Bacon's Rebellion

Democracy Thrives in Sunlight

Turbine Blade Failure Closes Vineyard Wind, Nantucket Beaches

—

by

Steve Haner
in ,
Not the turbine in question, but follow the link to the WBZ story and there is a photo of the very large chunks of debris.

Posted on Boston’s CBS affiliate WBZ this morning:

NANTUCKET – The federal government has ordered the Vineyard Wind farm to shut down until further notice because of a turbine blade failure this weekend.

Several beaches were closed on Tuesday while crews worked to clean up “large floating debris and fiberglass shards” from the broken wind turbine blade off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard. A total of six south shore Nantucket beaches were closed to swimming due to debris that washed ashore.

“You can walk on the beaches, however we strongly recommend you wear footwear due to sharp, fiberglass shards and debris on the beaches,” the Nantucket Harbormaster said.

Late Tuesday afternoon, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement said all operations are shut down until further notice.

“A team of BSEE experts is onsite to work closely with Vineyard Wind on an analysis of the cause of the incident and next steps,” the agency said in a statement.  

Crews could be seen Tuesday afternoon removing pieces of fiberglass from the beach.

Vineyard Wind says the cause of the breakage is unknown at this time. According to WBZ meteorologist Jacob Wycoff, there was some bad weather in the area, including gusty wind and lightning.

GE, the turbine and blade manufacturer and installation contractor, will be doing analysis for the root cause of the incident.

Here we go, Virginia. 

 

Share this article

ADVERTISEMENT

(comments below)

ADVERTISEMENT

(comments below)

Comments

71 responses to “Turbine Blade Failure Closes Vineyard Wind, Nantucket Beaches”

  1. WayneS Avatar
    WayneS

    And here's a fun video of wind turbine failures. of course, several of them are not so much failures of wind turbines as they are failures related to wind turbines, and a couple of them are planned demolitions.

    Still, I found it enjoyable to watch.

    https://www.google.com/search?q=video+of+wind+turbine+blade+failure&sca_esv=a135d1cef58d6723&sca_upv=1&rlz=1C1GCEA_enUS945US945&ei=NOSXZsWfGL-s5NoPzuOe4AI&ved=0ahUKEwjFiYLvsq6HAxU_FlkFHc6xBywQ4dUDCA8&uact=5&oq=video+of+wind+turbine+blade+failure&gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAiI3ZpZGVvIG9mIHdpbmQgdHVyYmluZSBibGFkZSBmYWlsdXJlMgUQIRigATIFECEYoAEyBRAhGKABMgUQIRigATIFECEYoAEyBRAhGKsCMgUQIRifBTIFECEYnwUyBRAhGJ8FMgUQIRifBUjdAVAAWABwAHgAkAEAmAFVoAFVqgEBMbgBA8gBAPgBAZgCAaACXZgDAJIHATGgB-gL&sclient=gws-wiz-serp#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:9af137d5,vid:9oDXQfMapfA,st:0

  2. Kathleen Smith Avatar
    Kathleen Smith

    Haven’t commented in awhile. Glad no one was hit by the debris.

  3. WayneS Avatar
    WayneS

    I've been unable to find a video of the actual failure, but this includes footage of what the unit looked like after it lost a blade.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mescG3Eyl00

    Edited to provide the correct link.

    1. Nancy Naive Avatar
      Nancy Naive

      Challenger closed beaches too.
      https://images-cdn.bridgemanimages.com/api/1.0/image/600wm.PIX.42335640.7055475/4650145.jpg

      1. LarrytheG Avatar
        LarrytheG

        https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/888f4a4ecf71d373dc77ac0e29550f3ed6b0d9f1113bbd40dbbc56b6ad8cbec9.png

  4. WayneS Avatar
    WayneS

    And here's a fun video of wind turbine failures. Of course, several of them are not so much failures of wind turbines as they are failures related to wind turbines, and a couple of them are planned demolitions.

