Additional debris from a damaged wind turbine blade was found off the coast of Nantucket on Sunday morning, more than a week after chunks of fiberglass from the damaged turbine began washing ashore and just days after the blade fell from an offshore wind turbine and sunk to the ocean floor.
The debris was discovered by the Nantucket Harbormaster offshore near Madequecham Valley Road, Vineyard Wind, the company building the offshore wind energy farm, said in a brief statement. Beach crews were sent to the scene and an aerial survey of the area near where the debris was found was conducted by helicopter.
The company said its personnel was on the beach monitoring for debris to “assist in maintaining safe conditions for beachgoers and swimmers.”
“Vineyard Wind is focused on assisting in the recovery of debris caused by GE Vernova’s damaged wind blade,” the statement reads.
Anyone who finds debris from the damaged turbine is urged to contact the company at 833-609-5768.
Vineyard Wind warned members of the public to avoid handling the debris as the pieces of fiber glass can be sharp and cause cuts if not handled with proper gloves. The company said it was working to bag, track and transport all debris off the island as soon as possible.
The damage to the turbine was first publicly disclosed on July 15, two days after it was damaged, as fiberglass foam debris began washing up on the southern shores of Nantucket, MassLive previously reported.
Vineyard Wind has not said what caused the damage, but nobody was injured in the incident.
Initially, the broken portion of the 107-meter blade was hanging down from where it was still attached, on Wednesday night, Vineyard Wind said its condition was deteriorating and it would likely fall soon, which occurred the following morning.
By Friday, it had sunk to the ocean floor, MassLive previously reported.
In an update posted to the Nantucket town website on Friday morning, officials said the fiberglass piece of the blade that detached from the turbine had sunk and would be “recovered in due course.”
“Approximately half of the fiberglass shell of the blade remains attached, while most of the foam fill dislodged during the initial failure last Saturday,” according to the town website. “Monitoring of the remaining attached piece is ongoing, and a plan is being developed for its removal.”
Town officials are set to meet in executive session on Tuesday “to discuss strategy with respect to potential litigation in connection with Vineyard Wind,” according to a notice posted to the town’s website.
The Select Board is also slated to discuss “the town’s litigation strategy relative to potential litigation for recovery costs, where an open meeting may have a detrimental effect on the litigating position of the Select Board/County Commissioners and the chair so declares.”
The board is slated to meet in public session on Wednesday to further discuss the matter, according to a posting to the town’s website.
