Office of Response and Restoration) Emergency Response Division was contacted on July 15 to provide trajectory information to assist with recovering pieces of the broken blade. About one third of the blade (approximately 120 feet) (our emphasis) fell into the water, with three large pieces recovered. At that time, smaller fiberglass sections and pieces of the blade, some less than one square foot in size, remained in the water.”
DEVIATION IN MANUFACTURING?
Not enough Glue? Insufficient bonding?
Insufficient glue, manufacturing errors, “deviation”, installation error, which is it?
Is this a perfect storm of general incompetence, error ridden from concept to install?
Is the accidental detachment of pieces of a massive plastic, Teflon coated or injected, resins, polymers, glass fibre, silicas, glue-ridden turbine blade a sign of gross negligence, such that the entire project might be scrapped?
There are questions that naturally arise given the magnitude of the “component detachment or liberation” or failure, as the industry calls it.
In a scramble to explain this gargantuan detachment of toxic debris, no, not as initially stated to the public, as neutral, inert, the CEO of GE Vernova, Scott Strazik, in a few short words, describes the failure:
“We have identified a material deviation, or a manufacturing deviation, in one of our factories that through the inspection or quality assurance process, we should have identified,” Scott Strazik said.
“Because of that, we’re going to use our existing data and reinspect all of the blades that we have made for Offshore wind and for context in this factory in Gaspé, Canada where the material deviation existed, we’ve made about 150 blades, so that gives you an indication and context of the work ahead.”
Which in a nutshell, says glaring incompetence.
The developer and his analyst, Consultant Arcadis, claim the shards and pieces are inert, as noted “…. primarily fiberglass, semi-rigid foam, and polyester resins, which are “inert, non-soluble, stable, and nontoxic” materials, akin to those found in “textiles, boat construction and the aviation industry.” Marine life is often destroyed by toxic non-edibles. Now add Polyester resin, or adhesives, or bushings materials such as chromium, molybdenum, or copper, or silica and polymers. Fibreglass. Foam.
For a list of actual ingredients in a typical blade, which includes the Vineyard Wind blade, is here. And below.
This chart lists the materials used in the manufacturing of the GE-Haliade turbine blade, which is what Vineyard Wind is using in its project near Martha’s Vineyard. (Courtesy Arcadis)
What will the environmental damage be to oceans, shorelines, fishing businesses, all manner of residents, species of interest and endangered, at risk, included. Truly, unimaginable.
CONCERNS FOR OFFSHORE PROLIFERATION OF INDUSTRIAL WIND GET FIRED UP
Calling the Nantucket accident “simply unacceptable,” one of the very vocal groups, Protect Our Coast-NJ, cites deep concerns about potential damage “to the environment, marine life and birds.”
Bonnie Brady, a local resident of consummate marine knowledge, Queen of the Docks they call her, Head of the Long Island Commercial Fishing Association, shows a photo on X (Twitter) of clean up crews in hazmat suits. Also reported on CFACT. Juxtapose this reality for a moment with Klaus Moeller, CEO of Vinyard Wind, extolling the benign nature of the shredded turbine blade. (The audio of the media outlet, the reporting journalists, cite potentially toxic foam and fibreglass floating onto beaches.)
Here are the lifeguards, cleaning up the mess. Here is a tweet from a member of Protect Our Coast, NJ.
We’re thinking that in the wake of the Vineyard Wind Disaster, shouldn’t all offshore wind be shuttered pending full inspections of these industrial installations. Shouldn’t @BSEEgov be looking at more than just @VineyardWindUS
JESSE SANDOLE
Jesse Sandole, another local resident of Nantucket, speaks in in his letter to the editor (Nantucket Current) of a dystopian wasteland.
Nantucket Must Walk Away From The “Good Neighbor Agreement” With Vineyard Wind. “If we continue on this path of mass industrialization of our oceans the economic impact to our island will be catastrophic. If we choose to think that people are going to continue to spend their hard-earned dollars to vacation in a place where the beaches are dominated by dystopian, man-made wind turbines and industrial waste washing ashore, we will be sorely mistaken. There are only 21 turbines completed and this disaster has already occurred. Can you imagine what will be washing up on our beaches once we have over 1,000 turbines out there? Constant turbine waste washing up will become the new normal in the name of “green” energy. What about our fisheries? What about our world-renowned Nantucket Bay Scallops? A treasured species that is already fighting to survive as it is. What about the endangered North Atlantic Right Whales that live and breed where these godforsaken things are being built? For starters, we know they’ve been washing up dead from Martha’s Vineyard to Virginia since the start of offshore wind development.”