    Still, I found it enjoyable to watch.

    https://www.google.com/search?q=video+of+wind+turbine+blade+failure&sca_esv=a135d1cef58d6723&sca_upv=1&rlz=1C1GCEA_enUS945US945&ei=NOSXZsWfGL-s5NoPzuOe4AI&ved=0ahUKEwjFiYLvsq6HAxU_FlkFHc6xBywQ4dUDCA8&uact=5&oq=video+of+wind+turbine+blade+failure&gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAiI3ZpZGVvIG9mIHdpbmQgdHVyYmluZSBibGFkZSBmYWlsdXJlMgUQIRigATIFECEYoAEyBRAhGKABMgUQIRigATIFECEYoAEyBRAhGKsCMgUQIRifBTIFECEYnwUyBRAhGJ8FMgUQIRifBUjdAVAAWABwAHgAkAEAmAFVoAFVqgEBMbgBA8gBAPgBAZgCAaACXZgDAJIHATGgB-gL&sclient=gws-wiz-serp#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:9af137d5,vid:9oDXQfMapfA,st:0

  5. LarrytheG Avatar
    LarrytheG

    We have industrial failures all the time. We just had one on the Roanoke River and before that failures in the new Mountain Valley pipeline, and before that forever chemicals found in the Roanoke water supply and heckfire, bridges falling down. Holy Moly!

    this is sort of like having an EV crash on I-95 and claiming EV's have a "problem". Geeze.

    1. Stephen Haner Avatar
      Stephen Haner

      No, but EVs' propensity to burn might be a parallel situation.

      1. LarrytheG Avatar
        LarrytheG

        regular cars burn also… these days… this is just silly stuff …

    2. Randy Huffman Avatar
      Randy Huffman

      Fingers always get pointed when it comes to power generation and potential for interruptions. Texas in 2021 is a great example

      https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/17/politics/texas-power-grid/index.html

      1. LarrytheG Avatar
        LarrytheG

        They do. But the point is that disasters happen and equipment and infrastructure break and it has nothing to do with whether it’s a turbine or a pipeline or whether it’s renewable or fossil fuel. And if you remember, the Texas issue, the FIRST claim was that the turbines FROZE causing the failure. The truth was not that. We build things that break. We build pipelines that fail, bridges that fall, and Turbines that come apart. Nothing to do with the type of fuel.

        1. Randy Huffman Avatar
          Randy Huffman

          At the end of the day, it comes down to reliability and factoring in failures. If it breaks, needs maintenance, etc. or gets easily damaged on a regular basis in storms, then that needs to be factored in the cost estimates and comparisons with alternatives. CO2 emissions are factored into a decision on whether to build a coal plant or not (China and India still builds them), reliability, longevity and maintenance costs needs to be evaluated on wind turbines and solar panels.

          1. LarrytheG Avatar
            LarrytheG

            Separate and apart from CO2 emissions and climate change, just purely from any infrastructure point of
            view – anything we build whether it’s a bridge or a turbine or a nuke plant or a pipeline, it has the potential
            to break, to be damaged by disasters, and to need maintenance and replacement. In that regard, a turbine per se is no different than any other infrastructure – and they are ALL “evaluated” on the basis you point out but not to the level that some are saying that turbines need to be. It’s just “anti” stuff because folks don’t like what the infrastructure (turbines) are for. It’s no different than the folks who make similar arguments against nukes
            or pipelines… imo…

          2. Randy Huffman Avatar
            Randy Huffman

            I disagree. There are those that think build the windmill or solar and it will be "free energy" after the initial cost. Same with EV's on cars. There are potential failures and consequences that needs to be evaluated, and they are just now starting to come to light, just as many (though not all) who bought an EV are regretting that decision. They needs to be scrutinized and changes made accordingly.

            My personal view is wind turbines and solar are great (I put solar panels on my house), but have major limits. I would never buy an EV, but like hybrids alot.

          3. LarrytheG Avatar
            LarrytheG

            Whether something is useful, has value, is separate from the costs of building and operating it in my view.

            Take all these dams that were built long ago.. and now are virtually worthless.

            or coal plants now closed down. etc…

            “potential failures” are considered for all infrastructure, right? How big/strong to build a bridge or
            cell tower or bay-bridge, etc?

            THere are something like 80,000 turbines in the west, many where there are tornados. I would think
            they have learned from experience just as we do with other infrastructure we have built and sometimes
            failed or destroyed by hurricanes/tornadoes, etc.

            We rely on engineers and engineering to do this , not folks who are opposed to turbines and solar on
            a conceptual basis… and no more than we’d rely on anti-nuclear folks to decide similar issues for
            nuclear plants I would think. Infrastructure is infrastructure, designed by professional engineers to
            specific standards … no matter the purpose of the infrastructure… separate things.

  6. James Kiser Avatar
    James Kiser

    Well I have had experience with fiberglass. When it is intact and in a solid form it is safe to handle. When in fiber form or damaged as in the pictures very hazardous. The two clean up crews are hired contractors who have no idea what they are dealing with otherwise they would have Tyveck suits and respirators on.

    1. WayneS Avatar
      WayneS

      I agree 100%.

