BY BRIAN CONTRERAS, STAFF REPORTER, Inc.  JUL 18, 2024

On Nantucket’s sandy south beaches, misshapen chunks of turquoise foam have been washing ashore–debris from the recently broken blade of an offshore wind turbine.

Vineyard Wind, a green energy firm that’s built 19 wind turbines in the area and has another 43 on the way, says one of its turbine blades was damaged Saturday for reasons that remain unclear. The result, according to local outlet the Nantucket Current: pieces of foam and fiberglass were scattered across the summer colony’s southern coast earlier this week amid the high-traffic tourist season. Area beaches were initially closed to swimmers but reportedly re-opened Wednesday.

Although a Vineyard Wind representative initially told the Current that the blade broke about 20 meters from its base and was still mostly attached to the turbine, the company was reporting by Thursday morning that “a significant part” of what remained had fallen into the sea, too. That means even more debris could be inbound toward Nantucket.

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