Blade failure at Vineyard Wind 1 offshore wind project, Massachusetts
July 2024Published 1 May 2026Responsible editor: Chief Editor
- Where
- Vineyard Wind 1 offshore wind project, south of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket, Massachusetts, United States
- Operator
- Vineyard Wind
- Manufacturer
- GE Vernova
- What
- Blade failure during early testing after six hours of operation
- Injuries
- None reported
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Companies named in the reporting of this entry (being named is not a finding of fault): GE Vernova, Vineyard Wind
What happened
In July 2024, a recently installed turbine at the Vineyard Wind 1 offshore wind project, located south of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket, Massachusetts, United States, suffered a blade failure during early testing. The turbine had been running for about six hours when a high vibration alarm on one blade triggered an automatic shutdown. Around an hour later an aerial inspection found that one of the blades, roughly 107 metres long, had broken about 20 metres from the root, with the remainder of the blade hanging from the hub.
Fibreglass and foam fragments were dispersed into the sea and washed onto nearby beaches over the following days, attracting substantial media coverage. The offshore regulator required the ten turbines then operating at the project, operated and owned by Vineyard Wind, to be taken offline, halting generation, and construction work was also stopped. The machine was of a 13 MW class design manufactured by GE Vernova, among the largest then in commercial offshore service. No injuries were reported.
Contributing factors
As stated by GE Vernova, the turbine manufacturer, in a public investor call eleven days after the event, preliminary investigation identified a manufacturing deviation at one of its blade factories, described as insufficient bonding that the company's quality assurance process had not detected before the blade left the plant. The manufacturer said it would re-inspect all 150 blades produced at that plant, including blades already installed at offshore projects, using non-destructive methods including radiographic inspection. Public reporting stated that this fault was characterised as distinct from a separate blade incident at another offshore project earlier in 2024, which had been attributed to an installation error. The regulator's investigation was continuing at the time of reporting.
Lessons learned
- A 107 metre blade with a manufacturing bond defect can shed large fragments into the sea, so operators must plan for marine and shoreline debris recovery.
- Radiographic inspection of all blades from one factory is needed when a production deviation is found, to catch defects missed by earlier quality checks.
- A blade fault traced to one factory requires clear traceability records so the affected population can be identified quickly.
More lessons on structural integrity and turbines, from every incident on the register.
Not yet known
- Exact downtime and lost generation
- Cost of damage and clean-up
- Regulator investigation outcome
This entry is updated when these are reported. Get an alert for the next one like it.
Source
Site page: Vineyard Wind 1 (status, dates and other incidents)
Other entries that name Vineyard
Published 2026-05-01. Written from public reporting. Descriptive, not investigative. See the data accuracy disclaimer.