The letter goes on to cite examples of children being stabbed with pieces of fibreglass from “industrial “non-toxic” waste, while swimming in Madaket Harbor (about 5.6 miles from Nantucket Harbor).
“I spoke with a friend whose child came out of the water with fiberglass cuts all over his body after swimming on the inside of Smith’s Point in Madaket Harbor. The inside of Smith’s Point, meaning the waste is now traveling with the tides toward the north side of the island. Another reminder from Mother Nature that this crisis is far from over.”
Sandole’s letter raises concurrent issues of public safety and biodiversity damage/loss.
LEGAL CHALLENGES
As of March 2023, there were four cases.
A short update on cases is here.
As of two days ago at time of writing, officials of Nantucket are considering legal action as well.
Four cases are challenging the federal environmental permit issued to Vineyard Wind, a 62-turbine facility being planned for construction in the waters off Martha’s Vineyard. A federal judge in Massachusetts heard arguments brought by landowners in two cases in recent weeks. The other two suits, brought by fishing groups, have been consolidated and will appear before the same judge for oral arguments in Boston on Monday.
The cases against Vineyard Wind allege that the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management conducted an inadequate environmental review when it approved the project by failing to account for its impact on everything from fishermen to the critically endangered North American right whale.
The stakes are high. Two suits are from fishing groups. Some cases allege,
…that the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management conducted an inadequate environmental review when it approved the project by failing to account for its impact on everything from fishermen to the critically endangered North American right whale.
There is in our view, zero contesting that there is gross denial and obfuscation from NOAA (National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration) and BOEM (Bureau of Ocean Energy Management). Please see these two links, here and here, for proof.
Apostolos Gerasoulis, a Rutgers professor emeritus of computer science who co-created the search engine that powers Ask.com, now says the answer is yes.”
‘Absolutely, 100 percent, offshore wind kills whales,’ he says.
AUTHORIZATIONS TO TAKE
Constance Gee of Westport tells us that the “take authorizations” speak volumes. It’s something I have pondered for years now. Seems like admission of inevitable harm.
Posted Wednesday, March 22, 2023 4:30 pm
The marine science community knows this much for certain: The high-resolution geophysical (HRG) surveys used to site offshore wind turbines and transmission cabling causes harm and mortality to marine mammals. They know the intense noise of pounding thousands of monopiles deep into the seabed, along with an exponential increase of vessel traffic during construction and for maintenance afterwards will do the same—disturb, injure, and kill marine life.
Here’s the proof: As of mid-March 2023, NOAA Fisheries has handed out 15 marine mammal Incidental Take Authorizations (ITAs) to offshore wind projects from NC to MA. These will allow companies to “take” 111,817 whales, dolphins and seals. The harassment, injury, and killing of marine mammals are referred to as “takes.”
The 111,817 figure is the tally of 118 “Level A” and 111,699 “Level B” takes. Level A includes permanent hearing loss and other bodily injury. Level B harassment includes behavioral disturbance (such as frightening an animal from its normal feeding area) and temporary hearing loss. A deafened whale fleeing into a shipping channel is likely a dead whale.
It is illegal to take any federally listed animal, that is, unless one applies for and is granted an ITA. An “incidental” take is defined as, “an unintentional, but not unexpected taking of a protected species.”
NOAA is in the final stages of approving an additional 1,272 Level A and 477,285 Level B takes of marine mammals for another 11 wind projects. Soon the approved ITA count will permit wind companies to disturb, injure or cause the death of 590,374 marine mammals. These figures were compiled by carefully searching 26 individual wind project ITA requests. NOAA either does not have or will not share cumulative take numbers.
The data reveals that NOAA has either granted or is in the final stages of granting Level B takes for 915 critically endangered North Atlantic right whales, of which there are only 334 remaining animals alive. Either this means NOAA and the wind companies expect repeated harassment (including recurrent hearing impairment) of numerous right whales, or they have not taken the trouble to realize they have granted more “takes” than the number of live whales who exist today.