      1. Nancy Naive Avatar
        Nancy Naive

        You can see it. Radiation? Not so much.

    2. how_it_works Avatar
      how_it_works

      Fiberglass splinters are awful and likely if handling deteriorated fiberglass.

      1. LarrytheG Avatar
        LarrytheG

        just to point out that millions of boats are also built of fiberglas, right?

        1. how_it_works Avatar
          how_it_works

          Sure, but boat wreckage is unlikely to be spread over a wide area in even the most extreme of collisions.

          1. LarrytheG Avatar
            LarrytheG

            with millions of boats one would think, like in a hurricane, there would be issues? no?

          2. Nancy Naive Avatar
            Nancy Naive

            Nope. Not really. They get holed and tears. These blades appear to have exploded.

            I’ve done my share of fiberglass repair. It’s not fun, but not horrific.

            During one race, one boat T-boned another boat. Both boats finished the race..

            After the race everyone was standing around drinking beer when the skipper of the at-fault boat said, “Well, it’s not that bad,” as the other skipper reached over picked fiberglass shards off his foulies.

            Next weekend the two boats were repaired and like new.

          3. LarrytheG Avatar
            LarrytheG

            I guess I’ve seen entire fiberglas boats all over the place after a hurricane in various states of
            being torn up and the cleanup necessary after…. and have never heard any talk of the issues
            involved in cleaning up and removing storm damaged boats. I’ve done fibeglas repairs also
            on canoes and small craft and yep.. nasty stuff, not even counting the fumes from the resin and
            hardners, etc.

          4. Nancy Naive Avatar
            Nancy Naive

            Okay, confession time. I love that smell. Ranks right up there with whiteboard markers.

          5. LarrytheG Avatar
            LarrytheG

            I do too but my understanding is that it ain't good for you at all and a respirator should be worn. By the way, there are stronger types of "glass" –

            https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/8f8148bc014f805740af3d761ff8d9e722fd64d55ffc6adcb3277bffc2bb0df9.png

          6. WayneS Avatar
            WayneS

            Yes, but that stuff is incredibly expensive.

            A set of carbon fiber wheels for my Ducati run about $6,000, or three times the cost of aluminum.

            And the cost difference between carbon fiber and fiberglass is even greater.

          7. LarrytheG Avatar
            LarrytheG

            and will boil down to which is more cost-effective over the longer run I would think. I just think
            for ANY infrastructure/equipment, it’s an evolution over time as to what flaws emerge and what
            options to mitigate. We have all manner of stuff that “fails” over time due to age, or inherent flaws and/or with help from disastrous weather. It don’t matter if it’s a wind turbine or a ship or bridge or oil rig.

          8. WayneS Avatar
            WayneS

            By the way, carbon fiber is highly conductive, so it might not be the best material in the world for an item that will be continuously spinning in the air. Carbon fiber windmill blades will build up significant static charges and likely be very susceptible to lighting strikes.

          9. LarrytheG Avatar
            LarrytheG

            I profess little direct knowledge but have confidence that engineers are involved as well
            as corporate cost folks. There’s also thousands of existing turbines around the world that
            will inform. They’ll figure it out and it might turn out after all is said and done that when
            the full costs are really known, they’re not so cheap after all. Who knows at this point? It’s
            an evolving technology. The first cell phones sucked, as did computers and drones, etc..
            they got better and cheaper.

          10. how_it_works Avatar
            how_it_works

            Fiberglass resin has an awful smell. Reminds me of burning plastic.

          11. Nancy Naive Avatar
            Nancy Naive

            Wonder what percentage of the population reacts which way?

            My ex-wife used to get physically ill driving past the brewery in Williamsburg.

          12. how_it_works Avatar
            how_it_works

            Burned automatic transmission fluid (think fluid that has been in the transmission way too long and badly overheated and looks like Coke) has a smell that makes me want to lose my lunch. Gear oil, on the other hand, doesn’t smell that bad to me. I’ve read comments about how bad gear oil smells and to me it’s hardly a bad smell.

          13. LarrytheG Avatar
            LarrytheG

            differential oil… yummmeee…

          14. how_it_works Avatar
            how_it_works

            The smell is from sulfur containing compounds in the gear oil which are used as extreme-pressure agents, which protect against metal-to-metal contract. One such compound is ZDDP. https://precisionlubrication.com/articles/zinc-lubricant-additives/

          15. Nancy Naive Avatar
            Nancy Naive

            Gear oil stinks. This is fascinating. The one job I hated, but did on several occasions, was rebuilding gear boxes, and changing hypoid oil. I’ve never let ATF go more than 15,000 so have never dealt with burned out stuff.

