Reports related to this article:
Project(s): View 3 related projects in PECWeb
Plant(s): View 3 related plants in PECWeb
Released March 21, 2025 | SUGAR LAND
en
Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--In July last year, residents and beachgoers of Nantucket Island, Massachusetts, began spotting debris scattered along the beach that turned out to be greenish foam and fiberglass from a broken wind turbine blade on a windfarm being constructed about 15 miles offshore. Late last month, the same turbine, still without a blade, was struck by lightning. Two other notable turbine failures occurred late last week in Canada and Norway, causing some to question the safety of these renewable installations.
The Nantucket windfarm that suffered the damaged turbine, the Vineyard Windfarm, was the first commercial-scale offshore windfarm to be approved in the U.S. and had begun producing power from 11 of 24 completed turbines at the time. The facility uses GE Vernova's (NYSE:GEV) (Cambridge, Massachusetts) 13-megawatt (MW) Haliade-X turbines. Following the blade break, construction was halted and the partial power generated from the facility was stopped. Construction resumed in August, and the windfarm began supplying power again in January. Construction on the 800-MW windfarm is approaching the halfway point, but the windfarm suffered another setback when the damaged turbine was struck by lightning in late February. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Power Project Database can learn more by viewing the related project reports.
Lightning strikes are one of the most common causes of insurance claims at windfarms and can cause extensive damage, causing current surges of up to several million volts. The results can include a damaged electrical control system, fire and snapped rotor blades. However, preliminary reports have indicated no impact to the nacelle or turbine structure and no debris resulted from the lightning strike.
But the incident is only one of a round of recent occurrences that are causing the safety of windfarms to be questioned and fueling the rhetoric of wind opponents. Two other incidents have occurred at Norway and Canada within the past week, both on March 15.
In Norway, a turbine at the 130-MW Sørmarkfjellet windfarm was found to have damage to two blades, causing parts to fall to earth. The blade failure was not caused by extreme weather or any apparent external factors, prompting the facility to be taken offline as the incident is investigated further. The turbine was manufactured by Danish wind giant Vestas (Aarhus). The windfarm has been operating since 2021. Subscribers can learn more by viewing the plant profile.
The Canadian incident occurred at Ontario's 99-MW Erie Shores windfarm, owned and operated by Capstone Infrastructure (Toronto, Ontario), when the hub and all three attached blades separated from the tower and fell to the ground. In a statement to the news media, a Capstone spokesperson said, "The scene is secure, and out of an abundance of caution, the entire wind farm has been taken offline while we begin investigating the situation." No obvious reason for the failure has been found at this early stage of the investigation. The Erie Shores windfarm includes 66 turbines manufactured by GE Vernova, which in addition to the Massachusetts problems, has seen problems with another offshore turbine in the U.K.
Less than two months after the Massachusetts turbine blade fell last summer, a similar incident occurred with a GE Vernova Haliade-X turbine at the Dogger Bank A windfarm in the U.K., construction of which is ongoing and expected to wrap up later this year. (See project report.) GE Vernova subsequently confirmed that the blade failures were caused by a "material deviation" in blades manufactured at a plant in Gaspé, Quebec. Chief Executive Officer Scott Strazik emphasized in a conference call that there was no evidence of an engineering flaw, only in the materials, and that all of the 150 blades made at the Canadian plant would be reinspected. The U.S. Department of the Interior ordered all of the Canadian-made blades at the Vineyard windfarm removed, prompting GE Vernova to replace blades on the 22 turbines that have them. The replacement blades will come from Cherbourg, France.
With renewable energy, particularly offshore wind, facing a more difficult path to permitting with the change in presidential administrations in the U.S., the recent incidents have provided ammunition to opponents, who not only are noting the safety issues, but also questioning the subsidies the wind sector often receives and the regulatory framework that governs its safety.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).
The Nantucket windfarm that suffered the damaged turbine, the Vineyard Windfarm, was the first commercial-scale offshore windfarm to be approved in the U.S. and had begun producing power from 11 of 24 completed turbines at the time. The facility uses GE Vernova's (NYSE:GEV) (Cambridge, Massachusetts) 13-megawatt (MW) Haliade-X turbines. Following the blade break, construction was halted and the partial power generated from the facility was stopped. Construction resumed in August, and the windfarm began supplying power again in January. Construction on the 800-MW windfarm is approaching the halfway point, but the windfarm suffered another setback when the damaged turbine was struck by lightning in late February. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Power Project Database can learn more by viewing the related project reports.
Lightning strikes are one of the most common causes of insurance claims at windfarms and can cause extensive damage, causing current surges of up to several million volts. The results can include a damaged electrical control system, fire and snapped rotor blades. However, preliminary reports have indicated no impact to the nacelle or turbine structure and no debris resulted from the lightning strike.
But the incident is only one of a round of recent occurrences that are causing the safety of windfarms to be questioned and fueling the rhetoric of wind opponents. Two other incidents have occurred at Norway and Canada within the past week, both on March 15.
In Norway, a turbine at the 130-MW Sørmarkfjellet windfarm was found to have damage to two blades, causing parts to fall to earth. The blade failure was not caused by extreme weather or any apparent external factors, prompting the facility to be taken offline as the incident is investigated further. The turbine was manufactured by Danish wind giant Vestas (Aarhus). The windfarm has been operating since 2021. Subscribers can learn more by viewing the plant profile.
The Canadian incident occurred at Ontario's 99-MW Erie Shores windfarm, owned and operated by Capstone Infrastructure (Toronto, Ontario), when the hub and all three attached blades separated from the tower and fell to the ground. In a statement to the news media, a Capstone spokesperson said, "The scene is secure, and out of an abundance of caution, the entire wind farm has been taken offline while we begin investigating the situation." No obvious reason for the failure has been found at this early stage of the investigation. The Erie Shores windfarm includes 66 turbines manufactured by GE Vernova, which in addition to the Massachusetts problems, has seen problems with another offshore turbine in the U.K.
Less than two months after the Massachusetts turbine blade fell last summer, a similar incident occurred with a GE Vernova Haliade-X turbine at the Dogger Bank A windfarm in the U.K., construction of which is ongoing and expected to wrap up later this year. (See project report.) GE Vernova subsequently confirmed that the blade failures were caused by a "material deviation" in blades manufactured at a plant in Gaspé, Quebec. Chief Executive Officer Scott Strazik emphasized in a conference call that there was no evidence of an engineering flaw, only in the materials, and that all of the 150 blades made at the Canadian plant would be reinspected. The U.S. Department of the Interior ordered all of the Canadian-made blades at the Vineyard windfarm removed, prompting GE Vernova to replace blades on the 22 turbines that have them. The replacement blades will come from Cherbourg, France.
With renewable energy, particularly offshore wind, facing a more difficult path to permitting with the change in presidential administrations in the U.S., the recent incidents have provided ammunition to opponents, who not only are noting the safety issues, but also questioning the subsidies the wind sector often receives and the regulatory framework that governs its safety.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).
