Nantucket beaches reopen after crews remove 6 truckloads of debris from wind turbine incident

NANTUCKET, Mass. — All of Nantucket’s south-facing beaches were reopened Wednesday morning after an extensive debris recovery effort was conducted in response to an “offshore incident” that caused damage to a towering wind turbine over the weekend.

Swimming and recreational activities at beaches including Miacomet Beach, Nobadeer Beach, Madequecham Beach, Pebble Beach, Tom Nevers Beach, Low Beach, Sconset Beach, Tuckernuck, and Muskeget were put on hold Monday when large pieces of debris from a damaged Vineyard Wind turbine started washing ashore.

The Vineyard Wind turbine, nearly as tall as the Eiffel Tower, experienced blade damage on Saturday night, according to developers of the offshore project.

As of Wednesday morning, crews have removed about 17 cubic yards of debris, enough to fill more than six truckloads, as well as several larger pieces that washed ashore, Vineyard Wind said in an update.

Cleanup efforts will continue on Wednesday and throughout the week as necessary until all debris is removed, according to Vineyard Wind, which currently has 35 employees and contractors patrolling the island’s beaches.

The debris consists of non-toxic fiberglass fragments ranging in size from small pieces to larger sections, typically green or white in color, Vineyard Wind noted.

“We’re grateful to the Town of Nantucket, the Nantucket Police Department, the Nantucket Land Bank, the Nantucket Harbormaster, and the entire island community as we work to clean up Nantucket’s beaches as quickly as possible,” Vineyard Wind CEO Klaus Moeller said in a statement. “We’re making progress in the debris recovery efforts and mobilizing even more resources on the island to hasten the cleanup as quickly as possible. We continue to ask that members of the public avoid handling any of the debris, but report any debris sightings to Vineyard Wind or town officials for recovery. The public can have confidence that we will be here as long as it takes to get the job done and make sure the beaches are cleaned up.”

Any beachgoers who stumble upon debris are urged to contact Vineyard Wind’s cleanup hotline at 833-609-5768.

It’s still not clear what caused the blade damage. General Electric is leading an investigation into the incident.

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