A total of 387 A and 21,704 B takes have been or are close to being approved for whales. These numbers include the taking of five species of endangered whales. For eight dolphin species A takes total 140; B takes total 474,605. A takes total 658 for harbor porpoise; B takes total 24,122 porpoises. A takes total 205 harbor, grey, and harp seals; B takes total 68,553 seals.
The numbers of “not unexpected” harassment and injury of marine mammals are staggering.
NOAA states in its February posting of Sunrise Wind’s ITA request (NOAA-NMFS-2023-0012): “Project activities likely to result in incidental take include pile driving…and vessel-based site assessment surveys using HRG equipment.”
Still NOAA has only one answer to the question being asked by thousands of coastal residents as to whether wind companies’ recent seismic testing might be related to the highly unusual number of whale strandings: NO.
Why are they lying?
CONCLUSION
Added to the accruing evidence of harm to ocean and shore life, permitting to “take” species, the accidental component liberation, failure or shredding of a massive blade in Nantucket, Vineyard Wind project has an epic sobering effect. In the ongoing clean up and industry attempts to dilute/sanitize the impact of a shorn turbine blade, we can see additional pretences, and obfuscation. It’s overall an agenda that pretends to care for the environment; pretends that a catastrophic “weather” trajectory, drenched in climate hysteria, can be saved by industrial wind; pretends to have regulations that attend to the finer matters of manufacture, production, delivery, installation and promises of electric advances, a greener grid. But the grim reality from this horrible accident, is that owners and producers and abettors of offshore wind have just been slapped with a prodigious reality check.
Time to stop all offshore wind. The Vineyard “manufacturing” breach in safety has actually been, is, a reason to reflect, and act. Offshore wind globally is a boondoggle: aimed solely at profits; mired in ideology that is widely disproved, a washed-out, harmful to the hilt, failed experiment. Without subsidies, it does not exist.
“Of all commercial renewable generation technologies, offshore wind is the costliest, far more so than solar photovoltaics and onshore wind. The newest incarnation of offshore wind—floating turbines that can be sited in deep water—are more expensive still. Although offshore wind is supposed to benefit from more prevalent ocean breezes, it remains, like land-based wind and solar power, an intermittent source of electricity. Hence, as offshore wind comprises a larger share of total electricity capacity, it requires ever more backup generation or storage to compensate.” (The False Economic Promises of Offshore Wind, Jonathan A. Lesser, CATO Institute)
Nantucket and the Atlantic shores is a story of whales, inevitably. It is also about dolphins, lobsters, all manner of marine life: it is about endangered birds and bats, and migratory routes, habitat loss, and a cruel unthinking “industrial” vision for ocean life. There is no upside.
Increasingly seen as “monuments to Corruption.”
Component liberation, or failure, is hardly constructive and encouraging to the aspirations of the industry.
“The blade left the factory with insufficient bonding — the glue,” Strazik said.
Now anticipate more “accidents” and failures. They are not scant in number. On average, 3,800 per year. (“With the sizes of blades increasing, it can put additional pressure on the structure and other components in the turbine. It is estimated that there are 3,800 incidents of blade failure each year. Common flaws to look out for include debonding, joint failure, splitting along fibers, gel coat cracks, and erosion.”)
This is a typical image of De-Bonding. Lightening strike or fatigue load.
Additional Resources:
https://www.cfact.org/2024/07/29/virginias-risk-of-offshore-wind-turbine-blade-failure-is-serious/
David Wojick, Virginia’s risk of offshore wind turbine blade failure is serious
https://www.cbc.ca/news/science/whale-plastic-100kg-1.5381205
Whale dies with 100 kg ball of plastic trash in its stomach
Company says manufacturing problem was behind wind turbine blade breaking off Nantucket Island
Our findings show a disturbing level of glass reinforced plastic (GRP) contamination in marine life. This study is the first of its kind to document such extensive contamination in natural bivalve populations. It’s a stark reminder of the hidden dangers in our environment.
Corina Ciocan, Principal Lecturer in Marine Biology from the University of Brighton
The Vineyard Wind blade detachment is a “bump in the road” for the nascent US offshore wind industry, according to an analyst, while others have voiced concern it will provide ammunition to opponents of the sector.
