Remainder of Damaged Vineyard Wind 1 Blade Set for Removal; Developer, GE Vernova Reveal Action Plan

August 13, 2024, by Adrijana Buljan

Vineyard Wind and GE Vernova have set out an action plan covering several main tasks following the blade incident at Vineyard Wind 1 offshore wind farm. The plan includes removing the remainder of the damaged blade on the turbine AW-38, continuing the collection of any debris, and resuming turbine installation and operations.

The blade incident response and action plan, which outlines the steps the parties will follow to recover the remainder of the blade on the turbine, has been developed in consultation with US federal agencies including the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) and the US Coast Guard, Vineyard Wind says.

The blade removal operation has been developed together with the salvage company Resolve Marine and includes four tasks: rotating the blade to reduce hanging blade and possible controlled cutting; removing the root of the blade from the hub; removing fallen debris from the platform; and addressing seabed debris.

As for the debris from the part of the blade that fell off in July, Vineyard Wind says it has been following its federally approved emergency response plan since the blade event occurred, tailoring it as needed for the specific situation.

The project immediately activated its Incident Management Team (IMT), which has been trained in the federal Incident Command System. Vineyard Wind has established a debris recovery system under established safety protocols, utilising a combination of vessel surveying, aerial monitoring, and US Coast Guard modelling, to track debris. The company has also established direct communication with Tribal Nations, federal, state, and local officials, and first responder agencies to provide notification of debris impacts, Vineyard Wind says.

“From the start of this event, our response has been focused on the safety of everyone involved”, said Vineyard Wind CEO Klaus S. Møller. “As we move forward to this next phase and begin removing the remainder of the damaged blade, we will continue to safeguard the public and the environment through our robust land, air and sea debris recovery system”.

Before moving forward with the installation and operations at Vineyard Wind 1, GE Vernova will implement a three-point plan following a Root Cause Analysis that has preliminarily determined that a manufacturing deviation is considered to be the primary root cause of the blade event, which should have been identified through the quality assurance process at the blade manufacturing facility.

The wind turbine manufacturer will re-review over 8,300 ultrasound testing (UT) records to determine whether bond requirements are satisfied. Any issues identified will be further inspected and corrective action taken as necessary.

Furthermore, GE Vernova has deployed “crawlers” into the manufactured blades for current-state visual inspection of the blades. Any anomalies identified will be flagged for further review before service.

In the long term, the wind turbine manufacturer will deploy a new algorithm, using sensors already in the blade and monitoring blade health to avoid similar events. The algorithm will provide advanced warnings or automatic, safe turbine shutdown when required, GE Vernova says.

Vineyard Wind emphasised that no blades will be installed or used in operations until thoroughly inspected.

“Our top imperative as a company is to work with our stakeholders on addressing the impacts of this blade event with thoroughness and urgency”, said GE Vernova Chief Sustainability Officer Roger Martella. “With safety first and foremost in our actions, our focus is on removing the remaining blade, assessing environmental and marine impacts, and executing a strong, three-point plan for blade performance so the project can succeed on its goals of providing sustainable, affordable, and reliable energy and jobs to New England”.

The 800 MW offshore wind farm will comprise 62 GE Vernova’s Haliade-X 13 MW wind turbines, each with a 220-metre rotor and 107-metre blades.

Wind turbine installation started last year and the first power was generated in January 2024. In February, Vineyard Wind delivered approximately 68 MW from five turbines to the grid.

At the end of June, ten turbines delivered more than 136 MW to the electric grid in Massachusetts, making Vineyard Wind 1 the largest operating offshore wind project in the US.