            There’s gotta be something here!

          16. LarrytheG Avatar
            LarrytheG

            Fredericksburg used to have an Avisco cellophane plant that permeating the region at times. And not unlike many paper mills, like the one at West Point and Covington.

          17. how_it_works Avatar
            how_it_works

            If boat parts start raining down from the sky it will be a newsworthy occurrence.

          18. LarrytheG Avatar
            LarrytheG

            Just seems like I’m looking at TV after a hurricane and their are boats piled on other boats across the harbor
            and streets… etc.. and have never heard that when getting them removed, there are issues with the fiberglas.
            I could well be the boats are different from the turbines, I have no doubt but also remember , we now
            make airplanes and space vehicles using carbon fiber when more strength is needed and that might be
            part of it. I’ve heard we have maybe 80,000 land-based turbines and some have been lost to tornados but
            different on land than water I guess.

          19. walter smith Avatar
            walter smith

            No. JUst like millions of guns owned by responsible gun owners. People don't go smashing their boats for fun. This is not "silly." What is silly is believing "man made climate change" can be controlled by man. Of course, you first have to believe in "man made climate change."

          20. LarrytheG Avatar
            LarrytheG

            not climate change, natural disasters that do happen… despite what we've built…

      2. Nancy Naive Avatar
        Nancy Naive

        How’s it compare to crude oil?

        1. how_it_works Avatar
          how_it_works

          Never handled crude oil before. Can it be any worse than used engine oil, which cleans up easily?

          1. Nancy Naive Avatar
            Nancy Naive

            Yes. Crude v. Refined. Mixed with salt water it makes tarballs.

          2. how_it_works Avatar
            how_it_works

            Sounds like a new cost saving method for VDOT pothole patch…

          3. Nancy Naive Avatar
            Nancy Naive

            Maybe, but ya still gotta get someone to put in the hole. I’m convinced they think roads heal.

    3. LarrytheG Avatar
      LarrytheG

      Turbines are still evolving and I'd not be surprised to see more changes , perhaps carbon fiber or other improvements in structure but when a hurricane hits, all manner of "stuff" gets broken and set adrift in the sea and comes ashore. Turbines are just one of them.

      1. James Kiser Avatar
        James Kiser

        That is an accurate statement , floods are one of the worst disaster situations for spreading dangerous debris.

  7. LarrytheG Avatar
    LarrytheG

    Does this mean we should not build tunnels because they are vulnerable to hurricanes and storms?

  8. Nancy Naive Avatar
    Nancy Naive

    How’s it compare to Three Mile Island? Chernobyl? Fukushima?

    Bet it’s easier and more completely cleaned up than the beaches of Prince William Sound.

    In the sake of generating energy, how’s it compare to the 10s of 1000s of spills, explosions, and leaks of hydrocarbons?

    Lynchburg… closer to Virginia than Nantucket
    https://i.natgeofe.com/n/03a69f19-e86f-4f92-9cec-3b880f2618a0/79241.jpg?w=2560&h=1544

    1. LarrytheG Avatar
      LarrytheG

      or a hundred or thousand other similar issues… we build bridges and look what happens to them. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/a48eaa064193ca7273103ac613334af2951e064338857ee8cce7da6bbe1329dd.png

    2. WayneS Avatar
      WayneS

      A valid point, but you might want to remove Three Mile Island from your list. The small amount of radiation released following the accident at Three Mile Island was not even enough to put the local population above background levels. Three Mile Island does not belong on the same list of severe man-made disasters as Chernobyl and Fukushima.

      It's like saying a speck of dust and the ash pile from a bonfire are comparable to each other.

    3. WayneS Avatar
      WayneS

      A valid point, but you might want to remove Three Mile Island from your list. The small amount of radiation released following the accident at Three Mile Island was not even enough to put the local population above background levels. Three Mile Island does not belong on the same list of severe man-made disasters as Chernobyl and Fukushima.

      It's like saying a speck of dust and the ash pile from a bonfire are comparable to each other.

      1. Nancy Naive Avatar
        Nancy Naive

        What? No Pepsi Syndrome? Valid point, substitute Kepone then.

        1. LarrytheG Avatar
          LarrytheG

          Hanford

        2. WayneS Avatar
          WayneS

          Done!

  9. ken Avatar
    ken

    think what it will do to those whales, dolphins, and Russian subs off the VA coast.

