The Vineyard Wind offshore wind project off the coast of Massachusetts is shut down until further notice while authorities investigate a turbine blade failure that caused debris to wash up on beaches, a federal agency said on Tuesday.
The U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) said it was working closely with Vineyard Wind to determine the cause of the incident, which left potentially dangerous debris on beaches on the island of Nantucket.
"There were no injuries reported, but operations are shut down until further notice," a BSEE spokesperson said in an emailed statement.
The incident is a blow to both Vineyard Wind, the first major U.S. offshore wind farm, and the nation's budding offshore wind industry. The sector is regarded as critical to meeting President Joe Biden's climate change goals but has been struggling with soaring costs and delays.
Vineyard Wind said the turbine's manufacturer, GE, would analyze the root cause of the incident. The turbine was in its commissioning phase and was still undergoing testing, according to company spokesperson Craig Gilvarg.
GE officials were not immediately available for comment.
Just last month, Vineyard Wind announced that it had installed 21 of the project's expected 62 turbines, and that 10 were generating power. It is expected to produce enough electricity to power 400,000 homes once it is fully operational.
The turbine blade broke on Saturday, and on Tuesday authorities said they had closed beaches on the south shore of Nantucket Island due to debris washing ashore, according to a statement on the Town of Nantucket web site.
"In some areas, significant sharp debris has been observed floating in the water and is often hidden beneath the surface. Small fragments along the shoreline can pose a considerable hazard to swimmers and beachgoers," the statement said.
The incident came during the busy summer tourist season, when the island's population swells to 80,000 from its usual 14,000.
Vineyard Wind is owned by Denmark's Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners and Avangrid, the U.S. arm of Spanish utility Iberdrola.
(Reuters - Reporting by Nichola Groom and Anjana Anil; Editing by Cynthia Osterman and Christian Schmollinger)