Major environmental groups have responded inconsistently to the breakage of wind turbine blades off the coast of Nantucket, scattering debris into the ocean, with some remaining completely silent on the issue and others maintaining their support for offshore wind.
On July 13, a giant blade from a turbine at the Vineyard Wind Development broke off, sending fiberglass, Styrofoam, and plastic into the water, eventually washing onto the shores of Nantucket. Reported It was announced Sunday that more debris had fallen into the ocean in a “controlled break-off” over the weekend. A grassroots environmental group told the Daily Caller News Foundation that the debris could have a negative impact on the environment, and several beaches on the island had been closed as a result of the incident.
“While this extremely rare incident was not without consequences, we believe offshore wind is one of the safest forms of energy available. Compared to other energy disasters at sea, such as oil spills, this incident was fairly contained and easily dismissed in favor of the safety of marine life,” Amber Hewett, senior director of offshore wind energy at the National Wildlife Federation (NWF), a leading environmental group that supports offshore wind, said in a statement shared with DCNF. “The National Wildlife Federation will continue to advocate for the responsible development of offshore wind energy and work to ensure marine and coastal wildlife and habitats are protected every step of the way.” (Related article: Major environmental groups partner with foreign oil giants to industrialize oceans)
'Guys in suits trying to cover their tracks': Coastal residents accuse offshore wind developers of polluting their shoreshttps://t.co/8pnl4SmJ0E
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) July 19, 2024
Green PeasA major environmental organization with a global presence responded to the DCNF by saying:[does] “There are no activists who can speak out on this issue.”
The broken equipment has been characterized as a defective product caused by negligence at a factory in Canada. According to According to the Boston Globe, the blade failure led federal officials to say the company permission The company is still working to repair the damage so that certain activities can resume. According to into the Nantucket Current.
Just days after the first debris was found, pieces of fiberglass and plastic began washing up on Nantucket shores, and there are concerns that the debris that ended up in the ocean over the weekend could have the same effect if conditions were right, according to the Nantucket Current. closure In July, fires broke out on several beaches on the island due to “significant sharp debris” floating in the water or just below the surface.
Meanwhile, Vineyard Wind has said the pieces of the broken blade are “non-toxic,” and an environmental assessment conducted by a third-party consultant called Arcadis found the materials the blades are made of to be “inert, non-soluble, stable and non-toxic.” According to To WBURNational Public Radio station in Boston. But smaller grassroots eco-organizations, e.g. Green Oceanhas sounded the alarm about the damage caused by Vineyard Wind's broken blades.
Whether or not the blade materials, like polyvinyl chloride (PVC) foam, are directly toxic, exposure to the elements could pose other environmental problems, such as introducing microplastics into the marine food chain, Green Oceans told DCNF. Valeria La Saponara, a professor of aerospace engineering at the University of California, Davis, told local media: England He warned that if efforts to remove the PVC are inadequate, “there could be long-term consequences.”
Green Oceans also conducted its own analysis of the blade fragments, a spokesperson for the group told DCNF.
This comes despite debris washing into the ocean from Vineyard Wind's broken blades and growing concerns that offshore wind development is causing “unusual fatalities.” two seed When it comes to whale conservation, leading groups like Greenpeace, the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Marine Conservation Society and the National Wildlife Fund have not backed away from their existing support for the offshore wind industry.
For example, NWF and NRDC are listed as follows: member He is a member of the steering committee of the New York Offshore Wind Coalition, a coalition of environmental groups and energy companies promoting offshore wind power off the coast of New York. Reportthe Marine Conservation Society back Offshore Wind — Praised Vineyard Wind for taking steps to minimize ecological damage during the construction process.
The Marine Conservation Society and NRDC did not respond to multiple inquiries from the DCNF about the broken blade.
The Sierra Club, another major environmental group, statement On July 19, the company released an update on the Vineyard Wind situation, saying it was “concerned about the delays Vineyard Wind has been making in notifying Nantucket officials and the public about the damage,” but added:[ensuring] The failure of a single turbine blade will not adversely affect the emergence of offshore wind as a key solution to reducing dependence on fossil fuels and addressing the climate crisis.”
Before the federal government's shutdown order, the Vineyard Wind project was one of two large offshore wind farms to begin generating electricity in US waters, according to the Boston Globe.
“Many local governments and NGOs should be voicing their concerns about the harms that offshore wind projects are causing to the environment, the economy and electricity bills, but they have pledged silence in exchange for receiving money from wind companies,” a Green Oceans representative told DCNF. green Ocean“Ordinary citizens with nothing to gain financially are working to educate the public about the truth about OSW.”
Vineyard Wind did not respond to a request for comment.
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