A group of approximately 15 to 20 boats descended on the Vineyard Wind project site on Sunday afternoon in a show of peaceful protest against the offshore wind industry.
The group, composed of commercial fishermen and concerned citizens, have been energized by the recent failure of a turbine blade that fractured and fell into the ocean, washing ashore debris including fiberglass and foam on Nantucket and Island beaches.
The “flotilla,” as it was called, was organized by the New England Fisherman’s Stewardship Organization (NEFSA), a fishing industry alliance that has said its frustrations and concerns surrounding offshore wind have not been answered by Vineyard Wind or local officials.
Vineyard Wind is building the nation’s first utility-scale offshore wind project, and has been met with significant resistance by both commercial fishermen and locals who are wary about the potential effects of large wind turbines on marine life, fisherman’s livelihoods and on the impacts to their views. The turbines stand as high as 837 feet, with blades as long as a football field. Following the recent blade failure, Vineyard Wind has been forced to halt construction while federal officials conduct an investigation.
Construction on the project has resumed, though Vineyard Wind is not allowed to generate power. GE Vernova, the renewable energy subsidiary of General Electric that manufactures the turbines, has been conducting extensive examinations of the blades to determine the root cause of the failure, and says it will use new algorithms to monitor the health of blades in real-time.
When completed, the 806-megawatt project is supposed to generate enough electricity to support 400,000 homes and businesses in Massachusetts.
On Sunday, protestors who made the approximately three-hour journey to the project site — roughly 15 miles from Martha’s Vineyard — to see the turbines for themselves remarked at just how large they appear up close. Vineyard Wind plans to ultimately build 62 turbines at the site, each spaced one mile apart. At least 12 are completed, according to a report from May, while another 35 are in various stages of construction.
Offshore wind projects have experienced turbulence recently in part due to local resistance but also as a consequence of rising inflation, interest, and material costs which have made long-term contracts no longer viable. Avangrid, an offshore wind subsidiary of Spanish firm Iberdrola, canceled an agreement with Connecticut last year to supply the state electricity from an 804-megawatt project. At the same time, another project in Massachusetts was canceled over similar reasons.
Proponents of offshore wind say the green energy resource is ideal because it uses minimal onshore land while preserving valuable ecosystems, and wind speeds are typically higher over the ocean than on land. Federal officials and marine researchers say that evidence of the long-term harm posed to marine life is inconclusive and requires more studying. Vineyard Wind has outlined ways it attempts to mitigate harm to marine life, including by dampening construction noise and pausing work during seasons when right whales may be in the area.
Otto Osmers, a commercial fisherman from Martha’s Vineyard, made the journey from Menemsha at 7 am on Sunday, arriving at the Vineyard Wind site around 10:30 am. Osmers conceded that offshore wind projects like Vineyard Wind can block trawling and crab trap routes, but had other concerns about the project. “The ocean is one of the last undeveloped places on earth,” he remarked about the sight of so many large turbines peppering the horizon. “We put cables down there but it’s largely undeveloped. It’s sad to see that go away.”
Others were more passionate in their displeasure. Sue Zarba, who along with her husband John who fish recreationally, said seeing the scale of the turbines was emotional. “That was the first time I was up close to the turbines, and I was sobbing,” she said in an interview after the protest. “After you’ve seen this offshore wind farm, you cannot unsee it. Soon over one thousand acres just off the coast will be filled with turbines. We will never be able to undo this man-made environmental disaster.”
“This cannot continue because that’s where we fish,” said Zarba. “They’re developing on a tuna fishing ground. You can’t fish around turbines, you can’t trawl.” She added that her son, who attended the protest, was initially skeptical of her protesting but changed his mind once he saw the turbines.
Osmers noted concern about pollution caused by fishermen, including fuel emissions and the dropping of nets and traps on the ocean floor. But he said that locally caught fish is one of the lowest carbon foods you can buy. “If you eat locally caught fish, the carbon footprint is low,” he said.
Protestors started to arrive one-by-one at the location of the failed turbine around 11 am. As they did, chatter over the radio reflected the grievances of the group. “If it’s such a good deal, why is the government subsidizing it?” one asked. “All the equipment is coming from overseas. Even the rocks for scour protection are coming from Canada,” commented another. Protestors also wondered why the broken turbine has yet to be fixed. “They don’t know how to fix it,” responded one boater.
GE Vernova has factories around the world where it manufactures parts for its turbines.
A boat seen at the protest with a flag for NEFSA and another that reads “Stop offshore wind.” Another boat held a banner reading “Help us now.”
Shortly after noon, as the group forming around the turbine reached a critical mass, it was announced over the radio that everyone should move into single file and sail in circles around the failed turbined, keeping 500 meters away as required by the U.S. Coast Guard over safety concerns. After about 45 minutes, protestors slowly started splitting off for the journey home, thanking each other for their support over the radio. “It was a very peaceful protest,” said Zarba.
Vineyard Wind did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication.