  10. Clarity77 Avatar
    Clarity77

    The photo is a fitting selection to encapsulate the end result of the Biden regime's green energy initiatives in the USA. And it's not like there have not been other examples around the world that could have served as an alert as to the incompetence and lunacy inherent in the leftist proponents of such. Venezuela and Germany are glaring examples as they abandon green "energy" and return to traditional and proven energy sources. China stands out as having wisely chosen to not follow their leftist brothers' foolishness in the West.

  11. LarrytheG Avatar
    LarrytheG

    Does this mean we should not build tunnels because they are vulnerable to hurricanes and storms?

    1. WayneS Avatar
      WayneS

      How is a tunnel vulnerable to a hurricane or storm?

      1. LarrytheG Avatar
        LarrytheG

        google Superstorm Sandy and NY tunnels..

        1. WayneS Avatar
          WayneS

          Okay. So they flooded from above via the subway stations/entrances.

          I knew there was little to no chance the tunnels themselves were damaged by the storm because they are buried under the bottom of the rivers.

          For instance, it would take one hell of storm surge to flood the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel.

          I've seen waves break over the roadway near the tunnels on both the HRBT and the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, but high wave action puts a very small amount of water into the nearby tunnel, especially when compared to using an entire subway/tunnel system as a giant drain for flood waters.

        2. WayneS Avatar
          WayneS

          Okay. So they flooded from above via the subway stations/entrances.

          I knew there was little to no chance the tunnels themselves were damaged by the storm because they are buried under the bottom of the rivers.

          For instance, it would take one hell of storm surge to flood the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel.

          I've seen waves break over the roadway near the tunnels on both the HRBT and the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, but high wave action puts a very small amount of water into the nearby tunnel, especially when compared to using an entire subway/tunnel system as a giant drain for flood waters.

        3. WayneS Avatar
          WayneS

          Okay. So they flooded from above via the subway stations/entrances.

          I knew there was little to no chance the tunnels themselves were damaged by the storm because they are buried under the bottom of the rivers.

          For instance, it would take one hell of storm surge to flood the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel.

          I've seen waves break over the roadway near the tunnels on both the HRBT and the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, but high wave action puts a very small amount of water into the nearby tunnel, especially when compared to using an entire subway/tunnel system as a giant drain for flood waters.

        4. WayneS Avatar
          WayneS

          Okay. So they flooded from above via the subway stations/entrances.

          I knew there was little to no chance the tunnels themselves were damaged by the storm because they are buried under the bottom of the rivers.

          For instance, it would take one hell of storm surge to flood the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel.

          I've seen waves break over the roadway near the tunnels on both the HRBT and the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, but high wave action puts a very small amount of water into the nearby tunnel, especially when compared to using an entire subway/tunnel system as a giant drain for flood waters.

  12. Haig48 Avatar
    Haig48

    If an income producing capital investment does not pay for itself in 8 years, it is a failure.

    1. LarrytheG Avatar
      LarrytheG

      well, that pretty much rules out nukes, eh?

  13. energyNOW_Fan Avatar
    energyNOW_Fan

    I've commented probably 30 times here that scale-up to the largest size turbines is unproven. I've spent my whole career almost doing scale-up from lab to commercial (not for wind turbines) and it is extremely tricky to make things bigger and bigger.

    Bottom line is we need to take a break to see how well these mega-size turbines work over several years before we go too much further. Its already a given that Virginia wants to be in first place leader among Guinea pigs. My company used to like to be second or third place to let the other guys get the bugs out.

    1. LarrytheG Avatar
      LarrytheG

      I don't disagree at all but it's a continuum, as it is with all infrastructure that evolves. In terms of size, there are existing turbines, thousands of them out west and in the NOrth Sea and other places… it's not like turbines are unique to Virginia.

      1. energyNOW_Fan Avatar
        energyNOW_Fan

        There are mostly tiny compared to newer blades.

        1. LarrytheG Avatar
          LarrytheG

          And I presume have been modelled and tested in wind tunnels and compared to other existing ones. We push the limits on infrastructure in general. We build on what we know works then add a little and work that way sometimes. We go too far sometimes and have to backtrack, just like self-driving cars, SMR reactors, etc.
          The internal combustion engine is a fine example of technology that was terrible in it’s original generations but
          over time, over decades, they got better and better and more optimized. I expect similar from turbines and solar and batteries, etc, et al. The value of non-dispatchable power, when it IS available is undeniable and power companies are embracing it purely from an economics point of view, independent of the politics , as they should.

          We don’t judge turbines different from other infrastructure because we, as individuals, disagree about their purpose in climate change or at least we should not in my view.

Leave a Reply

Read More