Vineyard Wind construction resumes; locals blame project for whale deaths

Developers of the Vineyard Wind project, an offshore wind farm near Nantucket, received authorization to resume installing turbine towers after a temporary suspension caused by a turbine malfunction. This latest development comes as locals continue to call the incident that scattered debris onto their beaches for weeks an “environmental disaster.” Some also questioned wether the project is responsible for several whale deaths around the island.

The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement issued the order allowing the project to continue its construction efforts after a nearly months-long pause initiated after the initial turbine breakage occurred. Vineyard Wind still cannot install new turbine blades or generate electricity from the project, but the company does now have the go-ahead to erect more turbine towers in the Atlantic Ocean. This is a process some Nantucket residents believe is harming whales around the island.

“Why is it that all these offshore wind companies have been issued take permits for whales that are on the endangered species list,” one local questioned at a recent town meeting. “Nobody can come up with a definitive answer on why these whales have died.”

“We’ve witnessed a lot of marine mammal death over the past few years,” another resident stated. “I’m concerned if any takes have been recorded yet from this operation at Vineyard Wind.”

On Aug. 8, officials attributed the cause of death for a whale that washed up on Nantucket in April to a vessel strike. However, some on the island were not satisfied with that explanation

“Never has there been this many ship strikes of whales,” one local charter boat operator said. “This has got the fox watching the chicken coop all over it. Most of it is funded by the windmill people.”

“The majority of these agencies have all accepted money from big wind,” another Nantucketer said. “Is that a conflict of interest or not? Because money talks and follow the science, follow the money.”

As construction at the offshore wind farm resumes, Vineyard Wind will focus on removing the damaged blade from the turbine and recovering additional debris from the seafloor.