Report by Save the Right Whales, Conflict of Interest at Environmental Organizations
Professor Gerasoulis has confirmed with profound statistical evidence the widespread conjecture that offshore wind sonar surveys have been killing whales. There is now no reasonable doubt that the extensive sonar harassment authorized by NOAA since 2016 has caused the massive increase in whale deaths that NOAA first flagged in 2016-17.
David Wojick, Offshore wind whale deaths indicated by statistical analysis
https://co2coalition.org/2024/04/29/noaa-permits-wind-energy-operators-to-harass-and-kill-whales/.
The op-ed discusses how NOAA is allowing wind energy companies to harass and kill whales.
https://www.doi.gov/pressreleases/biden-harris-administration-approves-eighth-offshore-wind-project
Biden-Harris Administration Approves Eighth Offshore Wind Project
https://www.cato.org/regulation/spring-2024/false-economic-promises-offshore-wind
Jonathan A. Lesser CATO Institute
https://ontariowindaction.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Less-for-More-Rube-Goldberg.pdf
Jon Boone, Less for More, The Rube Goldberg Nature of Industrial Wind Development
The Vineyard Wind blade debacle is disgusting to read about. The solution to this problem is a simple one – offshore wind turbines should be forbidden forever anywhere. Nuclear power is the best solution and safest answer.
Thank you, Al Isselhard. It is indeed disgusting to read about. Important for this to circulate, as many do not know the harm. We appreciate all YOUR work to save the Great Lakes.
Windmills et al in the Ocean is a Mega-Disaster waiting to happen. US Congress must end this OFFshore insanity.
US Congress must end this OFFshore insanity.
US Congress must end this OFFshore insanity.
THANK YOU. WE AT THE GLWT AND NAPAW PRAY THAT ENOUGH OUTRAGE WILL CONTINUE TO DO JUST THAT; END THE OFFSHORE INSANITY. THANK YOU AGAIN.
Comment from Russ Babcock. Right on the money.
Thanks for the article on the Nantucket wind farm mess. As I was looking at the list of actual ingredients in a typical windmill blade, I saw that very much of it all are products of crude oil refinement. It got me wondering how these bird-killers / whale-killers are going to be manufactured in our future Utopia where all use of Nature’s hydrocarbons will have been banned.
…..
There’s about 8 billion people inhabiting Earth at this time. Of that number, we have the wrong people trying to solve the wrong problem with the wrong solutions to the wrong causes. Some of these people are well-meaning, but far too many are not. Unfortunately, the cabal-in-total is very resourceful and powerful, and the underlying driving force of the cabal is multi-pronged, but it’s mainly greed, political ideology, and an unquenchable thirst for power and control of humanity.
The only ‘entity’ capable of controlling Earth’s MANY interacting climates that truly do cause extreme weather events is Mother Nature. The longer we go on pretending that not to be the case, the deeper the cavernous hole that humanity is digging for itself.
There are extremely very few of the 8 billion of us who are benefiting from the demonization of the hydrocarbon industry and carbon dioxide, but the vast majority of us are here BECAUSE OF the hydrocarbon industry. Earth was home to less than 1 billion people in 1800, before mankind learned how to use hydrocarbons as an energy source in a big way. Furthermore, there would be NO LIFE on Earth in the first place without carbon dioxide. Facts are facts, even in this upside down world of make-believe that has been thrust upon us by greedy charlatan peddlers of fake solutions, looney tune activists, and self-serving politicians, all aided by their useful idiots in much of our legacy media.
God help us!
Russ Babcock
How does Roger Penske allow this Offshore Wind Devastation of blessed Nantucket?
(Penske’s yacht “Spirit of Detroit floating in Nantucket Bay should be renamed the “Spirit of Sorrow”; the newer Podium vessel should fly a flag with the letters PATHETIC.)
FYI: Penske was a General Electric Board member.
Is that the reason Mr. Penske?
How does Roger Penske allow this Offshore Wind Devastation of blessed Nantucket?
(Penske’s yacht “Spirit of Detroit”, which floated often in Nantucket Bay, should be renamed the “Spirit of Sorrow” and the newer Podium vessel should fly a flag with the letters PATHETIC.)
FYI: Penske was a General Electric Board member.
Is that the reason Mr. Penske?
Thanks. Super interesting comment. Maybe Mr. Penske can again or still liaise with Mr. Trump, and get some congressional action on this.