Turbine Blade Event Environmental Study

Following the GE Vernova blade incident that took place in July 2024, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) directed Vineyard Wind to conduct a Site-Specific Study that evaluates the potential environmental impacts from the blade event.  GE Vernova led the study with collaboration with ARCADIS.  The Study has been reviewed by multiple federal agencies and is now in final form and being made available to the public.  

The Report concludes that the blade event did not result in any measurable adverse impacts to surface water, sediment, shellfish, or other ecological resources. It also concludes that any future risk to people and the environment is negligible. Three findings are central to that conclusion:

  • About 93% of the full blade has been removed or recovered. 

  • A deliberately conservative review of the chemicals used to make the blade found that calculated concentrations in water would remain below protective health and environmental limits even under a worst-case assumption that all chemical constituents in the blade dissolved into the water. 

  • Direct sampling of water, sediment, and shellfish found no fiberglass particles and no increase in microplastics associated with the blade event.

The full Site-Specific Report and its supporting materials, including complete sampling data, methods, laboratory reports, and safety data sheets, is being made publicly available here together with BSEE’s public release of the study results. Questions can be directed to info@vineyardwind.com.

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